Dear Friends,
Some things change; some things stay the same.
As for change, I’m modifying slightly our OCIA process. OCIA (formerly RCIA) stands for Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. It’s the formation process the Church provides to prepare the unbaptized for baptism and to live the Catholic Faith after the Easter Vigil.
Starting September 10th, this year’s OCIA will meet weekly instead of biweekly. This means every Thursday evening from 6 to 7:30pm we will gather for a meal and then make a pilgrimage into the holy places of what Catholics believe, how we worship, how we live, and how we pray. The Bible and the Catechism will be our guides, and I will be inviting guests in to share their love for God and His Church as well as their expertise in certain areas.
We will engage our minds, hearts, souls, and yes, have some fun along the way. Jesus wants us to enjoy loving Him and our neighbors!
If you’re not baptized, or if you are a non-Catholic Christian, and interested in the Catholic Faith, I invite you to consider OCIA here at the Cathedral. There’s no obligation, just an invitation to learn more about Jesus, to consider becoming his disciple, and to encounter the ancient Tradition of the Catholic Church.
If you are interested, please contact the Cathedral office.
As for things staying the same, our Families of Faith program will forge ahead from where we left off. For those unfamiliar, Families of Faith is our formation program for families with school-aged children. It’s purpose is to help parents be the first and best teachers of the Faith to their children.
While the children are being taught by our excellent catechists, the parents will continue with me or another presenter the topic we didn’t finish last year: the Catholic Church and Science.
Topics will include Jesus’ self-offering, the purpose and benefit of the Church, the four kinds of happiness, and how we transform suffering through faith and prayer. If your family would like to join us for this, please call the Cathedral office. We meet the first and third Sundays after the 5pm Mass starting with a potluck on September 6th.
With gratitude and joy for the days ahead!
Fr. Seth