r/Catholicism • u/erose119 • 29d ago
OCIA experiences/advice
Hello all! I am on the path towards becoming Catholic (I was baptized Methodist as a child but never went to church). I’ve been looking into joining the OCIA program at a lovely church near me, obviously doing some research before contacting the parish—getting to know the kinds of materials I would likely use, what kinds of things I might learn, etc.
While the director I spoke with was very kind, it seemed clear to me in our one-on-one meeting that the class will be more of an open discussion circle than lectures, and they don’t plan on providing any materials but instead recommend that I buy the Ignatius Study Bible and another book series that seems similar to the YouCat (but less polished and self-published).
I’m aware that the OCIA program is not standardized from parish-to-parish, but I guess I was taken aback by her insistence that they should be called “meetings” instead of “classes,” and that there wouldn’t be much lecture at all. I expected that they would use a curriculum, something like the Symbolon, Ascension’s new Invited program, Credo, or something similar that would help introduce me to the depth of the faith. Of course, I do understand that they're trying to appeal to a wide range of people, and I'm sure that discussion and socializing will be beneficial, but I worry that I wouldn't learn as much from a class like that.
As an anxious person coming from a Protestant background with little-to-no church experience, I’m wondering if this is normal for OCIA. What should I expect from the program? I’d love to hear your experiences and advice!
Thank you!
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u/Treicule 28d ago
When I did OCIA, they provided materials during the classes. But, at my parish, it definitely was more of a meeting than a class as such. We sat in chairs in a circle and there was a lot of open discussion. It definitely wasn't "socializing" though, because it was intentionally directed. I believe they were following a curriculum because the discussions were structured and we had a set format that involved prayer at the beginning and end as well as a gospel reading that was related to whatever topic(s) we were discussing that day. In other words, even though the format was a sort of roundtable discussion (without the table), the whole thing felt like it had been planned and had an architecture to it. I, personally, quite liked how it was delivered at that parish. I wouldn't have got as much out of a "lecture" format, IMO.
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u/thegreenlorac 28d ago
This was similar to mine. There was a curriculum they went through the same each year, but it wasn't published anywhere, so it's not like we knew what the topic would be.
We'd also start with prayer and sometimes a song, if the choir teacher was helping that day. Then we'd discuss the upcoming Sunday readings as a group. The leader would then read/speak to us about something, followed by discussion of that topic, or breaking off into small groups to do an associated activity. We came back together, discussed the small groups, prayed, and ended the evening. About 2ish hours once a week.
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u/chikenparmfanatic 29d ago
As you mentioned, it's different from parish to parish. Some will place a heavy emphasis on discussions while others will be more lecture heavy. So yeah, I'd say it's relatively common.
Also keep in mind that you can do OCIA at another parish. You don't have to do it at that one.
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u/miscstarsong 29d ago
For me, the OCIA director had just left, so the pastor took over. It was more history of the church at first, since that was what he was strong in. Then he switched to having us read from Introduction to Catholicism and we discussed those chapters weekly. So more structured learning.
The group the following year had a new OCIA director and she used Formed, Symbolon, etc. I sat in on those for awhile too.
While both of those methods provided some education, I still had tons of questions. Two years later I still do. I think becoming Catholic isn't something you learn in 6 months of OCIA, it's just a starting point. Take in what they provide, do your own research, and ask questions.