The Catechetical Review - Communicating Christ for a New Evangelization

Articles Under: RCIA

How an Evangelizing RCIA Process Can Change the Culture of Your Parish
Our parish recently hosted a major event in collaboration with two local parishes in our area. The speaker was well-known; and as the volunteers gathered in a circle with him to pray before the event, I looked up at one point and noticed something striking: a full seventy-five percent of the volunteers standing in the circle were past RCIA participants! As the RCIA Director of this small to mid-sized parish of around six hundred families, I was thrilled. I silently added a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord for doing great things for us, because I was certainly filled with... Read more
Encountering God in Catechesis
It is truly amazing what God can do when you focus on him. Lately, I have been reflecting on the “Smith” family, who came to our parish after beginning the RCIA process at two other parishes. When they came to our parish, I met with them to see how we could help. I was amazed at their story and how much they desired to become Catholic! Mr. Smith shared with me how he was formally a leader in the Church of Christ and had begun to study Catholicism to prove it was wrong. His intentions may have been misdirected, yet... Read more
From the Shepherds: Why We Should Read the Catechism Cover-to-Cover
A Gift from the Church for the Church What does the world need at this time? And what would help every single Catholic right now? The answer is held in this beautiful gem, the Catechism of the Catholic Church . The contents on each page of this “book” capture God’s profound love for us and his unwavering desire to be united with us in a relationship of love. Literally, we can find God in every paragraph! St. Paul tells us in his Letter to the Romans that we are to “be transformed by the renewal of [our] mind” (Rom 12:2)... Read more
La Eucaristía: ¿Quién, cuándo, qué, por qué, dónde? Segunda Parte
En nuestro número anterior, Dr. Kreeft exploró varios asuntos importantes que se suscitan cuando consideramos las preguntas de “¿quién?” y “¿dónde?” en cuanto se refieran a Cristo en la Eucaristía. En este artículo, el autor examina las tres preguntas finales con tal de ayudarnos a mejor comprender la enseñanza de la Iglesia sobre nuestro Señor Eucarístico. ¿Qué? ¿Qué actividad realiza Cristo en la Eucaristía? Obviamente, Él actúa sobre nosotros y dentro de nosotros en la Sagrada Comunión, tanto en nuestro cuerpo como en nuestra alma, ya que Él nos penetra en Cuerpo y Alma, no solamente para estar allí, para... Read more
The Eucharist: Who, When, What, Why, and Where? Part 2
In our previous issue, Dr. Kreeft explored several important issues that arise when we consider the questions of “who” and “when” as they relate to Christ in the Eucharist. In this article, he will examine three final questions, to help us better understand the Church’s teaching concerning our Eucharistic Lord. What? What activity is Christ performing in the Eucharist? Obviously, he is acting on us and in us in Holy Communion, both in body and soul, since he enters us both in body and soul not just in order to be there, to be actual, but also to be active... Read more
Light from Light
The phrases “God from God” and “Light from Light” are used in the Nicene Creed which is recited at every Sunday Mass. In Latin, the phrase “Light from Light” is lumen de lumine . The phrase appears in the very first section of the Creed: I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with... Read more
RCIA & Adult Faith Formation: Reading the Signs
If you have ever traveled internationally, you have undoubtedly experienced the challenge of interpreting unfamiliar signs. Deciphering these enigmatic symbols can be a funny exercise, as long as you are not desperately lost. The first time I traveled to Australia, my wife and I were regularly in stiches at the utterly unique signs. My favorite had to be the camel, wombat, and kangaroo caution sign. Seeing this sign was a clear indication that we were far from home and in very unfamiliar territory [CR1] . The purpose of a sign is to teach the viewer something: warning, action, direction, etc... Read more
Accompaniment Made Practical Free
This article is the second installment of a two-part discussion of an area of critical importance for those working in any ministry setting—clergy or laity—whose interactions with others require mentoring skills, evangelical hospitality, ongoing pastoral interactions in the course of catechetical work, small group facilitation, parenting, nurturing, and intercessory prayer outreach. The first article addressed pastoral accompaniment’s fundamental relation to good catechetics. This second article will explore practical and creative ways to implement such formation in ministry settings. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” – Matthew 26:38... Read more
El regalo de la gracia sacramental tiene dos vértices: sanar y elevar
Uno de los signos de la experiencia contemporánea es un sentido muy extendido de quebrantamiento, una especie de pesadez de ser. Por lo mismo, una de las afirmaciones menos debatidas de la cristiandad es que tenemos necesidad de sanación, tanto a nivel personal como a nivel social. Los analistas sociales buscan sin cesar las causas de este descontento individual y colectivo. Mientras existan factores culturales que contribuyan a la enfermedad posmoderna, la teología cristiana siempre ha ofrecido una causa de raíz del descontento de la humanidad: el pecado original que heredamos y los pecados personales que cometemos. Si el pecado... Read more
The Two-Fold Gift of Sacramental Grace: To Heal and To Uplift
(Spanish translation of this article available here. ) One of the marks of contemporary experience seems to be a widespread sense of brokenness, a sort of heaviness of being. Therefore, one of the least debated claims of Christianity is that we need healing, both personal and societal. Social analysts repeatedly look for the causes of this individual and collective discontent. While there are cultural factors that contribute to postmodern dis-ease, Christian theology has always offered a root cause for humanity’s discontent: original sin that we inherit and the personal sins that we commit. If sin were the end of the... Read more