Dear Good People of St. Philip,

I would like to speak to you this week about some good news: soon our OCIA class will be starting at the end of August and anyone reading this or who knows of someone who is not yet baptized or confirmed in the Catholic faith is invited to come! Even if you or someone you know is not yet sure if they would like to become Catholic but is interested in learning more you are invited to come. OCIA is an acronym for "Order of Christian Initiation for Adults" in other words a process in which newcomers can join the Church. I believe this is one of the most exciting programs that we offer in our Parish (and most Parishes) because so often whether the class is big or small we get to watch people who did not know Jesus or did not know him well come alive!

In many ways OCIA has been a fruit of the Second Vatican Council (Oct. 11, 1962-Dec. 8, 1965) and a response to our modern times and the crisis of faith that we see today at a cultural and national level. The OCIA program is really a program that allows the Church to continue to announce the kerygma (that is the initial heart wrenching call of the Gospel) and a return to a more ancient form of catechesis where adults joining the Church went through different stages to be fully initiated into the life of the Church. First of all, the kerygmatic proclamation of the Gospel is an idea that harkens back to ancient times before cell phones and social media, when the only "quick" way to get news out were for runners (or more properly called "heralds") to go from town to town announcing the good (or bad) news. Usually, a victory in battle or some kind of political victory. The first Christians saw themselves in this same light too, "heralds" or runners for a new King, our Lord Jesus Christ announcing His true victory of eternal Salvation by his Cross and Resurrection. From what we read the letters of St. Paul and the Acts of the Apostles it seems this kerygmatic message spread like wildfire!

This Proclamation which may seem so commonplace today obviously had quite an impact on people in those times and since many of the first Christians would join the Church as adults the early Church had quite a developed process of Catechesis that took place over a couple of years (a more involved process than we typically require today). However, the OCIA process is a great reminder that faith is something that must continually grow and unlike some protestant Churches we do not believe in some kind of one-time proclamation process where we just proclaim faith with certitude one time and we are saved. Rather, experience and the Gospel show us that salvation is a lifelong process that we all must continually strive toward as the Lord continually comes closer to us. The OCIA process is exciting because we as fully initiated members of the Church can watch something beautiful unfold as we witness family members and friends find Christ and in the process we will be reinvigorated in the faith ourselves. Please consider inviting someone you know and care about to join our OCIA classes this fall and receive one of the greatest gifts they could ever receive.

Yours truly,

Father Jeb