The following comes from a July 10 Church of the Masses blog by movie producer Barbara Nicolosi on Patheos.com.
It’s actually encouraging and discouraging both at the same time. Ever since I wrote this, I have been getting a steady stream of inquiries about the contents of the RCIA program that we use with our Hollywood converts. It’s encouraging how many people want to find a smarter, more cohesive and rigorous program of introduction to Catholicism. It’s discouraging how many people find the offerings at their local parish pathetic, banal and disappointing. For posterity’s sake – and in hopes that it will cut down on the emails – I am posting the curriculum here.
It’s probably obvious that this program is both rigorous and demanding of the candidates/catechumens and the instructors. We tell the students to plan on an hour or two of reading every week and sometimes more. We count on the students feeling over-whelmed as that seems to make for a better preparation for prayer than the way a banal program would leave them feeling superior.
There are a whole bunch of sub-texts to this kind of program which the students hopefully absorb and generally start saying out loud by week three.
– “Wow, the Catholic faith is a lot smarter than I am.”
– “I could spend my whole life and not get to the bottom of the Church’s moral theology, or Her spirituality, or Her liturgy, or Her Biblical hermeneutics, or Her ecclesiology, or Her Christology or Her epistemology, etc. etc. etc.”
– “There isn’t anything I could wrestle with that the Church doesn’t have a lot to say about in Her ordinary or extraordinary Magisterium, or in the writings of Her saints and scholars.”
– “Who knew there were great storytellers who were Catholic?”
– “Everything Jesus gave us is saving. And none of it is superfluous.”
– “Catholic prayer is brilliant.”
One lovely gent from the UK wrote me to ask for the syllabus. After I sent it, he wrote me back and said, “Could you please send the instructor along with the syllabus?” It’s a good point. This program requires a teacher who has studied theology, philosophy and Scripture, and who knows and loves the great literature written by Catholics. The reading is more of a survey, but the lessons absolutely need to drill down into making dogma matter in the lives of the students.
It looks imposing, but it really is a blast, in the best possible sense of that. The students tend to love the classes and, by the end of the program, there is always a deep bond between everyone who has sat in the room all year. I can’t conceive of anyone going through this exercise without discovering a whole new life. A better one.
Hollywood RCIA Program
Created by Barbara R. Nicolosi, M.A.
Program Goals: A presentation of the basic theology and spirituality of the Catholic Church using classic texts and literature. To set the seeker on the journey of faith with humility through awareness of the richness of thought with which the Catholic Church protects the deposit of faith.
Course texts:
– The Catholic Study Bible, ed. John Senior
– The Catechism of the Catholic Church – (CCC) – Get the big green version
– Vatican Council II: Constitutions, Declarations, Decrees, ed. Flannery, (VCII)
– Triumph: The History and Glory of the Catholic Church, by Crocker
– The Christian Idea of Man, by Josef Pieper
– Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl
– Brideshead Revisited, by Eveyln Waugh
– The Lord, by Roman Guardini
– Introduction to the Devout Life, by Francis De Sales
– The Power and the Glory, by Graham Greene
– The Abolition of Man, by C.S. Lewis
– The Inferno, by Dante
– Silence, by Shusaku Endo
– The Reed of God, Caryll Houslander
– Handouts will include: “The Grand Inquisitor,” (by Dostoevsky, from The Bros Karamazov) “A Temple of the Holy Spirit” and “Revelation” (Two short stories by Flannery O’Connor), “The Four Ways to God” (by Benedict Groeschel from Spiritual Passages)
Curriculum:
#1 – ORIENTATION/INTRODUCTION – THE BEATITUDES
Reading: Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5:1-12
#2 – FAITH and PRAYER IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
Reading: CCC 27-49, 142-175, 2558-2565, 2626-2643, 2697-2745
To learn: The Glory Be, The Morning Offering
#3 – “THAT CATHOLIC THING”
Reading: Brideshead Revisited
#4 – THE NATURE AND SPIRITUAL CONDITION OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Reading: CCC 355-379, 1700-1709, 1730-1742; Handout: Revelation by Flannery O’ Connor
For journal: “Why do I do the things I hate?”
