AN RCIA MANUAL For use in RCIA Ministries And Religious Education Programs

[Pages:33]CROSSING THE THRESHOLD OF FAITH

AN RCIA MANUAL For use in RCIA Ministries And Religious Education Programs

In the Archdiocese for the Military Services

United States of America

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction II. How to Use this RCIA Manual III. Sequence of RCIA Themes IV. RCIA SEGMENTS V. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

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INTRODUCTION:

"Jesus Christ is the answer to the question that is every human person." These words invite us to journeys of faith, hope and love in which we discover Christ as the "Way, the Truth and the Life." The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) offers a similar invitation to adults seeking initiation into the Catholic Church, Catholics completing sacramental initiation and returning Catholics.

The Introduction to the RCIA notes that the Rite is designed for adults "who after hearing the mystery of Christ proclaimed, consciously and freely seek the living God and enter the way of faith and conversion as the Holy Spirit opens their hearts. By God's help they will be strengthened spiritually during their preparation and at the proper time receive the sacraments fruitfully." (RCIA, Introduction, 1) To facilitate this preparatory journey of faith and conversion this RCIA Manual is designed as a resource material for use by Military Chaplains of the Archdiocese for the Military Services of the United States of America.

OBJECTIVES:

The RCIA Manual offers a systematic presentation of the content of faith as summarized in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in a sequence of segments that may be used by pastors and RCIA leaders over the course of an RCIA program.

The overall goal of these segments is to provide RCIA participants with a substantial introduction to the tradition of the Church's teachings and beliefs. The goal of this Resource is to inspire a "living, conscious and active faith" in the lives of RCIA participants. Each segment is designed to invite participants to a personal encounter with Jesus Christ in and through their study, reflection and discussion of the teachings of the Catholic Church. Pastors and RCIA leaders are offered a content-based pastoral resource to assist in their proclamation of the mystery of Christ to inquirers and catechumens making their RCIA journeys of faith and conversion towards the sacraments of initiation.

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HOW TO USE THIS RCIA MANUAL:

This Manual contains 21 segments for use over an RCIA process in parishes and faith communities throughout the Military Archdiocese.

Each segment contains the following materials to assist the Pastor/RCIA leaders' presentations:

Theme based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church (or CCC) Opening Prayer / Scripture reading Instructor's Summary Statement Discussion Questions References and Quotations from CCC, Scripture and documents Suggestions for further reading and Closing prayer

The Pastor/RCIA presenter may use one segment per session or adapt these segments to individual parish needs and the parish RCIA schedule. The segments may be used in the order provided for the Catechumenate stage or as the presenter sees fit for the various stages of the RCIA

References, quotations and suggestions for further study provide the presenter with resources that may be handed out to participants as necessary. References to the Catechism will use the abbreviation CCC.

STAGES OF THE RCIA:

Evangelization and Pre-catechumenate stage ? Inquiry into the Church followed by Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens. Catechumenate stage ? Conversion and growth of catechumens' faith through celebrations of the Word, study and prayer leading to the Rite of Election. Enlightenment/purification stage ? Immediately precedes the elects' initiation, usually the Lenten season. An intense time of reflection marked by the Scrutinies. SACRAMENTS OF INITIATION at the Easter Vigil Mystagogia stage ? Post-baptismal phase during which newly baptized experience the fullness of the Christian life particularly in the Sunday Eucharist.

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SEQUENCE OF RCIA THEMES

SEGMENT 1 ? Human Search f o r G o d SEGMENT 2 ? Revelation and Faith SEGMENT 3 ? Creation SEGMENT 4 ? Church ? Body of Christ, People of G o d SEGMENT 5 ? Sacred Scripture ? God's Word Among Us SEGMENT 6 - Salvation History SEGMENT 7 ? Jesus Christ ? Word Made Flesh SEGMENT 8 ? I Believe in One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic C h u r c h SEGMENT 9 ? Last Things ? Judgment, Mercy, Purgatory SEGMENT 1 0 ? Sacraments - Overview SEGMENT 1 1 ? Sacraments of Initiation ? Baptism, Confirmation SEGMENT 1 2 ? Eucharist ? Source and Summit of the Christian Life SEGMENT 1 3 ? Sacraments of Healing ? Reconciliation and Anointing SEGMENT 1 4 ? Ten Commandments ? Christian Moral Life SEGMENT 1 5 ? Building a Culture of Life SEGMENT 1 6 ? Mary and the Communion of Saints SEGMENT 1 7 ? The Liturgical Year, Lectionary, and Liturgy of the H o u r s SEGMENT 18 ? Church Tour, Sign of the Cross, Mass Responses, C r e e d SEGMENT 1 9 ? Liturgy of the Word for the Sundays of Lent SEGMENT 2 0 ? Liturgy of the Word for Easter Vigil SEGMENT 2 1 - Mystagogy ? Post-baptismal t h e m e s

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SEGMENT ONE

THEME: HUMAN SEARCH FOR GOD

OPENING PRAYER / SCRIPTURE READING:

"Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice" Psalm 105:3

"You are great, O Lord and greatly to be praised; great is Your power and Your wisdom is without measure...You encourage us to delight in Your praise, for You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in You." Saint Augustine, Confessions, 1,1

INSTRUCTORS' SUMMARY:

To be human is to search for God. Throughout history down to the present moment human beings have given expression to their search for God in religious beliefs and practices. God has given us minds to search for the truth and hearts that long for unconditional, forgiving love. These basic human desires are fulfilled in God who is truth and love.

Your faith journey that brings you to the RCIA is your journey toward God through His Son, Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is also our common journey to truth, happiness, and love in the context of the Christian community.

All of us desire to live a fully human life. As human beings we are religious beings. The desire for God is written on every human heart because we are created by God for communion with God The dignity of every human being rests on the fact that we not only seek God but we are invited to enter into a personal relationship with God Only in God do we find the truth and happiness that we never stop searching for. To find truth and happiness in God is to find the fulfillment of our human desire for truth, love and happiness. (CCC 27)

The following questions may be used by the RCIA team to guide large or small group discussions during the weekly RCIA meetings. They may also be given to the participants as a basis for personal reflection during the week.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. How has your personal faith journey led you to the Catholic Church?

1. Discuss ways in which human beings tend to look for happiness apart from God? (CCC, 29)

1. How can we know that our search for true human happiness is with God? (CCC, 27 ? 30)

1. Where do we find evidence of God's desire for human happiness? (CCC, 31 ? 35)

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES/QUOTATIONS:

Acts 17: 26-28 Romans 1: 19-20 Acts 14: 15-17 Wisdom 13: 1-9

"The desire for God is written on the human heart, because we created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw us to himself. Only in God will we find the truth and happiness we never stop searching for." (CCC, 27)

"The Church teaches that God, the first principle and last end of all things, can be known with certainty from the created world by the natural light of human reason. Without this capacity, humanity would not be able to welcome God's revelation. Human beings have this capacity because they are created "in the image of God." (CCC 36)

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING: Universal Catechism, Man's Capacity for God, articles 27 - 49 Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the

Modern World, 4-18 Second Vatican Council, Declaration on Religious Freedom, Dignitatis

Humanae,1. Saint Augustine, Confessions

CLOSING PRAYER: Our Father

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