How to Enter the Catholic Faith

WHAT IS OCIA (RCIA)

OCIA (formerly RCIA) is what the Catholic Church calls the process for those who are entering the Catholic Church. The new initials stand for Order of Christian Initiation for adults; the previous initials stood for Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Every parish does some form of OCIA, though they may not call it OCIA (RCIA) as most people desiring to learn more about the Church do not understand the initials. 

The Church has placed guidelines for the process for those who are entering the Church. These guidelines assist with the education of those entering, but primarily focus on journey milestones and the liturgical (the prayer experiences of the Church) aspects of the process.
 

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IS OCIA FOR ME?

OCIA can be for the following:

• Non-Baptized - those who have never been baptized "in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit" (see Mt 28:19)  The OCIA process is specifically designed for those who have never been baptized. 
• Baptized Christians- those who have been baptized in a Christian denomination other than the 23 Catholic Rite Churches in line with the Pope.  There are adaptations of OCIA for those who are going to be received into full communion.  The baptisms of Christian denominations that baptize "in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit" are recognized by the Catholic Church as valid baptisms, so no re-baptism is performed. 
• Baptized Catholics:  If you are baptized Catholic, but have not received all the initiation sacraments, OCIA was not designed for you, however parishes might invite you to aspects of the porcess based on your situation. 

• God created the World out of Love!
• God has chosen each of us by name and loves us all. 
• In God's love we were created with freedom of will.  We could choose to love or reject God.
• Humanity used its freedom to reject God, we instead chose ourselves over God. 
• Death entered into the world with sin. 
• God continued to reach out and love humanity
• We continued to reject and turn away from the love of God. 
• A sacrafice of pure obedience was needed to overcome the death that entered through disobedience. 
• God sent Jesus (His son the second part of the Trinity) to sacrifice for all humanity. 
• Even if you or I were the only person on earth, Jesus would have come to save us. 
• Jesus died on the Cross, in reparation for our sin, and rose from the dead, defeating death for each one of us. 
• We are called by God to respond to relationship with Jesus. 
• Jesus established a Church to be His bride, and for the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity) to dwell and for grace (God's life) to be given to all humanity. 
• We respond to God's love through prayer, worship, obedience to the will of God, support of the Church and the gift of our very life. 

The saints are those who have gone before us in faith.  Anyone who is in Heaven is a saint; however, there are a certain number of saints that have been officially canonized (recognized in an official manner) as Saints.  There is a process the Church goes through to determine that the person in question is in Heaven.  The Church never says someone is in hell for sure, but does declare certain people in Heaven for sure. 

These saints pray for us in Heaven, and are signs of hope for us.  Their lives can be examples for us in this world, to encourage us and help us know how to live.  Their prayers are encouraging to us and work with the sacrifice of Christ to benefit those of us here on earth.

When we worship, saints (canonized or not) are together with us.  We do not give worship to the saints; instead we join with them in Adoration and Worship of God.

There are stages to the OCIA process. The information below will discuss these stages and give assistance to those participating in, and those leading OCIA in parishes.  

• Pre-Catechumenate (Inquiry and Evangelization) - This stage of the process is for those who are at the beginning stages of the stirring of faith within them.  This is the opportune time for individuals to discuss questions of the faith, to explore who God is, what a relationship with Jesus looks like, and why we have a Church.
•  Catechumenate- This stage of the process for those who have accepted that they are willing to study and make steps toward reception into the Catholic Faith.  The beginning of this step is the liturgical Rite of Acceptance.  From this point an unbaptized person in the Catechumenate could receive a Catholic funeral if they were to pass during this time period.
• Purification and Enlightenment- This period coincides with Lent, it is marked by the liturgical Rite of Election.  At this time the names of the catechumens are enrolled in a book for the diocese.  This time is a more intense time of prayer and immediate preparation for the Sacraments of Initiation.  During this period the Rites of the Scrutinies are participated in,  and the Creed and Lord's Prayer is given to the elect.
• Mystagogia- Those who have just received the Sacraments of Initiation are called neophytes.  The neophytes take some time during the Easter season and explore the mysteries of the faith. At this time the neophytes are learning more about how to live the new found faith they have been baptized in.  An extended mystagogia has been asked for by the USCCB for a year after the neophytes have received the sacraments.
• Breaking open the Word: Breaking open the Word should be done throughout the OCIA process.  Anyone who is not already fully initiated in the Church should be invited to attend the breaking open the Word.  This should be done after the Homily, with an invitation for those who are not fully initiated to be allowed to go and study the scriptures that had been proclaimed that day.  It could be beneficial to do a lectio divina or a scripture study during this time.