The first session of RCIA went great! There were around 30-40 people in attendance. The people came from all different backgrounds and cultures. There were a handful of couples there as well as many singles. I would say half the class had a protestant background while the other half were cradle Catholics wanting to return to the Church. I was surprised to find out that RCIA is an 8-9 month process of spiritual discipleship and discernment. This is a lot different than the churches I've attended in the past. In the previous churches I was a part of the discipleship process to become a member consisted of a one day class and an interview with a pastor. I really appreciate the length the church goes through to make sure new members thoroughly understand the faith.
The RCIA leader at St. Patrick's is Jason Whitehead. He seems like a passionate lover of Jesus and the Catholic Church. Jason shared a little bit of his testimony with the group and I was surprised to find out we have a lot of similarities in our background. He grew up Southern Baptist and went to a Baptist college and eventually became a Baptist preacher. Through reading the Church Fathers (click the link to read more about the Church Fathers). He discovered that the earliest disciples of the Apostles were Catholic as Catholic gets in their theology, ecclesiology, and orthopraxy. Reading the Fathers has also helped me in my journey toward the Catholic Church. One of the major topics that all the early Fathers agreed upon and taught was the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist (Click the link to read more about the Eucharist). I was always taught that Jesus' words in John 6 and at the last supper were to be taken symbolically and metaphorically. That started to make me think, if the first disciples of the Apostles writing in the late 100's AD and early 200's AD taught and believed Jesus was truly present in the Eucharist, why don't I believe that?
Jason closed the night by teaching on the concept of Love and how Agape Love is a verb, not a noun or adjective. That love is the end and goal of the Christian life. That God is Love. He focused a lot on grace as well. He talked about how God is Trinity. That heaven is more than just a get out of hell card, that Heaven is all about the Beatific Vision, which is beholding God face to face. That's what life is all about right? To know Jesus and see him Face to Face one day! I'm looking forward to next week!
God Bless,
James
