Saint Bridget Church
Framingham, Massachusetts

Saint Bridget Church

RCIA Class Notes

On Thursday nights, from September to April, the Saint Bridget's RCIA team meets to teach candidates what it means to be a Catholic in a Catholic Church. The teachers are focus on presenting the content in a memorable and entertaining format.

This page features some of the class notes that I have presented during my teachings. I get my content not only from reading materials but also from various other online sources.

Jesus Christ

JesusChrist2

Learning Objective: To show the unfolding plan of God's love for His people and the preparations for the coming of Christ.

In this lecture, we will talk about how Jesus Chris is the promise person. I'll go over all the evidence that supports the existence of Jesus Christ.

During my lecture, I'll use information from the Bible to support that Jesus is the son of God. I also use evidence from history that Jesus did exist. This is a fun and interesting class that is worth attending.

The deity (day-it T) of Jesus is considered an essential doctrine and is a central non-negotiable belief within Christianity. Also known as the "divinity of Christ," this doctrine asserts that Jesus Christ was and is the Son of God incarnate. As the apostle Paul stated, "the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" (Col. 2:9; ESV).

  • Making Disciples: Session 8
  • Essentials of Faith: Chapter 11

Download the class lecture. [Updated October 13, 2016]

Life in Christ

Part One of the Catechism of the Catholic Church presents the Creed the revealed truths of the divine plan of salvation and the invitation to faith in this Revelation.

Part Two presents the Seven Sacraments by which the saving grace of God is made available to us. We receive this gift of divine love by our participation in the Christian mysteries.

Part Three explores our life in Christ and the Holy Spirit, which we have received through Revelation and the Sacraments. It unfolds the various ways we respond to divine love through our personal and social moral behavior.

Living the Catholic Moral Life

In this lecture, I talk about the process of conscience formation and recognize the dignity that comes from choosing the good and living the life of virtue. There are four key area that I want to talk about:

  1. The Evaluation of Human Acts
  2. Helps to Living a Moral Life
  3. The Gifts and Fruit of the Holy Spirt
  4. Finally, in the next class, I'll review what is commanded and what is forbidden, specifically by the Ten Commandments, Given by God to Moses. Since these Ten Commandments constitute the moral guidelines, that - as we shall see tonight - in their essential elements oblige all people at all times and in every place.
  • Making Disciples: Session 20 108-113
  • Essentials of Faith: Chapter 42
  • Catechism of the Catholic Church: Paragraphs 1749 - 1845

Download the class lecture. [Updated December 8, 2016]

Ten Commandments

This is a very informative lecture where we talk about the Ten Commandments. We talk about some of the history of how the commandments came about and how they are still relevant today.

During the class we go over each one of the commandments in detail. We talk about what the Catholic church commands and forbids. Past students have told me that they learned a lot more about the Ten Commandments from this lecture.

I focus on keeping the topic upbeat and try to use current events and situations to describe the Ten Commandments. There's a lot to cover and it's very difficult to keep it all under 90 minutes.

  • Making Disciples: Session 21,22
  • Essentials of Faith: Chapter 44-53
  • Catechism of the Catholic Church: Paragraphs 1946-1986, 2052-2145, and 2196-2557

Download the class lecture

Prayer in the Christian Life

Prayer is the oldest form of wireless communication.

This lecture is all about praying. I cover such issues as why people pray, what should they pray for, where to pray and how best to pray. I'll cover the top ten prayers that every Catholic should know.

Did you know that there are five possible responses God has to every prayer? We'll talk about them during the class. It's importaint knowing the possible responses which will help develop better prayers.

Everyone prays and this lecture will give you some keys things to think about when you pray.

  • Making Disciples: Session 32,33,34
  • Essentials of Faith: Chapter 54, 35 and 55
  • Catechism of the Catholic Church: Paragraphs 2558-2856

Download the class lecture