St. Alexander Christian Initiation 2023-2024

 

The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults is a journey to a deeper relationship with Christ and full initiation into the Catholic faith. It involves several components: 

 

• Spiritual growth:  Being Roman Catholic is about learning how to respond to the call of Jesus Christ to follow Him. It is also a call to be part of a community of fellow believers trying to find their way in this world. We allow you to explore this with others who share a similar search. This search may or may not result in full initiation into the Church; that will be up to you. But we welcome and encourage you on this journey. 

• Religious Instruction: We welcome you to learn more about what the Catholic Church teaches. We hope to guide you to an informed decision about whether God is calling you to become Catholic. 

• Ritual familiarity and comfort: "Why do Catholics do that?" We will answer all your questions and teach you how to be comfortable with our rituals and actions. You will be encouraged to participate in several ritual milestones that gradually introduce you to the full experience of becoming Catholic, beginning with a rite of acceptance on December 3rd, where we welcome you to our congregation as "curious seekers!" If you still feel called to become Catholic, you may be baptized at our candlelight Easter Vigil (Saturday evening before Easter Sunday), where you will be officially and fully received into the Church. Here are the milestones that are specific to the calendar: 

  • Rite of Acceptance: Sunday, December 3rd, 11:00 am (first Sunday of Advent)

  • Rite of Election: Sunday, February 18th at the Cathedral, time TBA (1st Sunday of Lent)

  • 1st Scrutiny*: Sunday March 3rd, 11:00 am (in the parish, 3rd Sunday of Lent) 

  • 2nd Scrutiny*: Sunday March 10th (4th Sunday in Lent)

  • 3rd Scrutiny*: Sunday March 17th (5th Sunday in Lent)

  • Baptism and full reception - Easter Vigil: Saturday, March 30th, 8:30 pm. 

 

*Scrutiny: There is no test!!! Scrutiny is a special blessing we pray over our candidates, beginning their final preparation to be received into the Church.  

 

How our journey will unfold: 

 

We encourage you to attend our weekend Masses regularly and participate in any of our programs and activities in our parish. During Mass, you will not be able to receive communion, but you can still come up for a blessing and participate in all the readings, responses and various actions. You can bring your family or a friend — all are welcome.  

 

This year, we invite you to join us starting Wednesday, October 11th, at 6:30 in our small meeting room. Our last meeting in the fall will be December 13th, then we will begin again on January 10th and continue until April 17th, a few weeks after easter. 

 

Each evening, we will begin with an opening prayer and any topics or questions that you might have about our faith. We will also review the scripture readings from the previous week, inviting you to comment on them or share how they might have impacted you on the weekend or in the moment. Then, we will spend the remainder of the session working through some of the topics below. Remember that this is not a "course" but a life-long journey. Topics for Discussion:

 

• Who is Jesus Christ? An introduction to the life of Jesus through the Gospels.  

• Who is God? How is God revealed to us? An overview of the bible, including several highlights: Creation, Exodus, King David, Prophets, Babylonian Exile, New Testament, Revelation

• The seven sacraments: ​

  • Baptism

  • Eucharist

  • Confirmation

  • Reconciliation

  • Anointing of the sick

  • Marriage

  • Holy Orders

• What is prayer? How do we pray? ​

  • Contemplative prayer

  • Adoration

  • Devotions

    • Divine Mercy

    • Rosary

    • Divine Office

• Foundations of Christian ethics - how do we know right from wrong? 

• What is the Church? How is it structured? How can it guide us? 

• What is our purpose in life? 

 

We welcome you to this journey of faith and pray that God will touch your heart to receive all of God's blessings in this life and eternity in heaven.