Hi Alan,

I'm glad you received the Rosary and accompanying information pamphlets in good condition.

I'm sending a copy of your question to a Catholic friend of mine, Kevin Terry, in Kentucky who as a former Methodist himself, you may be able to build a friendship with. For the sake of the team: Alan is a brother Christian (a Methodist) who lives in Iowa.

This is definitely an issue that can be worked out.

Unlike many Protestant brethren who by a simple act of faith accept Jesus into their heart, despite possible doctrinal differences, the Church sees a important connection between:

• what one professes to believe, faith-wise and
• the Eucharist (the Body and Blood of Our Blessed Lord) we receive every Sunday

When a Catholic receives the Eucharist at every Mass, implied in that reception of the Blessed Sacrament is the acceptance of all the teachings of the Church. We are publicly saying we are in a Common Union with the Teachings of Jesus' Church and with Jesus Himself! As a Catholic, one can't make that public act of saying you are in a Common Union with the Teachings of Jesus' Church if you don't know and accept those teachings.

Maybe a good way to think of it, is by this analogy:

• If you started dating a woman for a few weeks, would you consider marrying her before knowing more about:
  • her
  • her family, or
  • any baggage she may be carrying?
    

Ideally, RCIA is a period of time where you get to learn what we believe as Catholics.

I don't think there is anything like a RCIA online, plus, in my opinion, it wouldn't be within the nature of the Church.

We are a people who help and assist other people within the Church. Each of us, including you, has a special calling in the Catholic Church. Part of RCIA is discerning and figuring out where you are being called to serve in the Church. RCIA can also be a great place to meet new friends.

You said:
... when I have visited various Parish offices to speak about my desires, I am always told that there is no other avenue than to take RCIA classes and my employment in the Nuclear Engineering business does not allow me to be in one place anywhere nearly long enough to take classes.

I would first find out what times you would have to set aside on a regular basis to attend the RCIA classes. Once you know this, talk with your supervisor about the issue. The two of you should be able to work something out.

If you are in a situation where you are the manager yourself, then you may just have to talk to your peers about taking some time off, while someone else covers for you for a while. Maybe you can temporarily switch working shifts.

The Lord may be testing you to trust in Him in this situation.

Most importantly, I would make sure that any pastor or priest you go to has a good reputation for being loyal to the Holy Father. Don't waste your time with pastors or priests that speak badly about the Pope. Having a devotion to the Eucharist is also an excellent sign that he is a good priest.

You said:
I find it incredible that here I am, desperately knocking on the Church door, and they will not let me in!

Sure they will, the sign on the door says, RCIA, you just have to open it.

Hope this helps,

Mike

Hi Alan,

RCIA is the normal route but if you could find a religious order priest somewhere outside of a parish, you might be able to take instruction privately. As for RCIA classes — it is really not a set of classes, but a 6 to 8 month program of weekly meetings.

Once a week is not too bad, right?, and often you can join late. RCIA also serves the purpose of helping you become part of a local community. As a matter of fact, in many cases, that's mostly what it does and you really need to study on your own to get the whole Catholic faith.

I would go back again and again. Go to:

• a University community
• a monastery, or
• an Opus Dei priest, or another Order priest.

Go back again to the parishes; go to the bishop.

I agree, this is silly, but if they were really to know your situation, they would work something out.

Good luck.

Hope this helps,

Mary Ann

Mike,

Please pass this e-mail on to Mr. Lewerenz. This Easter will be one year since I came into the Church. My only regret about becoming Catholic is that I didn't do it sooner. My RCIA class had about 30 people who came into the Church. In my class, there were two circumstances similar to his.

One family was very, very poor. It was my understanding that they could rarely take off work or else they could not pay the bills. However when they could, they attended the RCIA classes. They did a lot of one on one work with our Pastoral Associate who led the RCIA classes with our Priest.

Another family was in a similar situation. They were not living in poverty and were actually well off, however, they were on the road a great deal, and were not able to be there most Thursday nights from 6:30-8:30pm which was the time of our classes. They too, met with our Pastoral Associate, and with our Priest. They would receive the handouts, materials, etc. and were required to learn the same materials that we had learned that week.

Now they were required to be there for the Rite of Election, and the other Rite's, each Sunday during Lent. It may take a bit of sacrifice on Alan's part. Even though you can't always attend the RCIA sessions, you may have to set aside other times to meet with the Priest, or whoever else they want you to see.

I feel sure if he presents his situation to a few Priests in his area, and if they are true Christians and love the Lord and Church as they profess, arrangements will be made for his case.

I will pray for his situation, and am here to help with any other questions.

May God Bless Alan on his journey home.

In Christ,

Kevin Terry

Hi Alan,

I would say that RCIA as such is not strictly necessary. It is possible to find a priest who can instruct you personally on your own schedule and then receive you into the Church.

As you point out, the care of souls is the highest priority.

I would persevere in knocking on parish doors until I found a priest who was willing to do this, explaining your exceptional situation of course or if they insist that RCIA is necessary, ask if they can do one-on-one classes at your schedule.

If they refuse to, then they are just being uncooperative.

Eric

Hi Alan,

I'd like to add to the previous comments.

1. RCIA done properly is not just for doctrinal instruction; rather it should foster a sense of Catholic community so the notion of RCIA online defeats half the purpose.
   
   
2. In your case it seems as though your work makes attendance impossible because your work moves you around. There is a principle regarding canonical requirements that says all canons exist for the salvation of souls.
   