#5 – THE NATURE OF THE HUMAN PERSON, PT. II
Reading: The Christian Idea of Man
For journal: What is a human person? How is a human person distinct from animals?
#6 – SCRIPTURE IN CATHOLIC LIFE
Reading: Vatican II, “Dei Verbum, CCC 50-141
For journal: How has God spoken to me personally through His Word?
#7 – THE TRINITY / GOD THE FATHER
Reading: CCC 238-256 (for memorization: #266); Handouts: from Father Groeschel’s Psychology and Spirituality; The Book of Job
#8 – GOD AS REVEALED IN THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES; COMMANDMENTS 1-3
Reading: Bible, Wisdom, Song of Solomon; CCC 2083-2188
For journal: What is the name that God gives me?
#9 – JESUS CHRIST – Part I
Reading: CCC 430-463; The Lord, Chapters 1-12
For journal: “And you, who do you say that I am?”
#10 – JESUS CHRIST – Part II
Reading: CCC 464-560, The Lord, Chapters 13-17
#11 – JESUS CHRIST – Part III
Reading: CCC 561-679, The Lord, Chapter 17 – end
For journal: Which metaphor of Christ (ie. Good Shepherd, Light of the World, Sheepgate, Bread of Life, The Vine, Divine Physician, Way, Truth, Life) speaks the most to me and why?
#12 – THE HOLY SPIRIT AND GRACE
Reading: CCC 687-741, 1830-1832; “Temple of the Holy Spirit” by Flannery O’Connor
To learn: The gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit
#13 – THE CHURCH, PT. I
Reading: Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church – Vatican II);
To Learn: The Precepts of the Church
#14 – CHURCH, PT. II: HIERARCHY, APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION, INFALLIBILE
MAGISTERIUM, GRACE
Reading: CCC 748-870, 1996-2005, 2041-2043
#15 – THE SACRAMENTS OF BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION
Reading: CCC 1210-1216, 1229-1274, 1285-1314;
For journal: What can confirmation mean in your life? What will make the difference in what it
could mean, and what it will mean?
#16 – MAN AND THE NATURAL LAW
Reading: The Abolition of Man, by CS Lewis
#17 – THE CLASSICAL AND THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES
Reading: CCC 1803-1829; Handout from Pieper “The Four Virtues”
#18 – CONSCIENCE, EVIL AND SIN
Reading: CCC 309-314, 385-412, 1846-1869; Man’s Search for Meaning
To commit to memory: types of sin and conditions necessary for serious (mortal) sin
For journal: What kind of a person would I have become as a prisoner in Auschwitz?
#19 – TEMPTATION
Reading: “The Grand Inquisitor,” from The Brothers Karamazov
#20 – COMMANDMENTS 4, 5, 7 and 8 / ON RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY, MURDERING, STEALING AND LYING
Instructor: Barbara Nicolosi Harrington
Reading: CCC 2197-2246, 2258-2317, 2401-2449, 2464-2503
#21 – HOLY MASS AND EUCHARIST, PT. I
Reading: Vatican II “Sacrosanctum Concilium;”
#22 – HOLY MASS, PT II
Reading: CCC 1322-1405; Handout from Spirit of the Liturgy
.
#23 – SACRAMENTS OF VOCATION I: MATRIMONY AND HUMAN SEXUALITY (COMMANDMENTS 6, 9, 10)
Reading: CCC
#24 – SACRAMENTS OF HEALING: PENANCE AND ANOINTING OF THE SICK
Reading: CCC 1434-1439; CCC 1422-1424, 1440-1470, 1499, 1511-1525;
To learn: The Act of Contrition (see p. 191 in the Compendium)
For journal: What is it that tempts you? How do you respond to temptation? How do I
understand the sacrament of reconciliation?
