St. Patrick Parish, Hudson, welcomed 19 new Catholics into the church this Easter. This photo, taken at the group retreat on Palm Sunday, April 13, is missing two candidates and four sponsors. (Submitted photo)

Katie Waldal

Editor’s note: Katie Waldal is an Order of Christian Initiation ministry volunteer at St. Patrick, Hudson.

We have 19 participants entering the church this Easter season. We look at the Becoming Catholic ministry as a process of evangelization, invitation and discovery. We begin with a seeker we meet with and guide those who feel nudged to begin the process to becoming Catholic – which is one of the main reasons we titled the ministry “Becoming Catholic – Order of Christian Initiation Ministry.”

We are a year-round process that begins with a Discovery session. We have a testimony weekend, typically in the early fall, where a previous participant and sponsor share their testimony at Mass and invite those interested in the process as a participant or sponsor. We also reach out and invite people to join us for a Discovery session from a list that has grown over the years to more than 100 people, from couples who are getting married or baptizing their child or children, to those who have Catholic spouses and they as a couple or family have joined the church.

We as a team reach out via email or phone call, or potential participants find us through their own discovery or searching. Once we connect with them, we invite them to join us for a Discovery session. When they attend a session, the future participant has taken another step toward the journey to becoming Catholic, joining with us as a community in one Body of Christ at the Lord’s table. It is a time for them to ask us questions for us to get to know their story, what the nudge is that led them to meet with us. We have found that each person we meet with has his or her own story or nudge by the Holy Spirit.

Throughout the process, we as a team are there to walk with the participants and sponsors just like Christ walks with us each day. The large group process typically begins in the fall, when we meet almost every week, presenting and discussing topics that tie liturgically with the Mass. We also incorporate additional discussions on the Mass, Mary, the saints, Holy Family, sacraments of initiation, vocation to the priesthood, religious life and marriage.

Throughout the process, there is a focus on their faith journey and their understanding of what the Catholic Church is asking of all of us, including the development of their relationship with Jesus, as a disciple. How will they go out and live as a disciple? What are we called to do as God’s people? Discipleship is a journey of the heart.

Over the past 10 or so years, we have observed more than a 75% continuation and involvement rate in the church based on an observational study, including those that have started working for the church or at a Catholic school.
To learn more about the program, visit www.stpatrickofhudson.org/formation/becoming-catholic.