The Catholic Church Begins

as the Way in Israel and is established in ancient Rome

RCIA  is an abbreviation for: "Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults."  The nine month process of teaching the fullness of truth in the Catholic Church is an open, adaptable, knowledgeable approach to teaching all people who seek to learn about the fullness of the Catholic faith.

 The teaching process will vary from church to church, but each RCIA class will proceed through various stages where the inquirers may opt in or out of attendance with absolutely no pressure or expectation from the teachers or  facilitators on the RCIA team.  The main focus of RCIA teaching is solely to teach the Catholic faith, and let the inquirers or attendees discern for themselves if Catholicism is something they can and want to embrace.

 The months of September and October at Saint Joseph's in Macon are devoted to an overview of the faith in broad general terms. Some of the highlights of these presentations cover the following subjects:

• The Pre-catechumenate or Inquiry  Phase, with personal introductions of the key instructors, priests and deacons, and the team. The key presenters will tell the class, "Why I am a Catholic." Then there is a tour of the church by a priest.
  
• The second month will generally include the unbroken history of the church; the structure of the church and how God speaks to us, the Sacrament principal.
• Catholic Sexuality, Marriage, Divorce, Annulments, Purpose of Life, and what you must do to be Saved.
• Catholic Spirituality and a teaching Mass
• The next six months will be a series of lessons taught from the two books pictured in the red column called, In His Light, and the companion teaching book called, Journeying In His Light.

Part of March and April are the teachings on the scrutiny and formation in the final decisions for the class. Those that have decided to join the church are then guided through the preparation for joing the church at Easter Vigil.

WHO attends RCIA?

• People of all faiths
• Catholics who want to reacquaint themselves with the faith
• Sometimes the spouse, who may be Catholic already, just to support the other in the learning and discerning process
• Sometimes the children of the family who may or may not be Catholic  
• Parents of the inquirers also can be invited to attend
  

 About the 2010/2011 textbook authors:

Rev. John Trigilio Jr., PhD, ThD

• Priest, pastor, EWTN co-host of Council of Faith, and President of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy

Rev. Kenneth Brighenti, PhD 

• Priest Pastor, EWTN Co-host, and Managing Editor of Sapienta Magazine 

This book is organized into the following parts:

PART I: Getting Familiar with the Basics 

• In this part. . . What's a Broadway Play, a Metropolitan Opera, or a major-league baseball game without a program? Get'cha program here! This part helps you find out who all the players are in Catholicism, as well who is who and who isn't a Catholic.

• In addition this part gives you a peek at what  Catholicism is all about. Get a glimpse into what Catholics believe and why. Find out whether Catholics really are Christian after all. And take a gander at the ecclesiastical chain of command---who's in charge of whom. 

PART II: Understanding All Those Beliefs ...

• You find out what Catholics teach and believe and how to worship. Discover Catholicism is in fact a biblical religion.. Find out how and why the Catholic Bible is different that the Protestant Bible.

PART III:Behaving Like a Saint 

• You find out how that Catholics are law-abiding people. They believe in and follow God's laws---the natural moral law, as well as the Church's law.

PART IV: Practicing Catholicism through Devotions 

• We discuss the external expression of faith and morals beyond the Mass and take a look at some Catholic devotions. Novenas, litanies, devotions to the Virgin Mary, and petitions to St. Anthony when your car keys are lost: All these are examples of devotions. You can also find out how th Catholic Church goes about recognizing a saint and discover some great Catholic traditions.---adoring Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, using holy water and blessed candles, etc.

PART V: The Part of  Tens

•  We talk about ten famous Catholics, ten people who have died and are now regarded as saints, and ten popular places than many Catholics want to visit sometime in their life.

PART VI: Appendixes 

• This part contains---in a nutshell ---2,000 years of development, life, death, joy, sorrow, intrigue, and inspiration, vice and virtue, sin and grace. And in the end we threw in some miscellaneous information: Popes, Liturgical calendar, solemnities, feasts, and memorials for the entire year.