   RCIA is a legislated requirement and for good reason. It cannot be lightly set aside but
   if I were in your situation, I would visit the chancery of the diocese you are located in, and see if some kind of dispensation is available. Parish priests may not always be aware of all the possibilities. When I was received back into the Church, my local priest was clueless as to the procedure. He had to call the diocesan office to get instruction and they told them they would get back to him in few days.
   
   In the mean time, I looked up the canon myself and took it to another priest, read it to him then he agreed to hear my Confession and allowed me to re-enter the Church.
   
   As it turned out, the diocese also required that I make a public profession of faith, before I received Holy Communion in any parish in my hometown as I was, up until that point, known as a Protest Minister but in the mean time I was free to receive the Eucharist anywhere else.

My situation was very, very different than yours. I was a fallen away Catholic who had become a Protestant Minister so I'm not saying there is, or is not, a dispensation available for you but, given the guiding principle that canons exists for the benefit of souls and given what appears to be extraordinary circumstances, perhaps there is another path available for you. It is certainly worth making a phone call to a bishop!

You said:

• What must I do to be saved?

You ask the same question the Philippian jailor asked:

What must I do to be saved? Acts 16:30

That is an anthropocentric question around which most Protestant Church center their theology.
The Catholic Church's theology all stems from a Christocentric question that Christ asked of Peter:

Who do you say that I am? Matthew 16:15

In other words, while salvation is certainly a doctrine of the Church, it is not the defining doctrine, as it is in many Protestant sects. Rather, Catholic soteriology flows from how you answer Christ's question to Peter. If you get who Christ is correctly, from there, you get the Body of Christ fully correct and you then get your ecclesiology correct, followed by the Communion of Saints, etc., etc. It is a whole package.

The matter of salvation is a matter of God's sovereignty. It is a complete work of Christ from beginning to end that requires our free will cooperation with grace, by the grace given to us, but salvation is more than a get out of jail free card.

Yes, it is eternal life, but it entails full adoption into the Body of Christ and all that adoption involves and necessitates. It is not just a legal action — a declaration of not guilty (as Luther argued). It is a family matter, whereby each member has privileges, rights, and responsibilities in Christ. It is interdependency, a mystical unity which transcends physical death.

Alan, you've already shown a deep desire to enter the Church Christ founded where the fullness of Christian faith resides. The most important thing you can do is pray. God will open a way for you.

Finally, I would ask you to consider this. It could be that after prayer and further investigation, it becomes clear that there is no other door (other than RCIA) for you to enter the Church Christ established.

Christ told us that we are to take up our Cross and follow Him. He also told us that we must be willing to leave mother, father, sister, or brother.

• You may find that Christ would prefer you leave your profession, even if for a season, to follow Him into His Church.
• It may be that he has another plan entirely for your life so, as you pursue your journey,
  I would ask you to be open to His Will.

Under His Mercy,

John DiMascio

Dear Mike:

Thanks for passing Alan's situation along.

While RCIA is a wonderful way to initiate a person into the Church, it is not the only one available. It is disappointing that a viable alternative is not being offered to him.

People can come be initiated into the Church at anytime of the year, not just at the Easter Vigil.

I would suggest he first go to the local Vicar for the local region or Vicariate. The Vicar, in some parts of the country they are called Deans or Deaneries, is a pastor and might be the best person to direct Alan to a [parish/priest] that will develop an individual program.

Fr. Nick

Hi Alan,

You said:
Maybe if it were like taking flying lessons ... where I had a log book that I could carry around from place to place and have things signed off. :-)

This is not looking promising, Mike.

We have to step back and remember the job description of the person we are dealing with:

[God/Jesus] — [God/Man] and the Church He chose to establish on St. Peter and his successors.

I was always taught that with God, anything is possible. I would resort to a regular prayer life asking Him to show you where to go and whom to meet with in order to enter the Church.

I promise you that prayer will not go unanswered! See you in the Church within the next 18 months. : )

Mike

Hi Alan,

All of us have particular difficulties in our faith journey but most of us who eventually cross the Tiber share similar periods where it just seems impossible.

My brother, please don't be discouraged. All things have purpose and as it says in Romans 8:28, God works all things to benefit of those who love Him. Offer your suffering to God and unite it to the Cross. This experience is a Calvary for you.

Think of it this way. If this process were simply something you could do on your own, you could take the credit but God calls us to do what is seemingly impossible for man, so that when it comes to pass, the Glory belongs to God. You asked what must you do to be saved. My brother, it is your faith, given to you by grace, that will be the conduit which the Lord uses to bring you home to His Church.

Trust in Jesus, our Lord and Savior. He would not have brought you this far for nothing. Remember the Israelites after they were brought out of Egypt. They too sent spies into the Promised Land and were afraid to take it because of the reports of giants, yet the land was
theirs for the taking.

Do not shrink back from the faith Christ has given you. For if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to a mountain to jump into the sea and it will. (Matthew 21:21) This mountain that is seemingly in your way of entering the Church is but a test of your faith.

Like my brother Mike said, I am sure of your entrance into the Church and speaking for the rest of my fellow apologists at CPATS: we look forward to rejoicing with you.

Under His Mercy,

John DiMascio

Hi Alan,

Thanks for the follow-up.

We had some consolidation of parishes in our area too. Some people were hurt and some were very disappointed. I don't want to take away or deny what, for many, was a great Catholic culture and upbringing in a specific parish that the diocese had to close.

Nevertheless, the way I see things is would I rather close a few parishes and be more financially secure than keep financially weak parishes open and have the diocese file for chapter 11 bankruptcy.

I think the new priests and bishops will be helpful. I'll keep you in my prayers.

Mike