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Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults

2011-2012
S
cope & Sequence

Wednesday. Sept. 28, 2011.  Facilitator: Sr. Michaela Galles
Images of God and Personal Prayer
The purpose of this session is to help catechumens understand how our personal experiences shape our "image" of God, and how personal images of God shape our prayer and spiritual life.
Scriptural Correlation for 27th Sunday (A)/Mt. 33-43 – This week’s Gospel, like last week’s, is also about conversion – or, in this case, a failure to hear God’s Word and respond.  The “image” of God in this Gospel is not so much of a vengeful judge, but of a lover who passionately desires a partner who will respond to his love.  This is never a once-and-forever choice, but a choice we make every day, day after day, week after week.

U.S. Catechism: Chp. 5, 35, 36
0691 Our Images of God
0788 Trinity
0598 Christian Spirituality
0381 Pathways of Prayer

Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011.  Facilitator: Dave Cushing
The Journey of Faith and Grace/Personal Life Stories
The purpose of this session is to help catechumens understand faith as a personal decision, informed by grace, which shapes our journey through life.  We will talk about how faith grows and develops and try to identify major events in each person's personal "journey of faith."
Scriptural Correlation for 26th Sunday (A)/Mt. 21:28-32
This week’s Gospel reminds us that faith involves not just how we think, but how we act.  It is not enough to say we believe, we must also act like we believe.  Conversion means repentance, transformation and change in our minds and in our hearts.  All of us are in the process of growing and changing in response to God’s love.

U.S. Catechism: Chp. 1, 2, 4.
0488 Conversion
1086 What Catholic Believe
1000 How Catholics Understand Grace

Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011.  Facilitator: Pam Johnston
Church Tour
The purpose of this session is to give catechumens an opportunity to explore a Catholic worship space and to understand how the architecture and appointments contribute to the nature and purpose of the liturgy.
Scriptural Correlation for 28th Sunday (A)/Mt. 22:1-14 – The image of the wedding feast in this week’s Gospel reminds us that when we gather to worship we are gathering in response to God’s invitation.  We gather to re-member, to give thanks, to celebrate and to encounter God’s love;  the place where we gather should help us accomplish this communal act of worship. If we gather for any other reason, we are like the guest who came unprepared to the feast.

U.S. Catechism: Chp. 9, 27
0391 Tour of the Church
0698 Participating Fully at Mass
}0292 Invitation to Prayer

Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. Facilitator: Fr. Jaeger
Our Public Prayer: the Mass
The purpose of this session is to give catechumens an overview of the structure and meaning of the Catholic Mass, and to help you appreciate the role of the liturgy as the "source and summit" of Catholic life.
Scriptural Correlation for 29th Sunday (A)/Mt. 22:15-21
When Catholics gather to celebrate the liturgy, we are reminded that we live in the “in-between” times.  The new creation which God began in his Son Jesus Christ is not yet complete; therefore, we often experience a tension between what belongs to the past and what belongs to the future.  Our participation in the Mass helps us understand the difference and stay focused on the future.

U.S. Catechism: Chp. 10, 14
0391 A Walk Through the Mass
The Order of the Mass for Catechumens

Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011.  Faciliator: Fr. Comparan
The Communion of Saints
The purpose of this session is to help catechumens appreciate the Catholic understanding of Church as the “People of God” and the “Communion of Saints;” and to appreciate Mary's role as the first and best example of what we are called to become.
> 30th Sunday (A)/Mt. 22:34-40 – If you could reduce the whole message of God’s revelation to humankind, it might be this: there is a Creator who passionately loves Creation and each of us.  And God’s love for us empowers us to love in return – to love God, to love others, to love ourselves.  The Communion of Saints includes all who have heard that message and responded.

U.S. Catechism: Chp. 13
1187 The Communion of Saints
0591 Mary of Nazareth
0587 Mary: A Woman Among Us

Wednesday. Nov. 2, 2011.  Facilitator: Hazel Martin
Introduction to the Bible
The purpose of this session is to help catechumens appreciate the origin of the Bible, its content and format, the Catholic understanding of Revelation, and the role of Scripture in Catholic worship and life.
> 31st Sunday(A)/Mt. 23:1-12 – The Bible reveals how our ancestors experienced God’s work in the world and came to believe that there was a God who loved and cared for Creation.  This week’s Gospel reminds us that the work of Creation and Redemption is God’s work.  We miss the point if we forget that and start acting like we’re in charge.  Our role is to respond by cooperating with God’s work. 

