OCIA Coordinators’ Weekly Update 12/06/2024
OCIA: Forging a Relationship with Christ and His Church
December 06, 2024
(for the previous week’s update, please scroll down and click the left arrow found towards the bottom of the screen)
At the beginning of our recent OCIA session, Father Brett reminded our OCIA participants, sponsors and the Team, of the key focus of the Order for Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA). This journey is about establishing and deepening a relationship with Christ through His Church.
In the first paragraph of the Introduction to the OCIA, we are reminded that this journey “is designed for adults who, upon hearing the proclamation of the mystery of Christ as the Holy Spirit opens their hearts, consciously and freely seek the living God and undertake the journey of faith and conversion.”
A few paragraphs later, the OCIA reminds us of our role as Church, “the People of God, represented by the local Church, should always realize and show that the Initiation of adults is its own concern and a matter for all the baptized…In the varying circumstances of everyday life, as in the apostolate, every disciple of Christ is individually obliged to spread the faith.”
How do we, as the Church, deepen our relationship with Christ and draw energy for spreading the faith? We grow in faith in the same ways that those in the OCIA do: through prayer, reflecting on the Scriptures and by participating in the liturgy.
In prayer we open our hearts to listen to God. Sometimes we treat prayer as one-way conversation: asking, pleading, and thanking God. Prayer also involves silence and listening. Listening to God in the quiet of our hearts follows the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary who was approached by the Angel and responded from her heart when she was called to be the mother of God’s very Son, Jesus.
The Scriptures, especially the gospels, are a font of wisdom which contain the good news Jesus preached and lived. They are a school for us, teaching us how to trust God and seek Christ in one another. “Lord, when did we see you?”
In the liturgy of the Mass, prayers and Scriptures open us up to “lift up our hearts!” Jesus’ own sacrifice of His life is present on our altar. We are invited to make peace with one another before processing to the table where Christ nourishes us with his Body and Blood as sustenance for our journey. We are then missioned to go forth to share this good news with the world around us.
There is still time to join our OCIA journey toward the sacraments of Initiation into Christ and His Church. If you are unbaptized, baptized in another Christian Church or a baptized Catholic seeking Confirmation, the OCIA journey welcomes you.
You may still join us by registering at this link.
For more information, please contact Ed Harasim, OCIA Coordinator, eharasim@clement.org or Fr. Brett Williams, bawilliams@clement.org
Learn more about OCIA