The catechumenate (OCIA/RCIA)

01The answer

“How can I, unless someone explains it to me?”

So he invites Philip up into the chariot.⁶ Starting from that exact page, Philip tells him about Jesus.⁷

Nobody expected him to figure it out alone. Somebody climbed up next to him and explained. That’s still the plan.

Since the apostles, becoming a Christian has been a journey in stages, one that “can be covered rapidly or slowly.” Your pace.¹

In the US it’s usually called OCIA, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. Other places use other names. Your parish will tell you what they call it.

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

02The turn

“What is keeping me from being baptized?”

“As they went on the way, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being baptized?’ He commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.”

He’s baptized right there, and he heads home rejoicing.¹³

Your road will likely be longer than one afternoon. That’s fine. Really.

In the early Church, people prepared for a long time, step by step.¹⁴ The Second Vatican Council brought that path back for adults, in clear stages.¹⁰

So what actually happens? Less scary than you think, and way more than a class.

03The path

What the preparation is for

The point is to help your faith grow up, “in union with an ecclesial community.” You learn the faith, you learn to worship, you learn to serve, with real people.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 breathe: 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 road leads somewhere: one night, three sacraments.

04The goal

Three sacraments, together

For adults, it all comes together in one celebration of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist, usually at the Easter Vigil.²

Baptism starts the new life, Confirmation strengthens it, and the Eucharist feeds it with Christ’s Body and Blood.¹⁶

And in Baptism every sin is forgiven, original sin and every personal one. Clean slate.¹⁷

If you were baptized in another church, you won’t be baptized again: “Given once for all, Baptism cannot be repeated.”¹⁸ You’re already in real, though not yet full, communion with the Catholic Church.¹⁹

The parish will usually prepare you to be received into full communion, often alongside the catechumens. Dig out your baptism certificate if you have one.

And you won’t do any of this alone. That’s not a slogan. It’s built into the process.

05The ending

Someone climbs up beside you

You get a sponsor or godparent: a solid believer ready to walk the road with you. And the whole parish shares the job.²⁰

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

A man on a desert road needed someone to show him. Someone showed up. Your parish is that someone now.