The Order of Christian Reception (OCRA) is the principal way baptized Christians join the Catholic Church. OCRA process in the Waterloo parishes assumes that a baptized Christian already understands the fundamental principles which Catholics share with all other Christian faiths and focuses on what is distinctive about how Catholics understand and live these principles.
SESSION 1 • INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this discussion is to explore the nature of faith, the role of faith in the candidate's life and how faith has developed and changed over time, and to assess their current relationship to Jesus Christ. We invite candidates to review the Nicene Creed and to discuss any aspects of the Creed which are unclear or challenging for them.
SESSION 2 • THE CATHOLIC IMAGINATION
In this discussion we will explore the basic question, “What does it mean to be ‘Catholic’?” We will highlight four primary characteristics of the Catholic “imagination” or worldview which are rooted in the mystery of the Incarnation: the sacredness of time and space, human relationships, and human activity. We will examine how these characteristics or convictions are represented in the Eucharist, expressed in the Creed, and experienced in everyday life.
SESSION 3 • SACRAMENTALITY
The principle of sacramentality expresses the Catholic conviction that material objects, rituals and experiences can embody and reveal God’s presence; it is at the heart of the Catholic belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. The purpose of this discussion is to explore the Catholic principle of sacramentality as it is expressed, experienced and celebrated in the Sacraments. We will note the particular Catholic understanding of Eucharist and Marriage.
SESSION 4 • HISTORY
In this discussion we will explore the special way in which Catholics understand the meaning and purpose of history and how God’s presence and love is revealed and experienced over time in human experience. We will discuss how Catholics read scripture as the sacred record of revealed truth embodied in the community's experience of God's presence over time recorded in both the Hebrew and Christian testaments.
SESSION 5 • COMMUNITY
Catholic Christians believe that God's presence is embodied, experienced and mediated in and through the individual’s relationship to the faith community, the Body of Christ. The purpose of this discussion is to help participants appreciate the Catholic principle of community, particularly as it applies to the Church as a community of people. We will explore the Communion of Saints and Catholic devotion to Mary and the saints.
SESSION 6 • HOPE AND MISSION
In this discussion we will explore how hope shapes our mission and our responsibility for the others and the world. The Catholic faith is an especially hope-filled tradition; this hopefulness is embedded in Catholic moral and social teaching as well as in the very structure or organization of the faith community. We will explore the structure and governance of the Roman Catholic Church, an individual's rights and duties under Canon Law, and the role of conscience in moral discernment.
SESSION 7 • LIFE AS A CATHOLIC
The purpose of this discussion is to help participants appreciate how Catholic Christians experience and practice their faith in everyday life. We will examine the role of the Mass as the “source and summit” of Catholic life, the role of personal prayer and devotion, family life, and spiritual development, the virtues and the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.
SESSION 8 • CONCLUSION
In this session we will discuss the Sacrament of Penance and focus on how and why Catholics celebrate this sacrament. We will review the historical development of the sacrament, the distinction between mortal and venial sin, and how to prepare for Reconciliation by an examination of conscience. In addition we will review the ritual by which baptized Christians are received into the Catholic Church.
Last Update: 08.27.24