Classes meet on Thursdays at 7 p.m. beginning in September. Sacraments are received when the candidate has completed instruction and has been recommended by the RCIA Team to the Priest. Sacraments are usually received at the Easter Vigil.
This is the earliest phase in the process; it is also known as the Period of Inquiry. Catechumens and Candidates acknowledge that Christ is calling them into the Church through the movement of the Holy Spirit. This is a time for seeking and reflection.
The first Rite in the RCIA process, the Rite of Initiation accepts new members into the worshipping community.
The longest part of the process, the Catechumenate is a time of learning and formation in the traditions and doctrine of the Catholic Church. This is a time for sharing stories, reading scripture, and studying the Church customs, traditions and doctrine. Participants also participate in worship services and various Church rituals.
Catechumens and Candidates are chosen to be received by the bishop and the community and to receive the Sacraments of Initiation at Easter.
At the Easter Vigil (Holy Saturday), all newly elected members of the community who have been journeying through the RCIA process are welcomed formally into the community of believers through receiving the Sacraments of Initiation – Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation.
This is a time of reflection and celebration after the formal reception into the Catholic Church. Mystagogia means “leading into the mystery” and it is a time to explore the deep mystery of our faith and go forth to help build the reign of God on Earth as new members of the faithful.
These are the first three of the seven sacraments of the church that bring us into a full spiritual union with Christ and his Mystical Body, the church.
Jesus told His disciples to go out and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. "Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, and the gateway to life in the Spirit, and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons and daughters of God; we become members of Christ and are incorporated into the church and made sharers in her mission. Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word." (CCC 1213)
Prior to His ascension into heaven, Jesus told His apostles that He would send them the Holy Spirit to be their advocate and guide, and on the Feast of Pentecost, the promised gift of the Holy Spirit fell on the apostles and the Virgin Mary as they prayed in the Upper Room, empowering them to be witnesses of Jesus in the world. "The Sacrament of Confirmation perfects Baptismal grace; it is the sacrament which gives the Holy Spirit in order to root us more deeply in the divine filiation, incorporates us more firmly into Christ, strengthens our bond with the church, associates us more closely with her mission, and helps us to bear witness to the Christian faith in words accompanied by deeds." (CCC 1316) "Confirmation, like Baptism, imprints a spiritual mark or indelible character on the Christians' soul; for this reason one can receive this sacrament only once in one's life." (CCC 1317)
The Holy Eucharist completes Christian initiation. Those who have been raised to the dignity of the royal priesthood by Baptism and configured more deeply to Christ by Confirmation, participate with the whole community in the Lord's own sacrifice by means of the Eucharist. (CCC 1322)
"At the Last Supper, on the night Jesus was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of His Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to His beloved spouse, the church, a memorial of His death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us." (CCC 1323)