#25 – SACRAMENTS OF VOCATION II: PRIESTHOOD / RELIGIOUS LIFE
Reading: CCC 1536, 1572-1584; The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
View: Becket
For journal: Is God calling me to priesthood or religious life? Why or why not? (If you are
married, how can you help others who might be discerning a religious or priestly vocation?)
#26 – SUFFERING
Reading: Silence, by Endo
#27 – The Last Things: DEATH, JUDGMENT, HEAVEN, HELL / PURGATORY Reading: CCC 988-1014, 1020-1050; “The Inferno” from The Divine Comedy by Dante
#28 – CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING I (Bioethics / Life Issues)
Reading: CCC 1877-1948; Gaudium et Spes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church – Vatican II)- Preface, Introduction, Part I, Part II (chapters 1 and 2)
#29 – CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING II (Economic/Political Systems, Environmental
Stewardship, Nuclear Weapons, etc.)
Reading: Gaudium et Spes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church – Vatican II)
– Part II, chapters 3-5; Conclusion
#30 – THE LAY APOSTOLATE
Reading: Vatican II, “Apostolicam Actuositatem”
#31 – INTRODUCTION TO THE DEVOUT LIFE
Reading: Introduction to the Devout Life, by St. Francis De Sales
#32 – BEAUTY AND STORY IN THE LIFE OF THE DISCIPLE
Reading: Handouts from Maritain and Pieper
#33 – CHURCH HISTORY: The “Dark Ages,” the Orthodox Split, Crusades, Inquisition, Galileo Incident, and Reformation
Reading: Triumph
#34 – SAINTS AND THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Reading: The Reed of God; CCC 954-975
To read original posting, click here.
THANK YOU!!!! for posting this!!!!
Be sure to click the link to the original story.
No mystics? No St Francis? No Little Flower? Oh well, hopefully this program whets the spiritual appetite, and I’m guessing its design facilitates a social interaction, especially among the social Hollywood set.
Skai, I shouldn’t be surprised that you would focus on what you think is lacking, rather than focussing on what is worthy of commendation. Before you become solidified in your snarky conclusions, I would beg you to read Barbara Nicolosi’s original post which can be found by clicking “this” in the first paragraph. In it she shares her timely suggestion for how to overhaul the way our parishes are currently teaching catechesis to our children. Again Skai, you would need to read EVERYTHING she says before you say something like “Aha!! There’s a problem!!
You could also meditate for a few minutes on something she said in the article posted here; “We count on the students feeling over-whelmed as that seems to make for a better preparation for prayer than the way a banal program would leave them feeling superior.”, as well as this; “Program Goals: A presentation of the basic theology and spirituality of the Catholic Church using classic texts and literature. To set the seeker on the journey of faith with humility through awareness of the richness of thought with which the Catholic Church protects the deposit of faith”.
Skai, this article does not list the “classic literature” which she offers her class. I would bet that some of the writings of our beloved saints are in that mix.
Tracy, happy to see that at the end of your post, you finally acknowledge the simple point I made. Not sure what gets you saying I need to read everything, but it’s good to see you presenting an original opinion.
Actually, Tracy, it is great that they are creating intro to Catholicism classes. Much better than the old way of things, where you’d get individual instruction by some old priest who’d had nothing better to do for fifty year than pray, celebrate Mass, and study the Saints and Gospel. Oh well, I feel I’ve missed out on something. Alas, “a horse, a horse, a kingdom for a horse” (Poor Richard’s Almanac, by Wm Shakespeare).
Skai, were you also “happy” to follow the advise I suggested to you at the beginning and middle of my post? Or did you merely, as I suspect, read what I wrote merely to find something you thought you could use to perpetuate the proud and arrogant position you normally take?
“No mystics? No St Francis? No Little Flower?”: OK, Tracy, you win … “the classics”.
Skai, please take the time to read Barbara Nicolosi’s first posting as I suggested.