U.S. Catechism: Chp. 23
N0194 Bible From Square One
N0898 Finding the Face of God
N0798 Reading the Good Book

Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011.  Facilitator: Bev Byford
Introduction to the Sacraments
The purpose of this session is to help catechumens appreciate the Catholic principle of sacramentality and how that principle is expressed in the seven official sacraments and various sacramentals of the Catholic Church.
Scriptural Correlation for 32nd Sunday (A)/Mt. 25:1-13
The parable in this week’s Gospel reminds us that we live in the present, waiting for something (and Someone) who is still to come.  We are waiting (and preparing) for the completion of God’s work begun in Creation and redeemed by the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.  Catholics encounter this future-coming in the living Body of Christ, and we celebrate this experience in the Sacraments.

U.S. Catechism: Chp. 14-21
0895 What Are Sacraments?
0893 Sacraments: It All Starts
Q0504 Seven Sacraments: One Mystery

Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011.  Facilitator: Dave Cushing
The Catholic Imagination
The purpose of this session is to help catechumens appreciate the four principle characteristics of the “Catholic Imagination” and how they are embodied, experienced and expressed in Catholic worship, ritual and teaching.
Scriptural Correlation for 33rd Sunday (A)/Mt. 25:14-30
Catholics believe that God is at work in the world, transforming and redeeming Creation and humankind.  Our role as disciples of Jesus is not just to wait, but to cooperate with God.  Like the faithful servants in this week’s Gospel, God invites us to get actively involved in transforming the world, using our gifts and talents as best we can to make a difference.

0699 Being Truly Catholic
1008 Why Catholics Care About Creation

Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011.  Facilitator: Nancy Rigel
The End Times and Final Things
The purpose of this session is to help catechumens understand what the Catholic Church believes about heaven, hell, purgatory, and final judgement; and how what we believe about life after death is expressed and celebrated in the Catholic funeral rites.
Scriptural Correlation for 1st Sunday in Advent (B)/Mk. 13:33-37
This Sunday’s Gospel reminds us that we do not know the exact time when this world will finally pass away and God's Kingdom will finally arrive in its fullness.  We live in the “in-between” time, slowly dying to one way of living and confident that a new one is dawning.  This hope is reflected in what Catholics believe and in how we celebrate at the time of a person’s death.

U.S. Catechism: Chp. 13
0593 The "Last Times"
0993 What Catholics Believe About the End of the World
0702 The Mystery of Suffering

Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011.  Facilitator: Msgr. Wilgenbusch
The Liturgical Year
The purpose of this session is to help catechumens appreciate the Catholic understanding of time, and how that concept is expressed in the Liturgical Year and the Lectionary.
Scriptural Correlation for 2nd Sunday in Advent (B)/Mk. 1:1-8
John the Baptist is the voice, crying out in the desert: Get ready! Prepare!  As we prepare to celebrate the Incarnation of Jesus Christ at Christmas, we are reminded that we are just one part, one stage, in God’s plan for the transformation and redemption of Creation.  The Liturgical Year, which begins in Advent and ends in November, helps us see and experience the “big-picture” of salvation history.

U.S. Catechism: Chp. 14
1195 Liturgical Year
1090 Lectionary: Heart of the Bible
N0119 Mark’s Urgent Message

Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011.  Facilitator: Fr. Kopacek
The Old Testament/Prophets and Promise
The purpose of this session is to give catechumens an overview of the structure, themes and major events of the Old Testament, and the role it plays in helping Christians understand the New Testament.
Scriptural Correlation for 3rd Sunday in Advent (B)/Jn. 1:6-8,19-28
John the Baptist stands at the crossroads of salvation history, announcing the beginning of a new age and the arrival of Someone greater than all who have gone before: the Son of God, Jesus the Christ.  Everything that went before, recorded for us in the Old Testament, was merely a preparation for this decisive moment in the history of God’s Creation.

