Becoming Catholic
Life is a Journey Home to God
God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1
Christian initiation in the Catholic Church is, at its core, a personal response we make to the invitation of Jesus to follow him as his disciple. This invitation is unique according to each person's life, but it is offered by God to every person. Discipleship involves conversion, communion, and mission. In the Catholic Church, we entrust ourselves to the richness of this life of faith as revealed by Jesus to his first apostles and preserved in its fullness, even down to our day, by the promised gift of God's Spirit.
If you or someone you know is being drawn toward the Catholic faith, we would love to walk that journey together. It is the most joyful gift we have to share our life of discipleship and proclaim all that God has given us in Jesus.
WHAT IS OCIA AND WHO IS IT FOR
The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) is the ordinary way that someone can explore, learn, and be fully received into the family of the Catholic Church. Since discipleship involves the entirety of one's life, we want people to take time and study with us all that we believe and how we live as a community of disciples. We mutually commit to meet weekly together over the course of about seven months, beginning each year in September and concluding in March or April. OCIA classes involve sharing an evening meal hosted at our parish (it's free!) and diving into topical presentations on the Catholic faith.
OCIA is intended for:
- unbaptized adults who would like to become Catholic
- adults baptized in another Christian denomination who now desire to become Catholic
- baptized Catholics who were not raised in the Catholic Church but would now like to live their baptismal faith and receive the sacraments of Holy Communion and Confirmation
- baptized and practicing Catholics who never received the sacrament of Confirmation
We invite you to contact us below if you'd like more information or if you have faith questions that you're exploring at this time. You can also call the parish office at (810) 659-2501 and ask for Tim Cassady. Many blessings on your journey closer to God!
