Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” (John 6:35)
Not a Catholic?
Baptized in another faith?
Thinking about becoming a Catholic?
Like to know more about the Catholic Faith?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, you may be interested in exploring the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church. We invite you to complete the OCIA Inquiry Form.
2024-2025 OCIA Class
We are blessed to have 14 adults participating in OCIA – Order of Christian Initiation of Adults.
On November 10 we celebrated The Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens and the Rite of Welcoming the Candidates. We joyfully welcome all these Adults and ask our parish community.
Please pray for these men and women as they continue their faith journey in the months to come preparing for initiation into the Christian faith by baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist.
DISCOVER THE CATHOLIC FAITH
Adults approach the church for a variety of reasons and bring with them a personal history and richness of life experiences. The Order of Christian Initiation (OCIA) is the Catholic Church’s way of bringing new members into the community of faith and helping existing members rediscover the Catholic Faith. The OLG OCIA Team responds with both information about the church and a formational process that introduces the individual to the message of Jesus, prayer, community, and service to others. The process invites participants to embark on a journey.
The Journey
There are stages on the way, crossroads, and crises, rest stops, guides and companions who lead the way to the final destination. These companions are team members and sponsors, people from the parish who want to share their faith and walk with others as they discover what it means to be Catholic.
It is typically an 8 to 9 month journey, where we initiate the person into coming into a relationship with Jesus. Many a time the people that come to us have no knowledge about the faith. Hence we start at the most basic level i.e. Images of GOD, what is Holy Scripture, what are the various sacraments, the saints and how they help us to come into a deeper relationship with GOD, etc. At Our Lady of Guadalupe, we start in September and go on till May. The Candidates (receiving Eucharist and/or Confirmation) and Catechumens (receiving all 3 sacraments) receive their sacraments on Easter Vigil. We meet on Thursdays from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm in the Our Lady of Guadalupe School Classroom.
Listen to testimonies from our parishioners talking about their faith journey and experience in the OCIA program at OLG.
The Sacraments
The Catholic Church has 3 sacraments of initiation – Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation. For those adults who have never been baptized (by any Christian Church) we work with them to receive all three sacraments. For those who have been baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit there is a profession of faith and the sacraments of Eucharist and Confirmation.
Who should consider OCIA
- Unbaptized adults who are considering becoming Catholic
- Adults who are baptized in another Christian tradition who are considering entering the Catholic Church
- Adults who are baptized who have not received the sacrament of Confirmation and/or Eucharist
- Adults who are seeking more information about the Catholic Faith
Point of Contact
If you have questions or need more information please contact Sylvester Creado at [email protected]