If you want to refresh your faith, think about getting involved in your parish’s RCIA or OCIA program.
My husband and I have had the privilege of accompanying several people through the OCIA process over the last year. OCIA, or Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, is the updated term for RCIA, or Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, and is the process by which adults enter the Catholic Church.
Some of the people in our group are catechumens, meaning they are looking to be baptized and receive the sacraments of first Communion and confirmation, while others are candidates, which means they are already baptized Christians who are looking to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church.
I am amazed, astounded really, when people convert to Catholicism. Not, of course, because I don’t think they should, but rather because it is truly a miracle in today’s world when someone is able to see through the fog of secularism and recognize the truth proclaimed by the Catholic Church.
Some of the people who attend our weekly sessions are already fully confirmed Catholics who want to learn more about the teachings of the Church. This is another miracle, since so many Catholics assume they know all they need to know about the Church. Other Catholics think they know Church teaching, largely informed by mainstream media and sources of entertainment, but fall short of what the Church actually teaches.
As the facilitators of our group, my husband and I are constantly needing to articulate the teachings and practices of the Church, which is of immeasurable value to our own faith. When someone questions you about what you believe and you have a chance to give your “apologia,” or defence, your faith takes on a deeper meaning. And we certainly don’t have all the answers to all the questions that are asked, nor are we expert theologians. Thankfully, there are many good programs designed to help facilitate the OCIA process.
During this journey, we’ve heard many stories about how people found their way to the Catholic Church. Several of the people in the group began their faith journey during COVID-19 lockdowns, when they began questioning many things in the world and in their own lives. A lot of their stories include the common denominator of using online resources, such as the Hallow app or Father Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year or Catechism in a Year podcasts. A few members of the group said they decided to read the Bible thoroughly to see what it actually says, thereby discovering the beauty of salvation history. One woman was drawn to the Church because of her own Christian denomination’s lack of response to MAiD.
Both my husband and I have been impressed and moved by the sincerity, brutal honesty, and excitement expressed by the group every week. In the fall portion, we made our way through the Metanoia program found on Formed.org. The 11-episode program is hosted by Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, president of Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio, and features the reflections of theologians, converts, and everyday Catholics. The Franciscan priest delves into the big questions of faith, just as Jesus did with his disciples, and what these questions mean for our own lives. The series is a great way to measure one’s commitment to conversion and how it will (and should) change everything about one’s life. For those of us in the group who are already Catholic, Metanoia — a Greek word meaning “conversion of heart” — was like a baptismal call refresher, reminding us that being Catholic is about constant conversion of heart.
Now that we are on the home stretch of the OCIA journey with our catechumens and candidates who are planning to enter into full communion with the Church at this year’s Easter Vigil, we will focus on learning about the sacraments and what it means to live a sacramental life as a Catholic. For this leg of the journey, we will use the second part of the original Symbolon series, also available at Formed.org, which is subtitled Living the Faith.
When I say it’s been, and continues to be, a privilege to make this OCIA journey with our group, I am not exaggerating. There’s nothing more important in this life than our relationship with God. To be able to accompany others who are recognizing this fact and choosing to commit their lives to Jesus Christ and his one, true, apostolic Church is nothing short of amazing. It’s also not lost on us that our journey into the OCIA world began in the Year of Hope and has most certainly filled us with hope for the future of our parish, our diocese, our Church, and our own faith lives.
Lazzuri writes from her home in Nova Scotia, where she lives with her husband, three of her six children, and her mother. She can be reached at clarelazzuri@gmail.com.
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