Bible Study
Bible Study is a way to stay in touch with the Word of God and to reflect on its meaning in our own lives.

The Adult Bible Study group meets on Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm in the Parish Hall. The Little Rock Scripture Study group meets on Wednesday mornings at 10:00 am in the parish Pastoral Center.

R C I A
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, RCIA, is the restoration of the ancient practice of initiation into the Church; the means by which people seek information about and perhaps entrance into the Catholic Church. It is a journey of faith leading to the Easter Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist.

The RCIA is for those who are unbaptized in any faith tradition, for those baptized in another Christian faith tradition who wish to be confirmed in the Catholic faith and those who may have been baptized in the Catholic Church but have had no continuing education or sacramental formation.

There are 4 distinct stages of the process:

The Inquiry Period which is a time of awakening faith. It is a time of building trust, telling stories of faith and introduction to parish life. It is a time of asking questions, learning to name experiences And exploring life in the name of God’s call.

The Inquiry Period ends with the celebration of the Rite of Acceptance (for the unbaptized) and the Rite of Welcome for the baptized. These rites are an important ritual in which the “Inquirer” states publicly their intention to continue the journey toward full initiation into the faith. It ends the Inquiry Period and begins the Catechumenate Period.

The Catechumenate Period
This is a prolonged period of formation in the Catholic Christian way of life. The “Candidates” (baptized) and “Catechumens” (unbaptized) develop a maturity of faith in the
Church through catechetical (teaching), spiritual, liturgical and
apostolic ways of growth.

The Rite of Election brings to an end the Period of Catechumenate and begins the Period of Purification.

The Period of Purification and Enlightenment — Lent. This stage is a time of intense spiritual preparation that occurs during Lent. The focus is twofold: the proximate preparation of the “Elect” (unbaptized) for the Easter sacraments through prayer, penance, and a challenge to enter more deeply into the Paschal Mystery. For the Candidates it is the immediate preparation for the sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist.

The culmination of the four periods is the Easter Vigil and the celebration of the full initiation of those who have been journeying toward this great feast.

The Fourth Period of the RCIA is called Mystagogy. The sacramental initiation does not end at the Easter sacraments. This final stage offers those newly initiated an opportunity to reflect on the mysteries and witness to the community their experience of God. The RCIA process is focused on serving the mission of the reign of God. This is the beginning of the rest of one’s life, a model of how we need again and again to remember, celebrate and believe.

The RCIA is a process that involves the whole parish and includes the clergy, the assembly, team members, sponsors and those seeking full communion with the Catholic Church. It is a reminder to recommit, to be challenged and stretched because of our belief and our trust in the Gospel of Jesus.

ADULT CONFIRMATION
Adult Confirmation is a part of the RCIA process for those Catholics who have not been catechized in the faith. For those who have been active members of the Catholic community but have not been confirmed, we act in cooperation with our sister parish, St Brigid’s, in offering Confirmation Classes for adults in the spring.