I am not trying to win anything. I am for the perpetuation of Jesus Christ Kingdom just as you are. I am also very grateful for people like Barbara Nicolosi who use their God given talents to do the same, while at the same time saddened by those who take every opportunity to tear their teammates down, instead of encouraging them.
Skai for clarification purposes only:
“I am not trying to win anything.” translates to:
“i am not trying to win and argument with you.”
Tracy, you should indeed be trying to win something; as St Paul explains about he was about to finish his race and could see his crown ie his award for winning already. It is the Catholic way, Tracy. If you do not try to win, then you won’t. Unlike Calvinist doctrine which has it that one is conceived either as a saint or hellbound, and nothing can be done to change this, Catholicism teaches that we have to win Heaven … our reward for following Jesus.
Tracy, on the issue of argument, the ultimate goal is to discover truth, not to assuage one’s vanity. Rise above the faulty notion that argument is a match to see who comes out on top. Study the masters of argument … Job, Plato/Socrates, Aristotle, St Augustine, St Thomas Aquinas; there is even great value in getting a grip on the scientific method. And of course you might want to check into some of the Jesuitical garbage’ just so’s you know what the devil can throw at you.
Skai, fair enough, you got me there! So let me repost what I posted to you on July 15, 2013 at 10:41 am, taking out the “I am not trying…..” statement:
Skai, please take the time to read Barbara Nicolosi’s first posting as I suggested. I am for the perpetuation of Jesus Christ Kingdom just as you are. I am also very grateful for people like Barbara Nicolosi who use their God given talents to do the same, while at the same time saddened by those who take every opportunity to tear their teammates down, instead of encouraging them.
Skai, are you ignoring me?
How could I forget St Pio … oh yes, “the classics”. I feel like Poor Yorik (B. Franklin, “Midsummer Night’s Dream of Flying a Kite”). “T’is better to have loved and lost, that to have never loved …” (Barrett N. Browning)
Hmn, nobody “got it”. Oh well, there goes my effort to compete with McDermott on the rhetorical poetic level of parody. Hopefully all readers here know the name, St Pio. As for the others: Yorik is a minor character in a Shakespeare play, Franklin harnessed electricity with a kite and he published Poor Richard’s Almanac. Midsummer Night’s Dream is a Shakespeare comedy play. Elizabeth Barrett Browning is one of or the earliest of the Modern Poets, and penned “Tis better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all”. The Barrett is a .50 caliber sniper rifle that can be purchased by civilians in parts and then assembled, and Browning is a major fire arms manufacturer. Much of my writing consists of probing the knowledge and dot connecting facilities of other bloggers. There are actually people who understand this sort of thing, believe it or not. There is only one way to knowledge and understanding and this is effort, which is not that common among Catholics in our time it seems to me.
Skai, you said much of your writing consists of probing the knowledge and dot connecting facilities of other bloggers. I prefer to describe your intentions in colloquial terms. Much of your writing consists of nit-picking the writings of other bloggers. You remind me of the Pharisees of Jesus’ time.
Thanks so much for the link! In response to Skai, it wouldn’t be a dialogue with Catholics if someone wasn’t there to find fault.
In answer to the query, we begin every class with 20 minutes of prayer. We use the writings of the biggest saint of the week to inspire the prayer and for reflection. By the end of the year, the students have been exposed to a wide range of mystics and saints. Also, in the class on religious life, we spend a good deal of time discussing the seven great charisms in the Church and who are the bright lights of thought in each.
Having said all that, the study of the mystics is much more suited to the period of mystagogy which follows RCIA.
Cheers!
Barbara Nicolosi, please forgive my ignorance but what are the 7 great charisms in the Church and the bright lights of thought in each. Thank you for your time.
Your program sounds very rounded, Ms. Nicolosi, and I for one would have love something like that when I went through RCIA. Instead, my church was using Fr. ‘Black Sheep Dog’s ” tapes and so I feel rather compromised. It seemed like authentic teaching at the time!
you are never satisfied.
The minute you become satisfied you should start to worry. Skai is ever vigilant and always on guard… good for him.
