Facilitators of RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults)

02/21/2019

Council: 11257 - PORTLAND

Project Description:

Two of our Knights are co-facilitators of the Right of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) for Our Lady of Hope Parish. They are Brother Gil Doughty and Deacon John McAuliffe along with Gil’s wife Laurie. Gil and Laurie attended a 2 day RCIA leadership training session sponsored by Fr. Paul Sullivan and run by nationally recognized RCIA authors and instructors Nick Wagner and Mary Birmingham.
Our group meets weekly on Sunday evenings after mass for 2 hours per session. There are presently 5 candidates working toward joining the catholic faith and being confirmed at the Easter Vigil. Candidates attend 5pm mass and are dismissed following the Homily to delve deeper into the scripture and the homily for the message and its meaning. Deacon John sometimes is there but most times joins us after the Mass.
Gil Doughty and his wife lead the first section of the meeting called “Breaking Open the Word” which examines the readings of the day and Father’s homily in depth and then responds to questions and comments the candidates have about the message and its meaning. This includes my personal experience with conversion and RCIA as well as talks about what the catechism says about their questions. After 20-30 minutes Gil opens the session to questions and comments regarding additional readings we provide on a weekly basis. We have a regular handout called “the Journey” and often add other handouts that I find relevant to the weeks liturgical message. The group discusses how they feel about what they have read and heard and how they see God working in their lives.
After mass, Deacon John joins the group. He joins the session and provides the expertise on theology and official church teachings that the candidates have questions about.
Easter Vigil is the target date for entry into the faith because of its significance, but it is not mandatory. Candidates will be invited to join the church whenever they and the RCIA team believe they are spiritually ready to do do.