After leading RCIA classes over the last few years, the need for a consistent, solid catechetical program became very apparent very quickly. Anyone who teaches RCIA knows there is very little out there that directly addresses the unique needs of this class. Most RCIA catechists and leaders end up piecing a class together every year like it was a puzzle. If this sounds familiar, and you want a dependable program made up of sound Catholic Doctrine, look no further, because this is what you have been seeking. The companion texts are the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the New American Bible Revised Edition.
This guide is a complete class from Inquiry to Mystagogia. It consists of five units: Inquiry, Catechumenate and Candidacy, Purification and Enlightenment, Sacraments of Initiation, and Mystagogia. Each of the 33 chapters contain beautiful sacred art in full color, further reading and study references in the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the New American Bible Revised Edition, thorough catechesis, and challenging journaling questions that invite the student to probe one's own life and spiritual experience. The goal is establishing or deepening one's personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Each chapter is easily covered in a 90-120 minute weekly class. The chapter questions can be used in small group discussions, group sharing, or as personal journaling. Their purpose is to help one identify and breakdown obstacles to a deeper relationship with Christ. True disciples of Christ must have a daily, lived relationship with him. Our goal in RCIA is not to merely gain parishioners, but to make disciples.
Some of the topics covered are man's search for meaning, an overview of salvation history, the Ten Commandments, common prayers, the Communion of Saints, the Mass, the four Marian Dogmas, the Sacraments, Jesus Christ - the Word Made Flesh, Sin and Virtue, Liturgical Seasons, Holy Week, Lectio Divina and much more. Even better, the chapters are consecutively aligned to the liturgical calendar so the topics you cover in class mirror the liturgical seasons, and you can easily plan your RCIA schedule in advance year after year. No more piecing material together, it's all right here.
