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For parishes

The parish OCIA kit.

Printable one-page handouts for each session, a guide for sponsors, and a code on every page that opens the full lesson on a phone. You may print and copy them. Every teaching is cited to the Catechism, Scripture and Church law.

Get the handouts Sponsor guide

8session handouts
1sponsor guide
A4 + Letterone page each
0sign-ups or fees

Session handouts: Becoming Catholic

Six short steps, from Jesus to joining a parish. Hand one out at the end of a session; the code opens the full lesson, video and sources.

  1. Session 1Who is Jesus?Everything starts with a person.
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  2. Session 2Why a Church?Jesus did not leave us alone.
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  3. Session 3The SacramentsSeven ways Christ meets us.
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  4. Session 4The MassWhat happens at Mass, and why it matters every Sunday.
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  5. Session 5PrayerHow to start praying, even if you have no idea what to say.
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  6. Session 6The catechumenate (OCIA/RCIA)The months of getting ready: what OCIA is and what it asks of you.
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  7. Session 7The road: stages, rites and your sponsorYou don’t do this alone, and you don’t do it all at once.
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  8. Session 8The Easter VigilA dark church. One candle. Then everything.
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For sponsors

Walking beside someone.

A sponsor helps an adult through Christian initiation and then helps them live the Christian life. CIC 872 One page on what the role is, who can take it on, and what to do each week.

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A simple way to use them

  1. BeforeLeaders read the lesson online; it takes about ten minutes.
  2. DuringRead the key points aloud and talk through the two common questions.
  3. AfterGive out the handout. The “Try this, this week” box is the homework.
  4. Next timeBegin by asking what people tried.
Handouts for the other journeys

Curious, or no faith

  1. Session 1Is anyone there?The restless heart that keeps asking.
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  2. Session 2The case for GodNot a lab result. More like a detective story.
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  3. Session 3Can we trust the Gospels?Eyewitnesses, set down in order.
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  4. Session 4Did Jesus really rise?Everything hangs on one Sunday morning.
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  5. Session 5Why a Church at all?Jesus didn’t write a book. He gathered people.
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  6. Session 6What Catholics believe, on one pageThe Creed: what every Catholic believes, in a few short lines.
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  7. Session 7Common fearsNicodemus came by night.
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  8. Session 8Talk to someone“How can I, unless someone explains it to me?”
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Evangelical, Pentecostal or Protestant

  1. Session 1What we shareStart with what is already true between us.
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  2. Session 2The Bible and TraditionWe agree the Bible is God’s word. The question is how it reached you.
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  3. Session 3Faith and worksSaved by grace. Both sides say it. So why the fight?
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  4. Session 4The Lord’s Supper“This is My body.” What if He meant it?
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  5. Session 5Peter and the popeJesus gave one man keys. Why?
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  6. Session 6Mary: honored, not worshipedWhat Catholics actually believe about the mother of Jesus.
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  7. Session 7The saints, and asking for prayersLike asking a friend to pray for you.
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  8. Session 8Coffee and next stepsYou don’t have to agree with everything to take a next step.
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From another faith

  1. Session 1Welcome, as you areTwo great faiths, one huge question: who is God?
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  2. Session 2One God, not threeThe Trinity, explained without the fog.
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  3. Session 3Jesus: prophet, and moreYou honor Him. We worship Him. Here’s why.
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  4. Session 4The cross and the empty tombThe one place we can’t both be right.
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  5. Session 5Mary, honored by bothThe only woman named in the Qur’an. Catholics love her too.
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  6. Session 6For Jewish visitors, and every faithOur elder brothers, and every seeker.
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  7. Session 7If you want to know moreCuriosity isn’t betrayal. And nobody here will push you.
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Someone I love is Catholic

  1. Session 1What they believe, in five minutesThe whole thing, on one coffee break.
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  2. Session 2Going to Mass with themOne hour. Here’s what happens.
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  3. Session 3Words you’ll hearA plain glossary. No jargon, promise.
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  4. Session 4Why they care about Sunday, confession and FridaysThe rules make more sense when you see the relationship.
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  5. Session 5Weddings, baptisms and funeralsWhat to expect, where to sit, and what to say.
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  6. Session 6Talking about it togetherYou don’t have to agree to understand.
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I was Catholic once

  1. Session 1You are welcome backWhen he was yet a great way off.
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  2. Session 2What may have changed since you leftThe same yesterday, today and for ever.
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  3. Session 3Hard questions and hurts, honestly“Do you have affection for me?”
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  4. Session 4How confession works now“Zacheus, make haste and come down.”
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  5. Session 5Back to MassYour first Sunday back. What to do, what to skip, what to expect.
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  6. Session 6“Is my situation fixable?”Married outside the Church. Divorced. Something worse. Read this first.
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  7. Session 7A simple habit of prayerFive minutes. Same time. Every day. Start there.
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Please note

  • This kit supports your parish’s own OCIA program (called RCIA in many countries); it does not replace the priest, the team or the rite. Your parish sets the order and schedule.
  • The text of the rite itself (the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) is copyrighted and is not reproduced here; your parish has the official book.
  • The codes currently open our preview site (stoneandincense.com). They will be switched to our permanent address before launch; handouts printed before then point at the preview, so download fresh copies after launch.