Order of Christian Initiation of Adults

So you can hear the fine folks at Ascension.

Check out ascensionpress.com slash invited for the new OCIA curriculum.

Love it.

I've been going on the radio doing a lot of PR stuff about that.

We weren't going every Sunday, but definitely it was like two, three Sundays a month now versus twice, three times a year.

And so then he said, I want to join RCIA, and he did.

And he came into the church three years ago.

And during that time, I remember listening to Patricia Sandoval's abortion testimony.

So I would say first, like the importance of living the faith at that small community level is so important.

And that's where it's a challenge for new Catholics coming in sometimes is you go through OCIA, you have a great group of people meeting every week together.

You have this sense of community.

And then if you don't immediately get into like a smaller group, like a Bible study or something, it can begin to start to pull you back right because you're just coming in on sundays now and you're not maybe connecting with the group that you had connected with before a lot of your friend group has not become catholic like that was a journey you were on not not all of your the people you were with and so that importance of of that small community again it can be simple things like a bible study or joining a social outreach group or something like that in the parish Just finding a way of a smaller group or even just, you know, a couple people get together, pray the rosary and have dinner or something.

And I don't think she understood anything of, you know, the real faith.

It's not like in Catholicism, we go through OCIA and they go through every question and make sure you, are you sure, you know, it's the opposite of that.

So if that answers your

question.

And I explained it very clearly.

You know, I feel like I've been very clearly led here.

Um, So it wasn't too bad, but I did want to touch on as we went through OCIA and became Catholic.

So we actually just were baptized this past Easter.

And they're just accessible to everybody.

And I think you mentioned helping out with OCIA and parishes and You know, the numbers of people seeking baptism in the church or just a full communion with the church have grown.

And I really think so much of that is inspired by the amount of podcasts, media, things like Iowa Catholic Radio, the shows that are recorded so you can go back and look up topics that you're intrigued by.

All of those are just so valuable and I think with the recent beatification of Fulton Sheen, it's just, you know, something that he was so impactful and now has led to this is just such a profound sign of God's goodness and care for his church in America.

They keep trying to get their answers.

Maybe it's from Catholic Answers Live or maybe it's from some of the other content that they might hear on Iowa Catholic Radio.

What's the first step that they should make in terms of taking actual action? We talk about OCIA, but someone who had to get the courage to make a phone call, knock on a door, they had to say hello to somebody.

What's that first step, Carmen, that someone who's wrestling with this, that feels God on their heart, sending them in this direction towards the Catholic Church, what should they do first?

And they're just accessible to everybody.

And I think you mentioned helping out with OCIA and parishes.

You know, the numbers of people seeking baptism in the church or just a full communion with the church have grown.

And I really think so much of that is inspired by the amount of podcasts, media, things like Iowa Catholic Radio, the shows that are recorded so you can go back and look up topics that you're intrigued by.

Yeah, you know, we're kind of in full swing with our event planning.

So November 1st, we have a youth conference called Call that's in Granville, so in the northwest part of the state, that's open to all middle school and high schoolers.

For older Catholics, maybe your kids are older and looking for a way to help at the local parish level, whether it be with OCIA, a parish ministry.

Carmen, what are the first steps you would encourage us to take today?

Years ago, they were called minor orders, but first he was an acolyte, now he's a lector, so he's moving closer and closer towards priesthood.

Ike Dawson actually was not Catholic, became Catholic through our own OCIA program, got involved here at the parish, felt the calling and stirring, entered the seminary, and he's moving along beautifully, enjoying being there a lot.

And then we have a wonderful young man named Noah.

Noah is there as well, came from our Life Team program.

Yeah.

Well, I've noticed, you know, even with like, you know, cause I helped run the OCIA stuff and that's not really an issue that people bring up a lot, right.

Every once in a while, I'll get a question about that.

But I think mostly with a lot of these young people right there, you know, completely satisfied with the answer of like, well, yeah, we recognize that people in the church are very fallible.