Right of Christian Initiation For Adults (RCIA)
Who Is This For?
This is a programme of instruction in the faith for adults:
- Have you been worshiping with us, but never officially took the step to become Catholic?
- Have you been away from the Church…and have now returned, but want to know more?
- Have you been Catholic all your life, but never celebrated all the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Eucharist & Confirmation)?
- Have you joined us from a different faith background and would like to find out more about the Catholic Church?
- Do you know of anyone who has lapsed from the practice of their faith and would like to respond to an invitation to return to the Father’s House?
If any of these questions apply to you, the RCIA programme is a great way to help you on your journey of faith!
2019 – Weekly Topics
- 15 January – Sacrament of Initiation: Baptism and Confirmation
- 22 January – Sacrament of Initiation: Eucharist
- 29 January – Sacrament of Healing: Reconciliation
- 05 February – Sacrament of Healing: Anointing of Oils
- 12 February – Sacrament of Vocation: Marriage
- 19 February – Q&A
- 26 February – Sacrament of Vocation: Holy Orders
- 05 March – Church and Heaven: The Last Things – Heaven, Hell, Purgatory; the Church’s teaching on this, putting “myths” of popular culture into context eg: exorcism, possession.
- 12 March – An introduction to Lent: The Season of Lent and last leg of the preparation for full initiation into the Church; the purpose of Lent as a call to conversion, repentance from sin, call to charity.
- 19 March – Traditions of Lent: Stations of the Cross
- 02 April – Traditions of Lent: Connection to O.T
- 09 April – Preparation for Easter Vigil Celebration: Also an opportunity for confession/chat with the priest.
- 16 April – Holy Week: Final Journey of Jesus’ Passion and Resurrection
2018 – Weekly Topics
- 04 September 2018 – Church: The Family of God – Introduction of the process of entering into full communion with the Church; the family as a domestic Church, Church as the community of believers, all on a common pilgrimage of faith.
- 11 September 2018 – Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church, our Mother: Mary’s story, her role in the Church – what she is and what she isn’t, how we honour her, Mary as mediatrix who always points to the Son.
- 18 September 2018 – The Saints: Role Models for our Daily Lives – Share stories of different saints; reflection on how these saints can be inspiration for our daily lives.
- 25 September 2018 – The Ten Commandments: The Ten Commandments not as a list of “don’t” but rather a call to a life of holiness .
- 02 October 2018 – What is Truth: Ethics and Morality in a Relativist World – Following from 10 Commandments lesson, this lesson looks at specific issues around ethics and morality; the Church provides a response against relativism; Church teaching offers patterns for living a life closer to God’s perfect plan of love; how do we tell right from wrong.
- 09 October 2018 – Our Call to Conversion: God’s presence in our lives – Conversion not as a single moment, but through the experiences of our lives; life as a pilgrimage; encouragement to journal (document) journey of faith
- 16 October 2018 – The Trinity: One God in Three Persons – A walk through how Father, Son, Holy Spirit are all aspects of one God, revelation of different aspects of God, perfection of love and unity in the Trinity
- 23 October 2018 – The Creed: The Church’s one belief (Part 1) Context for the Nicene Creed and spend the next three weeks working through the Creed as the cornerstones of Catholic belief
- 30 October 2018 – The Creed: The Church’s one belief (Part 2)
- 06 November 2018 – The Creed: The Church’s one belief (Part 3) and Q&A
- 13 November 2018 – Church in the Real World: The Dignity of Life Use Pope Francis’ Encyclical on the Environment – Laudate Si
- 20 November 2018 – Church and my Life: Theology of the Body Use JP11’s teaching on human relationships and sexuality
- 27 November 2018 – Church and Society: Catholic Social Teaching Intersection between faith and the world we live in; standing up for moral justice, corruption, laws that destroy the value of human life and the environment, how to live in an immoral society; defense of the poor – Pope Francis’ commitment to social justice.
- 04 December 2018 – Question and Answer Session
- 11 December 2018 – Liturgical Seasons + Advent: Preparation for Christmas Cycles in the Church’s year; the colours and symbolism of different liturgical seasons; Entering into a period of preparation, the traditions of Christmas and their invitation to prayer: eg Christmas Wreath, Advent Candles, Jesse Tree, Christmas Carols.
The programme is every Tuesday, 7:30 – 9:00 pm at Holy Redeemer.
Programme
The programme runs from July and ends three weeks after the Easter vigil. RCIA runs during usual school holidays, June, September, but we do take a break during the December/January holidays.
We also have a retreat weekend midway through the programme.
Those wishing to attend should also set aside the times of the services during Holy Week and in particular the Triduum services of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and The Easter Vigil on Easter Saturday. The Easter Vigil service is where the elect are received fully into the Catholic Church (where applicable Baptism, Confirmation and/or Eucharist).
John’s Baptism of Christ (by Leonardo Da Vinci)
Contact Information
The RCIA programme is run in conjunction with Holy Redeemer, in Bergvliet. Please contact our parish office for further information.
Don Bowden is the coordinator for Constantia and Sarah-Leah Pimentel is the RCIA coordinator at Holy Redeemer, Bergvliet.
Registration Form
Click below to download the registration form.