U.S. Catechism: Chp. 6
1189 Finding Your Way Through the Old Testament
0489 The Whole Bible at a Glance
N0801 Covenant

Wednesday, December 21, 2011.  Facilitator: Fr. McDermott
Chrsitian Testament/Incarnation and Christology
The purpose of this session is to give catechumens an overview of the structure, major events and key theological concepts of the New Testament Gospels and Letters, with particular emphasis on how Catholic Christians understand the Incarnation, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Scriptural Correlation for 4th Sunday in Advent (B)/Lk.1-36,38
Like John the Baptist and the prophets before him, the angel who appears to Mary in today’s Gospel announces the arrival of a new and decisive stage in salvation history.  With the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, God enters into human history in a new and more powerful way; “Emmanuel” is now God-with-us until the end of time.

0102 Incarnation: Why Did God Want to Become Human?
1208 Jesus the Jew
0985 Who Is Jesus?

Wednesday, January 4, 2012.  Facilitator: Hazel Martin
Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism and Confirmation
The main purpose of this session is to help catechumens appreciate the Catholic understanding of initiation (or conversion) and how it is expressed ritually in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
Solemnity of Mary (B)/Lk. 2:16-21
God extends the same invitation to us that he did to the Virgin Mary; we too are chosen to bring Jesus Christ into the world where we live.  Catholics celebrate this invitation and our response in the Sacraments of Initiation.  Here we proclaim our own response to God’s invitation; like Mary, we are servants of the Lord, willing to accept God’s will for us.

1906 Baptism: Our Lifelong Commitment
1095 Confirmation: Deepening
0409 Sacraments of Initiation

Wednesday, January 11, 2012.  Facilitator: Bev Byford
The Eucharist
This session is an extension of the previous session on the Sacraments of Initiation.  The purpose of this session is to help catechumens understand the role of Eucharist as the source and summit of our continuing transformation into the People of God, the Body of Christ.
Scriptural Correlation for the Solemnity of the Epiphany (B)/Mt. 2:1-12
In Sunday’s Gospel we read about the Magi, wise men from afar who recognized the young Christ Child as the Messiah, the Savior  – not just for the Jewish people, but for all humankind.  We gather at the Eucharist to proclaim, to celebrate and to give thanks for this Savior, the Messiah, Emmanuel (“God-with-us”), truly present in this holy communion, the Body of Christ.

0705 Finding Jesus in the Eucharist
0199 Eucharist: Understanding Christ’s
0301 Real Presence

Wednesday, January 18, 2012.  Facilitator: Fr. Jaeger
Structure of the Church and Sacrament of Orders
The purpose of this session is to help catechumens understand how the Catholic Church is structured ("ordered") and how Catholics understand the role of the ordained priest in the life and worship of the faith community.
Scriptural Correlation for 2nd Sunday (B)/Jn. 1:35-42
In Sunday’s Gospel John records the response of the early disciples when they met Jesus: “We have found the Messiah!”  The Church which emerged from this early community of believers has grown up and changed over the years, but it exists for the very same reason: to proclaim to the world, in both words and deeds, “We have found the Messiah!”

1082 Roman Curia
0184 Papacy in a World of Change
0388 Infallibility and Church
0709 The Priesthood Today
0797 Holy Orders

Wednesday, January 25, 2012.  Facilitator: Dave Cushing
Sacrament of Marriage
The purpose of this session is to help catechumens understand how incorporation into the Body of Christ calls people to express their commitment in specific life-choices such as marriage, and to explain how Catholics understand the Sacrament of Marriage.
Scriptural Correlation for 3rd Sunday (B)/Mk. 1:14-20
In this week’s Gospel we hear Mark’s version of how Jesus called the first disciples.  We believe that Jesus calls each one of us; we all have a “vocation” (a word which comes from the original Latin word for “being called”).   Some of us are called to become priests, brothers or sisters; others are called to marriage or the single life.

0597 Spirituality of Marriage
0801 Vocations: How God is Calling Me
0509 Ten Tips for Married Couples
1209 The Holy Family

Wednesday, February 1, 2012.  Facilitator: Fr. McDermott
Sacraments of Healing/Anointing & Reconciliation
The purpose of this session is to help catechumens appreciate the role of healing and forgiveness in the life of the Catholic community, and how those gifts are expressed and experienced in the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Anointing.
Scriptural Correlation for 4th Sunday (B)/Mk. 1:21-28
We learn from the Gospels that one of the things that initially attracted people to Jesus was that he spoke and acted in a new way.  He cured the sick and cast out demons; more important, he healed people’s spiritual ills.  The Church continues Jesus’ ministry of healing, particularly through the Sacraments of Healing: Reconciliation and Anointing.

