Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA)
Monthly Inquiry May - September
Wednesdays 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm November - May
Where do you begin?
Well, you just begin from where you are now!
Many adults entering the Catholic Church, or those just thinking about it, follow a process known as the RCIA — the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.
The RCIA process has several distinct stages. These Catholic RCIA stages are a good model of faith development itself, so this article will fit you whether or not you're actually in the RCIA process.
• Inquiry: the initial period before you decide to enter the Catholic Church. You're asking questions and checking it out, but aren't yet ready to commit.
• Catechumenate: those who decide to enter the Church and are being trained for a life in Christ are called catechumens, an ancient name from the early Church. In this stage, you're developing your faith and are being "catechized" — learning catechism, or the basic points about Catholic faith and life.
• Purification and preparation: The Church will help you focus and intensify your faith as you prepare you to commit your life to Christ and be received into the Church at Easter. If you're following the RCIA process, you'll go through a beautiful series of Gospel-based meditations during Lent, which is the time frame of this period.
• Initiation itself, the culmination of the whole process! You're received into the Church during the Easter Vigil Mass, where you'll receive the sacraments of initiation: baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist. (If you've already been baptized, you won't be baptized again.)
• Mystagogy: after reception into the Church at Easter, this period lets you reflect and learn more about the mysteries of the Mass and the Sacraments that you now participate in fully.
Educating on the Nature and Dignity Of Women (ENDOW)
Founded in 2003, ENDOW (Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women) is a Catholic, non-profit organization that is dedicated to offering classes and developing study materials based on the teachings of the Catholic Church for women to use in small study groups. The ENDOW program is designed for today's "women in the pew', women who are neither theologians nor philosophers, but are faithful wives, mothers and career women.
The ENDOW program follows a specific methodology, which is very effective in helping women learn both about their inherent God-given dignity as women and about the truths found in the Catholic faith. It is recommended that each study group start with ENDOW's Letter to Women and Mulieris Dignitatem (On the Dignity and Vocation of Women) study guides.
Like all ENDOW study guides, these two study guides are each eight chapters long, and normally a group will study both of them over the course of a year. Upon completion of both of these, ENDOW offers a "menu of more" which includes a wide selection of topics designed to help women further understand their own dignity and vocation and the depth and beauty found in the Catholic Church.
To accommodate a woman's busy schedule, there is no homework involved in the ENDOW program. All of the material is read aloud and discussed when the group meets. At the end of every chapter of the study guides, there is a list of thought-provoking questions which help stimulate conversation and additional learning among the group members.
Please see their website for further information and registration information www.endowonline.com or contact Nicole Stephan for more details 720-226-0467.
Adult Education
Ongoing
Blessed Sacrament loves to engage Adults with Christian Adult Education from “How to raise a Child in the Catholic Church” to Scripture, to Church history. Please watch for special engagements and events in the Church bulletin.
