Tuesday 13 August --- We are offering two RCIA workshops this August—one focused on the planning, preparation and promotion of RCIA in the parish and the other on adapting the Rite for the preparation and initiation of children. These workshops are suitable for those new to and interested in the RCIA and those involved in catechetics or sacrament preparation (particularly the sacraments of initiation). Both workshops will be offered twice, to enable as many coordinators to attend. 

Rev. Dr Elio Capra SDB talks about the period of mystagogy, which takes place during the fifty days of Easter. "For those who have gone through the RCIA journey, this is the period for ‘mystagogy’. It is a time for mystagogical catechesis, not only for the ‘neophytes’ (the newly baptised), but also for the rest of us, the ‘old-phytes’. We are all on a mystagogical journey which only finishes ‘when our lives return to their source in the inexhaustible mystery of God’ (Nathan Mitchell, in Assembly: A Journal of Liturgical Theology, 2000). This is a theological way of saying that we all need mystagogical catechesis until the day we die and meet Jesus Christ face to face."

Lent offers an invitation to actively reorientate ourselves to God, because for Christians, God—and the one who was so loved, Jesus—is the heart and the soul of life. We are offered beautiful and ancient tools to help us enter into this time—tools of being prayerful, of living more simply and living more generously. Parishes are invited to download these free and easy-to-use resources for prayer and discussion throughout Lent, including these weekly podcast episodes exploring the gospels through art and prayer.

On the Feast of St Patrick over 1,200 people gathered at St Patrick’s Cathedral on an autumnal Sunday afternoon for the annual Rite of Election. It is at this Rite that those who are preparing for the Easter sacraments—accompanied by parish RCIA team members, fellow parishioners, family, sponsors and godparents—are presented to the Archbishop and the wider Catholic community.

The ideal qualities of an RCIA team member will be informed by the kind of environment we wish to create. 

Previously known as the 'Take Home Sheet' and 'The Catechumenal Journey', Exploring the Word is useful for catechists as it offers a closer look at the Scripture of the day and how it makes more explicit God’s word to us through the teachings of Jesus Christ. Practical ideas are also offered for connecting the Gospel and daily life, and suggested music and environment.