0800 How to Celebrate Reconciliation
0197 Understanding Sin Today
0609 The Sacrament of Reconciliation
0384 Why Confess My Sins?
0196 Anointing the Sick

Wednesday, February 8, 2012.  Fr. Kopacek
The Christian Moral Vision
The purpose of this session is to help catechumens understand how faith shapes the way Catholic Christians live their lives both in private and in public and the role which the Magisterium plays in defining what is right (virtuous) and what is wrong (sinful) based on a combination of Revelation and the natural law.
Scriptural Correlation for 5th Sunday (B)/Mk. 1:29-29
Disciples of Jesus Christ are called not only to heal what is broken, but to live personal and communal lives which promote reconciliation, mercy and justice.  Our first responsibility, if we want to live as Jesus did, might be summarized in the phrase “do no harm.”  We must start by avoiding sinful behavior which harms ourselves, other people, the community or creation.

0896 Catholic Morality
1282 Your Conscience and Church Teaching
1291 The Beatitudes: Finding Where Your Treasure Is
0798 A Consistent Ethic of Life

Wednesday, February 15, 2012. Facilitator: Sr. Michaela
Mission of the Church in the World
The purpose of this session is to help catechumens understand the mission of the Church in the world; this includes the role of evangelization and Catholic Social Teaching.
Scriptural Correlation for 6th Sunday (B)/Mk. 1:40-45
We see in this week’s Gospel the response of a leper who is touched by God’s healing power: he gives witness in word and deed to the amazing grace which has transformed his life.  As disciples of Jesus, we have a responsibility to share this healing power in both word and deed – not just to individuals, but to the communities and societies in which we live.

0888 Eight Good Reasons for Being Catholic
0410 Works of Mercy

Monday, April 09, 2012.  Barb Duggan
Reflection on the Paschal Mystery and Initiation
The purpose of this session is to give the newly baptized an opportunity to reflect on their experience of the Easter Vigil and how it affects and expresses their incorporation into the Paschal Mystery of Jesus.
Scriptural Correlation for the Easter Vigil/Mk. 16:1-8
We are all in many ways like the disciples who first discovered the empty tomb: whether we became disciples of Jesus many years ago, or were just baptized at the Easter Vigil, all of us are sometimes amazed, bewildered or trembling to discover again that the Lord has Risen and goes ahead of us.  We cannot allow our fear to prevent us from sharing what we have seen and heard.

0305 We Believe in the Resurrection
1091 The Mission of Christ
0585 What It Means to Be Church

Monday, April 16, 2012. Pam Johnston
Parish Life and Ministry
The purpose of this session is to help the newly baptized appreciate the opportunities they have to express their gifts and talents in the parish faith community and the world at large.
Scriptural Correlation for 2nd Sunday in Easter (B)/Jn. 20:19-31
The disciples in this week’s Gospel are like our parish communities.  Over and over we also need to be reassured by Jesus’ words: “Peace be with you.”  Over and over we need to be reminded that whether people hear the good news and are freed from sin or not depends on us.  Like Thomas, we too need to see and touch the Body of Christ in order to overcome our fears.

1004 Eucharist: Food for the Mission
0804 Seven Secrets of Effective Parishioners
0693 Stewardship: Why the Parish Needs Your Time, Treasure
0808 Being Catholic Today

Monday, April 23, 2012.  Facilitator: Bev Byford
(Potluck and Celebration)

Wednesday, October 5, 2012.  Facilitator: Dave Cushing
Final Mystagogia
The purpose of this session is to help the newly initiated reflect on their experience of participation in the life of the Catholic community since initiation and to address any concerns, questions or problems.

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Posted: 08.17.11 • Last Update: 08.24.11

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The Catholic parishes in Waterloo are committed to providing life-long faith formation and spiritual growth for adults of all ages. We value individual life experience, respect the diversity of personal convictions, and welcome the wisdom of every participant. We encourage conversation and dialogue. We will never intentionally embarrass or offend participants.

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