The RCIA journey has been a meaningful and transformative experience for me. What began as a desire to learn more about the Catholic faith has grown into a deeper understanding of God’s grace and a renewed sense of spiritual direction.

Under the dedicated guidance of Mrs. Saleth Mary, each session became an opportunity to reflect, question, and grow. Her clear explanations and patient teaching helped me appreciate the richness of the Catholic traditions and the purpose behind its teachings.

RCIA also introduced me to a supportive faith community. Sharing this journey with others reminded me that the path to God is not walked alone. The fellowship and openness within the group have been both encouraging and uplifting.

Through this process, I have also experienced personal healing. Learning about mercy, forgiveness, and God’s unconditional love has helped me approach life with greater hope, humility, and trust. As I continue preparing for full communion with the Church, I carry with me the lessons, friendships, and spiritual growth gained through RCIA. For this, I remain truly grateful.

“Faith is not a destination, but a journey where every step brings us closer to God’s heart.”

Up until December 2025, there were about 280 RCIA ECs and helpers, with about the same number of RCIA candidates in our diocese. The candidates comprised of those preparing for both full and partial rites of initiation.

THE RITE OF ACCEPTANCE

The Rite of Acceptance was celebrated on the First Sunday of Advent in most churches. However, at the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Kulim, Kedah, it was joyfully celebrated on 30 November 2025 at the 5.00pm Mass, with 5 participants (3 Tamil-speaking and 2 Chinese-speaking catechumens). The Rite was conducted in Bahasa Malaysia by Rev. Fr. Nelson Joseph. It marked the beginning of a spiritual journey that will lead them to full communion with the Catholic Church.

We wish our new catechumens a warm welcome! This is a season of growth. Allow yourself to learn, to question, and to be filled with grace. As you walk towards becoming a child of God and sharing in His eternal life, be assured that God is with you, guiding you with His wisdom and love. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.” (Isaiah 41:10)

Dear Evangelizing Catechists,

Shalom. May the peace of the Lord be always with you.

In the teaching of the faith, we are asked to adopt the pedagogical approach of Jesus, our first Evangelizer. In answering questions posed to Him, He adopted the use of storytelling through His parables. In this way, He used the experiential approach by relating real-life experiences and the lessons derived from them. To form a closer relationship with the community, He showed an understanding of the problems they faced and provided signs in the way of miracles. He taught them the faith through example and gave them the opportunity to live by His example.

As ECs, we often ask, “What would Jesus do?” How do we go about passing on the faith using the examples He set. In some places, the anthropological approach used proposes the following three steps:

1. through the evocation of the human experience and reflecting on it.
2. through the interpretationof its fuller meaning in the light of our faith with the help of Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the teachings of the Magisterium.
3. its application to life through the five tasks of Catechesis namely, the knowledge of our faith, our prayer life, our moral life, our liturgical life, our community life and service as missionary disciples.

However, these five tasks need to be carried out integrating the four pillars of Faith. These four pillars according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#13) refers to the Creed, Sacraments, Morality and Prayer. This often poses a challenge as not all topics can fit easily in this way.

It is important to develop this holistic relationship with Christ because if we fail to do so, the result would be like the proverbial story of the six blind men examining only one part of an elephant and coming up with a narrow view of the faith. As such, we would have failed as catechists.

In order to see more clearly the challenge we have before us as ECs, we first need to clearly understand how the five tasks of Catechesis can be carried out in the story-telling of life experiences of those under our care.  

May God continue to bless us all abundantly for serving in this ministry,

Dr. Ivan Filmer