SOJ, one reason I’m never satisfied is because early in life, at the dinner table, when I wanted desert first, the mantra was repeated to me time immemorial “Eat your dinner first, because there are millions of people starving in China” (mom and dad). Decades later, SOJ, I realized that this mantra had morphed into, “Go therefore into all the world, preaching the Gospel and discipling the nations” (Jesus). SO … uh, oh yes … J, SOJ, a good portion of those I talk with actually undertand and demand exceptionally tight logical arguments when presented with data and demands to draw conclusions and act or stake their name on it. Don’t you think that eternal salvation demands even more than life on terra firma? As one is reminded of in Thomas A Kempis’ Imitation of Christ, we will have time to rest later, in eternity, but now is the time to work. St Benedict, “ora et labora”: Pray as though everything is up to God, and work as if everything is up to you”.
SOJ, “Our hearts are restless, Lord, until they rest in Thee”: SOJ, if your heart is not restless, then you’ve achieved something extremely rare in this life on earth.
I found Barbara’s prequel to this article so important; I obtained her permission to post both articles on my blog, ‘Taking Life, Love and Faith Seriously’, as her articles are about taking catechesis seriously. Well done Barbara.
Excellent post, thanks CCD for bringing this to us. I’ve clipped it to my Evernote.
Barbara Nicolosi an adjunct professor of screenwriting at Azusa Pacific University and at Pepperdine University. Imagine, if more Hollywood screenwriters were devote Roman Catholics!
Barbara, I will pray for an abundant fruit from your efforts!
Ahh, the blue skies of yout’; go for it, Tracy.
Skai, would you rather that I posses the cloudy eyes, (oops, I mean cloudy skies) of old age?
Tracy, old age is merely a state of mind.
Skai, yout’ is merely a state of mind. Blue skies, cloudy skies, we have them both.
Zactly, Tracy, zakli. Our minds should lead the way, not our bodies.
Not really.
Bette Davis said old age ain’t for sissies. Now that lady knew of whence she spoke! Old age is to paraphrase Dickens, that best and worst of times…but it sure beats the alternative.
I believe Barbara Nicolosi is the daughter of Dr. Nicolosi the founder of NARTH!
Viva Cristo Rey!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
I just checked on Wikipedia, and they are two different families.
Great university course. Lousy liturgical rite which is what RCIA is. I could go on, but no one wants to hear about the Sunday Scripture readings in the liturgical order given to us by Holy Mother the Church being the best way to become Catholic. No, people, what you read above is not RCIA, Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults…
Oh, and by the way, what do you if Joe Lunch Bucket asks in? Hmmm?
Of course, we include all the liturgical rites in the program. It isn’t lousy at all and we have had 58 people come into the Church without any recidivism in 12 years. Lectionary-based catechesis has its fans, but it simply does not cover all of the truths of the faith that the students need to learn.
“Joe lunch bucket”? We don’t disdain any of our students with name-calling like this. Every student is on a different level. We assign each of them faith-mentors so they can process the classes individually in case they are missing anything key. However, because the teaching style is Socratic, the students participate all throughout and can interject questions if they are missing a concept. As an educator, I have learned the value of making the students reach up as opposed to dumbing down to the LCD.
Do you think that your program would be appropriate for a Confirmation class at High School level?
This is an excellent reading list. All Catholics should be encouraged to read daily to know their faith better. When I converted to the Catholic faith at age 18 and just out of high school, I would have found this reading list daunting, now years later with a B.A. and an M.A. it still seems a bit heavy. I wonder if this doesn’t cause some candidates to hesitate and to rethink if they want to become a Catholic, thinking that they are not worthy of it. For many catechumens, it might be better to suggest reading biographies of the lives of the saints, who were intelligent, but not intellectuals, such as the Cure of Ars, Father Damien, Bernadette Soubirous, and Mother Teresa, to name a few.
