We had a wonderful experience with our three inquirers and six Catholics who completed their Sacraments last spring. It was so successful that we plan to repeat the retreat again this year. We wanted to give our brand-new and renewed Catholics some meaningful experiences in continuing their journeys in the church.

OCIA Retreat Schedule

Morning Mass and Breakfast with Discussion

We began the Retreat Day with our 8:30 Saturday morning mass with the parish community. Then, we proceeded to our meeting room and all of us together set up for a fully-donated breakfast, beginning with recitation of “Grace.” As each member of the group brought their offering for this meal, they were proud to be part of a worshipping community that had formed over the many months studying together.

Then we broke bread together (actually: bagels, croissants, rolls and muffins) and we began a discussion about their experience in OCIA. The openness and wonder as these beautiful folks talked about the lessons, their working on a prayer life and their desire to build a relationship with the Lord, all of this was a blessing for the team to witness.

OCIA Testimonies

Following the meal, we had testimony from several team members who had themselves experienced the OCIA program and shared how their lives had changed. We read some short comments from 5-6 previous members of OCIA as well.

Scripture and Lectio Divina

Then, we had an exercise illustrating “Lectio Divina” and read some Scripture followed by a discussion about common forms of prayer: adoration, petition, intercession, thanksgiving and praise. Several shared their experiences of prayer.

Stations of the Cross

We wound down our time together as we all cleaned up the room, then proceeded to our outdoor Stations of the Cross for another group experience in prayer, as each read a passage before each station.

Continuing to Welcome the Group into Our Parish Community

The members of that group have continued with Sunday mass attendance becoming part of the community of our parish. We were so glad our team worked on this project – a wonderful prayerful half-day culmination of our OCIA time together.

This article originally appeared on Amazing Catechists in March 2025.