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NWR: 17 weeks of RCIA left

A bit of a rant. My apologies.

I started the RCIA process in September 2008. This Easter, I will be confirmed and receive first communion. I always believed in God, but it wasn't until a rough patch of life that I decided I wanted to deepen my faith. I went to several different churches, and decided I loved the Catholic church the most. I felt at home and at peace. So I signed up and started going through the process.

It will be 1.5 years when I am finally finished. I love the faith, and certainly would not want to be anywhere else, but it's SO LONG! At this point, the process is causing me more stress than good. The Sister that does the process is adament that we never miss a class or a Sunday mass. I have a hard time with this, not because I'm lazy on the weekends, far from it. My FI and I are the only ones in both our families that live in Calgary. Everyone else lives 3 hours away in Edmonton, his parents live another 3 hours north of that.
I feel like she doesn't quite understand how important our famlies are to us and that we make every effort to be with them during important events. I always get the "you really should be coming every week" or "oh that's really too bad you have to miss another Sunday"

I'm so frustrated and want the whole thing to just be done. Not only am I stressed about the whole thing because it limits my life drastically, but because I feel like I'm not doing good enough for her and she might say I haven't fully committed myself and therefore shouldn't be confirmed. I know for a fact that my attendance is up there with the rest of them, and certainly not the worst in our group.

I'm tired, stressed and want it all to be done. Only 17 more weeks....

Re: NWR: 17 weeks of RCIA left

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    edited December 2011
    Hang in there! That is a really long RCIA process. Mine only lasted from September 2008 to Confirmation at the Easter Vigil 2009. It will feel so good to partake in communion and what it really means once you get there. I know it is a huge dedication. I totally feel for you. Mine was on Sunday nights as well and my fiance (well, I guess soon to be, he ended up proposing after my Confirmation) had moved out of state and I was devastated. Is all I wanted to do on Sunday nights was be on the couch and watch football, read, etc. I will say a prayer for you. Hang in there, just keep telling yourself the rewards will be great in the end.
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    Theresa626Theresa626 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    What if you went to church on sat or went to a different church closer to where your parents live?  have you tried telling her how important your family is to you and explaining why you have to be with them and how far away they are?
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    myownasylummyownasylum member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    WOW thats a long time I just started in dec. and i'm getting confirmed at Easter Vigil but I'm doing private classes.  Just explain to the sister that you can go to mass at a church closer to your parents when you go to visit them! She should understand and respect that my fh and I go to 3 different churches in our town. I dont think it should matter which church yall go to as long as yall go!
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    sawahleeesawahleee member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    First off, I am new to the boards hello!

    Anywho, I have have been Catholic all of my life; I went to Catholic school for 13 years, recieved all of my necessary sacraments etc etc... What I love about this faith is that our community is so welcoming, nurturing and understanding. (Although there are those exceptions of a few old school nuns and trust me having been to Catholic school the majority of my life I have had my fair share.) However, the Sister involved in your RCIA process I am sure is not trying to stress you out by no means by being pushy about Sunday masses and probably just wants to make sure you're involved in your home parish community.

    Have you tried sitting down with her and chatting about your family situation and how important it is for you to recieve spiritual support from them too? Also many churches offer a variety of mass hours for different days including early 6am masses (which of course aren't ideal but it might just start off your weekend right before traveling to your parents'.) And of course the more logical reasoning is that you attend mass closest to where you're at (and I agree with Asylum in that it's the fact that you're attending at all that matters and kudos to you if you are. )

    The Catholic ministry, as well as your parish community, is there for you to turn to when you need advice, have questions, or even voice personal concerns such as this one. 

    good luck! Smile
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    edited December 2011
    Thank you for the wonderful words and prayers. It helps :)
    I do in fact have an interview with someone (not sure if it's the sister I referred to or not) tonight. I will certainly bring up the issue. They like to interview us to make sure we're still on the right path.
    My FI asked me last night if I wanted to continue since it's causing so much stress. I gasped and told him I want to finish more than anything. I can't imagine my life without it.
    My church does indeed have several masses, unfortunately with travel, I leave before and get back after them. When we visit FI's parents, I attend church with them when I can. Typically we're driving during all the times. I honestly don't miss on purpose and when I'm tired, I still drag my butt out of bed and get there. I just can't make it every single weekend, and I don't think that makes me a bad person, or a bad Catholic (I could be wrong since I'm not one yet). I do feel less 'whole' when I miss though.

    You are all right though, I should just bring it up and explain and basically just tell her the situation.
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    sawahleeesawahleee member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Always remember that in life God would never give you anything that you couldn't handle.

    GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS!!
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    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_nwr-17-weeks-of-rcia-left?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:615Discussion:e5ca1e71-ab8c-4f29-b143-91f62e8743b1Post:c8a48f54-2558-4a86-8177-433f35780818">Re: NWR: 17 weeks of RCIA left</a>:
    [QUOTE]Always remember that in life God would never give you anything that you couldn't handle. GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS!!
    Posted by sawahleee[/QUOTE]

    This really struck me. Thank you. I've written it on a post it at my office.
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