Thanks, Sarah. We are continually adapting the program and adding and subtracting works depending on if they are working or not. We used to use Chesterton’s Orthodoxy, for example, but had to drop it because the students found his style a stumbling block. Some of the students get more out of the stories than others, but this is Hollywood and story is the lexicon of the industry so it puts the faith in a context with which they are already comfortable.
Nice to see RCIA stuff that is rich and really Catholic, rather than just feel good.
I’ve met far too many people who go through the whole RCIA journey and still don’t know much about genuine Catholicism — just “Jesus love me” and they are as ignorant about Catholic basics as the day they signed up for the classes.
I hope this woman’s approach spreads.
“Jesus loves me” is the essence of the Catholic religion, the basics if you will. Everything else is to help us become more loving of Christ and to bring his love to those with whom we interact on a daily basis. If we don’t believe that God is Love, then we can’t really call ourselves Christians can we?
Bob One, you liberals never define the word you love to use so much to define whatever you feel like doing, “love”. Wanna give it a try, though?
Let’s start with: Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. (John 14:21. Or, we could think about this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”| Do to others as you would have them do to you. Or consider this admonition, that we love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
We are to love one another, do good for one another, show our love in concrete ways to the least of our neighbors.
Bob One, just as I suspected you’d do, provide quotes that we’ve all read and heard countless times. You avoided my question, which called for you, Bob One, to define love. We already know how Jesus and the apostles and doctors of the Church define it. How do you define love, Bob One? Your own words are:
Of course. What’s your point?
Barbara, this poster is typically verbally abused on this website. I think his point was their failure to love, not anything to do with your RCIA program. I noted elsewhere that you said that you said “it wouldn’t be a dialogue with Catholics if someone wasn’t there to find fault.” It is true to an extreme degree on this website.
Anonymous, you see it as extreme because you’re satisfied to be a marshmallow. Many people however give everything they’ve got to win that crown of salvation. As St Paul says, it’s like a race to the finish … so why do you preach the false gospel of giving up and resting by the side of the road?
Bob One, maybe you’d be better at providing an answer that would enlighten those of other religions.
Bob One, define your favorite feeling word, love.
I try to use the same words our Lord used that are so well said in the Bible. I know God love me and I try to spread his love to others. I try to show love by helping others in need, volunteering whenever possible, advocating for justice when I can, and being a loving person. I try to bring/show my love for my family and the church family. Christ’s love is unconditional, not a bunch of rules and regulations. I know that if I lead a good life and love God and my neighbor that I will be with God when I die, which is the objective of our time on earth. Good enough?
“I know that if I lead a good life and love God and my neighbor that I will be with God when I die” …One the biggest presumptions of God’s mercy I have heard in a while, hey Bob One, if you are in a state of mortal sin at the moment of death YOU WILL NOT be with God when you die, no matter how good a life you have lead
B.O., you’re simply repeating yourself without connecting to the question, “What is love”? Everything you’ve said so far is said also by many good people of religions other than Christianity.
Bob One, be the Lord and He will give you a new song. Old wine in new wineskins don’t work too good. New wine in old skins don’t hardly work too good neither. You gots to put new wine in new wineskins, Bob One: Describe your experience doing so.
Wonderful elucidations by Barbara Nicolosi!!! Makes my day … well, at least so far my morning coffee time. Nothing to add or criticize now, but only to recommend. I’d call it a perfect approach. Ladies, this is what homemaking is all about, why God made women, so that souls could be made and formed in His image and likeness.
I used to enjoy reading the cozy, somewhat simplistic prose of C.S. Lewis…until a holy priest set me straight…he reminded me that Lewis was a heretic and instructed me to toss all of my C.S. Lewis books in the trash, as they were heretical rubbish…I complied and returned to the Catholic “classics”…aaaah
I’ve always respected the psychological efforts of Dr. Nicolosi…curing homosexual’s… one “lavender lad” at a time…
Thanks for this. The reading list is great. Might I suggest another book–The Catholic Church and Converstion by G.K. Chesterton.
Thanks again.