“Holy Spirit, come into my heart, and in your power draw it to you.” (St. Catherine of Siena)
Amid a culture and period of history that feels particularly bleak, people still long to live joyfully. They are drawn to the image of a life saturated with meaning. As Catholics, we know that the ultimate source of life is found in Jesus Christ and His Church. In the community of Chippewa Falls, an increasing number of men, women and children are coming to that same conclusion thanks to the efforts of the city’s Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) program.
RCIA isn’t a 10-step program to becoming Catholic, but, according to the program’s leader, John Shakal, “a guide along a journey into the heart of the Church.”
Shakal is in his third year running the city-wide RCIA program. When he first stepped into his position as Director of Outreach and Evangelization, nothing was explicitly offered for people who wanted to learn more about the Faith or become fully initiated into the Church. Before then, groups depended on volunteer leaders, who didn’t have as much time to commit to building a robust program. Given the opportunity to build a program from the ground up, Shakal assembled a team with whom he looked to the ancient yet ever-new wisdom of the Church.
“In the early Church, it was primarily catechumens (unbaptized persons) coming forward. It wasn’t a September-to-Easter process but sometimes years,” John explains. “The lengthy timeline wasn’t seen as an obstacle because the program isn’t something one hops through. RCIA isn’t a class in the Church’s mind. The process is contingent on the heart of the person becoming conformed to Christ.”
There is a baseline commitment to attending weekly classes, when participants engage in fellowship, listen to a lecture, partake in large and small group discussions and conclude in the church for reflective prayer. Minor and major rites (celebratory rituals within the context of liturgy) also outwardly mark the individual’s interior journey.
Seeking Balance
“RCIA programs tend to fall into three camps: the highly intellectual, focused on teaching an objective truth; the highly subjective, focused on one’s journey; and the ultimate one, the sacramental approach. This is far more than coming to Mass on Sunday,” Shakal clarifies. “It’s seeing the sacraments as the sources of divine life that Christ dispenses to us. Recognizing that Jesus is the principal actor in the sacraments, we tie in strong catechetical formation and pastoral accompaniment. That makes for a well-balanced program.”
Striking this balance took time, observation and intentional action to achieve. “Starting out, our team’s strength was catechetical. I noticed that people were coming to the classes but weren’t connected to the parishes. If that was happening, we were failing as a Christian initiation team,” says Shakal. “It’s not about the team; we’re just the doorway into the Church. We want to be a good one.”
I noticed that people were coming to the classes but weren’t connected to the parishes. If that was happening, we were failing as a Christian initiation team,” says Shakal. “It’s not about the team; we’re just the doorway into the Church. We want to be a good one.”
He has watched the program grow from 8 participants to 11 and now to 25 individuals, including 7 children. Looking at the sharp increase in participation, Shakal shakes his head, “I don’t even know–people are coming out of the woodwork. I don’t want to say I’m surprised, as Jesus in His power should be the least surprising thing in the life of a Catholic.”
John points out a significant advantage of the city’s flourishing program: a well-formed and impassioned team. “We have a team who know, love and care about our people,” says Shakal. “We have strong catechists in this area who also try to build authentic friendships. I think that’s been compelling for our participants.”
Portrait of An Intentional Disciple
The cultural tone of Chippewa Falls’ RCIA is that of pilgrims on a journey. The source of this approach can be identified in Shakal’s formation as a Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) missionary. FOCUS is a campus ministry that trains its missionaries to go out on college campuses and share the Gospel, encouraging young people to seek the truth and invest in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
“My catechetical formation as a missionary was strong, but it also gave me a personal sense of initiative to go out and win people for Christ and His Church, build them up and equip them to become disciple-makers of their own,” Shakal reflects.
Regarding discipleship, Shakal leans heavily on the model presented in the second chapter of Acts of the Apostles, which FOCUS has long held up as the gold standard: “They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.” (Acts 2:42) Contextually, this verse comes after Peter’s impassioned speech on Pentecost that led to 3,000 souls seeking baptism and entrance into the Church. These four components (apostolic teaching, fellowship, sacramental participation and prayer) make up, according to Shakal, “the practices of an intentional disciple.”
“In the early Church, it was primarily catechumens (unbaptized persons) coming forward. It wasn’t a September-to-Easter process but sometimes years,” Shakal explains. “The timeline wasn’t seen as an obstacle, as if it’s a program you hop through; in the mind of the Church, this isn’t a class. The process is contingent on the heart of the person becoming conformed to Christ.”
This piece of Scripture has provided an ideal self-assessment formula for RCIA participants. He adds, “At the outset and then halfway through, we invite participants to reflect on where they feel they are with these four components. They invite you to ask yourself, ‘Am I doing these four things well? Am I living my Faith in Christ to a well-balanced level? What do I need to grow in?’”
Ultimately, the goal of RCIA is not an intellectual one, where a person’s mind has been changed regarding particular teachings. It’s to draw the person into a transformative encounter with Jesus Christ and into the fullness of His Church. This is a deeply personal process and doesn’t always follow the calendar.
“Some programs initiate people who aren’t yet disciples. Our standard is that we want people to exhibit signs of discipleship and realize that Jesus is the center of their life. It’s not, ‘We hope you catch fire down the road,’” explains Shakal. “We have invited some to continue the process and haven’t received much pushback. It’s been graciously accepted as a high call. They can see that the Church is serious about helping people become saints.”
Come, Holy Spirit
While incredible transformation is already taking place, Shakal maintains hopes for the future. One is for deeper engagement with young families.
“There’s a growing demographic of unbaptized people; often, it’s those who were baptized Catholic, got married and have chosen not to baptize their children. Five of the seven children we have in RCIA are actually from Catholic schools. They see their classmates receive the sacraments and go to their parents to ask, “Hey, can I become Catholic?” We want to cultivate a family-centered process and show that this is a pilgrimage of faith—not a checked-box approach.”
He also hopes to continue strengthening the element of accompaniment, or fellowship, among the participants, the team and the parishes. “It’s about where a person’s at—checking in with people and seeing how the truths I’m learning about on Monday night impact me on Tuesday.”
This high standard of authentic involvement in each person’s life, along with the sacramental foundation and solid catechesis, undoubtedly establishes strength in the Chippewa Falls RCIA program. A commitment to the wisdom of Scripture and the early Church has already borne much fruit, thanks to the efforts of Shakal and many others, his team and those who are wholeheartedly seeking a home in Christ’s Church.
If the term “Order of Christian Initiation of Adults” (OCIA) sounds familiar, it is because in 2021, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved new translations of the initiation rites, including the changing the name from RCIA to OCIA. The change will become official once the Vatican approves the translation and revision and the USCCB directs parishes to use the OCIA.
Story by Alexis Wislinsky
Published in the March/April 2024 issue of Catholic Life Magazine