Stage 1 - Inquiry

What is the Catholic Church?
Who are we?

In the Inquiry phase, we gather as a group, from many different backgrounds.  The team will guide you through several topics to introduce you to the Catholic Church and our parish here at St. Patrick's.  We will try and answer your questions about the faith and the Church to the best of our ability.  We will try and give you a witness of why we are so convinced of God's love for us. The sessions are titled as follows:

• Welcome/Introductions/Journey of Faith
• What do Catholics believe?
• Places in the Church
• What is the meaning of the Mass
• The Bible
• How do Catholics interpret the Bible?
• The saints and Mary
• Catholics and prayer
• Catholic practices
• Who's who in the Church

Stage 3 - Purification and Enlightenment during Lent and Holy Week

Now we enter the sacred season of Lent.  It is your final preparation for entering fully into the Catholic Church. There will be teaching on more of the Catholic Church.  There will also be a series of scrutinies.  These are specific events that each person will enter deep into prayer about what God is asking in their life and each person will spend time in reflection on that.  Along with each person, the whole parish will enter into prayer for each of you, so you can know what God sees in you.


The sessions during this period are:
 

• What is Lent?
• Saying yes to Jesus
• Take a Look
• The Nicene Creed
• The Way of the Cross
• The Lord's Prayer
• The meaning of Holy Week
• Catechumenate retreat day

Stage 2 - Catechumenate

Upon entering this stage of the learning process, a person has made the decision to formally pursue the Catholic faith.

We celebrate together the rite of acceptance.  It is your formal declaration in front of the parish of St. Patrick's that you now desire to continue your journey to be a full member of the Catholic Church.  It is also the parish's opportunity to welcome you into that formal journey.  Now we begin to look at the fundamental teaching of the Church:  about Jesus and the sacraments.  The sessions during this period are as follows:

The sessions during this period are:

• The Sacraments in general
• The Sacrament of Baptism
• The Sacrament of Eucharist
• The Sacrament of Confirmation
• The Sacrament of Reconciliation
• The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick
• The Sacrament of Marriage
• The Sacrament of Holy Orders
• Jesus Christ
• The People of God
• History of the Church
• Christian moral living

Stage 4 - Mystagogy

Welcome!  You are now fully initiated and in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church!  We are so glad to have you in the Body of Christ.  You may be wondering - what just happened to me?  What do I do now?  Is it all over?  

The journey of faith is a life long journey.  You have only begun.  In the Mystagogy section of RCIA, we explore the new life in Jesus Christ.  We look at what it means to be active in living out Christian faith.  We come to understand what it is like to grow into a missionary disciple of Jesus Christ - sent to preach the Word by how we live our life.  We also discover the practical spirituality of discipleship - the Stewardship way of life, giving back to God the gifts he has entrusted to me.
 

The sessions in this area are:

• Conversion:  A lifelong process
• The Laity:  Called to build God's kingdom
• Your special gifts
• Family life
• Your prayer life
• Discernment
• Holiness
• Evangelization