The catechumenate (OCIA/RCIA)

01The answer

“How can I, unless some man shew me?”

He invites Philip up into the chariot to sit with him.⁶ Starting from that very page, Philip tells him about Jesus.⁷

Nobody expected him to work it out alone. Someone climbed up beside him and explained.

From the time of the apostles, becoming a Christian has been a journey in stages, which “can be covered rapidly or slowly.”¹

Many English-speaking parishes now call it OCIA, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. Other countries have their own names. Your parish will tell you what it is called locally.

Then, a little further down the road, they come to some water. And he asks the question this whole page is about.

02The turn

“What doth hinder me?”

“And as they went on their way, they came to a certain water. And the eunuch said: See, here is water: What doth hinder me from being baptized? And Philip said: If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. And he answering, said: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still. And they went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch. And he baptized him.”

He went on his way rejoicing.¹³

Your road may well be longer than one afternoon. That is fine too.

In the first centuries, a long period of preparation led step by step to the sacraments.¹⁴ The Second Vatican Council restored this path for adults, in several distinct steps.¹⁰

So what actually happens along the way? Less than you fear, and more than a class.

03The path

What the preparation is for

The catechumenate aims to bring your conversion and faith to maturity, “in union with an ecclesial community.” It introduces you to the life of faith, worship and charity of the Church.⁸

Certain things are always part of it: hearing the Word of God, accepting the Gospel and turning your life toward it, professing the faith, Baptism, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and coming to Holy Communion.¹

And here is the reassuring part: the faith asked of you at Baptism “is not a perfect and mature faith, but a beginning that is called to develop.”¹⁵

And the path leads somewhere: one celebration, three sacraments.

04The goal

Three sacraments, together

For adults, the path reaches its high point in a single celebration of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist.²

Baptism is the beginning of new life, Confirmation its strengthening, and the Eucharist the food that nourishes you with Christ’s Body and Blood.¹⁶

By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins.¹⁷

If you are already baptized in another Christian church, you will not be baptized again: “Given once for all, Baptism cannot be repeated.”¹⁸ You are already in a real, though imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church.¹⁹

Parishes usually prepare you to be received into full communion, often alongside the catechumens. Bring your baptism certificate if you have one.

And you will not do any of this alone. That is not a slogan. It is built in.

05The ending

Someone climbs up beside you

Godparents and sponsors must be firm believers, able and ready to help the newly baptized on the road of Christian life. The whole parish shares the responsibility.²⁰

At Baptism the Church asks a simple question: “What do you ask of God’s Church?” The answer is one word: “Faith!”¹⁵

A man on a desert road asked for someone to show him. Someone came. Your parish is that someone now.