4 minute read
The RCIA Process: Sharing God’s Love, Mercy and Truth
Those who journey through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults process, or RCIA, soon realize that it is about a whole lot more than just simple catechesis. It is also about Christ’s infinite mercy touching souls, His truth permeating minds, and His love reaching hearts.
“When I was going through RCIA last year, my grandson was diagnosed with leukemia,” Holly Allen says. “One of the sponsors in our class, Bob Musolino, really helped me in dealing with the stressful situation, encouraging me to keep the faith. He gave me his prayer book that he always carries with him. Bob holds a special place in my heart. He had a cross made and gave it to me on the night of my Confirmation, as well.”
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Truly, our RCIA process is a beautiful expression of what it means to be a parish family with wide-open arms.
“I loved the guidance and wisdom I received in RCIA,” Holly says. “I appreciated meeting the other RCIA members and having such great discussions with them. I also enjoyed learning all about the Mass.”
Members such as Holly often come to the door of their first RCIA class after a long, difficult journey of soul searching. At times, the decision to become Catholic takes tremendous courage, and those who would like to enter the process need a parish to call “home” before they can make such a daring step in their lives. Being a welcoming, hospitable parish with a flourishing RCIA process helps them along the way.
“I feel I fit in with the other women at St. Peter’s, and I don’t feel lonesome when I come here,” Holly says.
Because Holly had been already been baptized, she only needed to receive the Sacraments of First Confession, First Communion, and Confirmation when she joined the Catholic Church last fall.
“I went to a Protestant church as a kid,” she says. “I loved Sunday School but I thought the rest was so boring that I would fall asleep on my father’s lap. However, at one point, my parents stopped going to church, but then they returned after my mom got cancer. After my Dad passed away in 2018, I started floating around to different churches, but none of them felt quite right, and I didn’t feel at home at any of them.”
Tony Rhodes and family — (from left) Abbey (daughter), Tony, Carter (son) and Katie (wife).
However, Divine Providence had amazing plans for Holly, and she wound up at a lifechanging Cursillo weekend in 2019.
“All of my life, I had heard that Jesus loved me, but that weekend I finally, truly felt it,” she says. “I knew that God really loved me, and this realization made such an impact on me that I started considering becoming Catholic. Then, one of the leaders at the Cursillo weekend helped me get set up with the RCIA program at St. Peter’s.”
Now as a Catholic, Holly has been experiencing God’s grace in extraordinary ways.
“Before I became Catholic, I had such a hard time with forgiveness, and I can honestly say that I didn’t even really know what it was,” she says. “I tried to achieve forgiveness in my heart when I was at my old church, but I just wasn’t able to. Now I am able to forgive and I don’t have the same hard feelings that I used to because I have let God in my life.”
On the other hand, many converts such as Tony Rhodes have been inspired by their family members to come “home to Rome” and join the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church for good.
“I had been going to church with my family for quite some time when we decided to take our children out of public school and enroll them at St. Peter’s Parish School,” Tony says. “I soon made the commitment to attend Mass so that our kids would not have to see only one parent at church every week. My daughter, Abbey, now 17, is the main reason I decided to become Catholic. Her faith is so strong, it amazed me. It intrigued me and made me want to have some kind of connection to God as well. Abbey was my inspiration.”
Recently, Tony went through the RCIA process and received the Sacraments of Baptism, Holy Communion, and Confirmation.
“The most challenging aspect of my RCIA journey was trying to understand how other people have faith in God,” Tony says. “This was one of my goals going into RCIA — to find out how others kept faith in God and knew about Him so that I could find my own faith as well.”
Now that he has taken a “leap of faith” and officially become Catholic, Tony has experienced many rich blessings in his life.
“I feel a much better connection with my wife and my two kids,” he says. “For years, I attended Mass without any real intention. Now that I have made a commitment and honored it, I feel much closer to them and enjoy our experience together much more.”
