6 Reasons Why Cradle Catholics Should Take OCIA as Adults

My wife and I have been together for 20 years and she was not religious when we met. So when  we had a daughter she did not object to our baby being baptized Catholic or completing her First Holy Communion. The reason was because she didn’t believe it, so why object. 

After 18 years of being around my religion, my wife finally began the process of joining the Church through OCIA. OCIA is the Order for Christian Initiation for Adults and is the process for a non-Catholic to join the Catholic Church. It is formally known as RCIA. 

    This was a huge step for my wife. Although she was always “spiritual,” she had never fully embraced the Church. After several life situations led to a chaotic phase in our lives, she began attending Mass with me. Then she wanted to know more.

She started her OCIA journey and was literally learning from the beginning what it means to practice our faith. Soon, she began asking me questions that I needed to have answers for. After all, as the patriarch of our family, I felt responsible for knowing the answers about our faith, especially if my wife was taking steps to join the Church.

One day, I met a woman at a farmers market, and we started talking about church. Her conversion happened many years ago through RCIA.. Then she said, “You know, I discovered I knew more than the Catholics who were born into it.” Later that night, I told my wife what the woman had said, and she replied, “Yeah, we talk about that in OCIA class.”

As a Cradle Catholic, I had always taken my faith for granted because it was handed to me at four months old. It was a pillar that was always there, and I didn’t feel the need to invest energy into truly getting to know it. I began to fully embrace everything Catholic a couple of years before my wife joined OCIA, so I did have many of the answers. However, if she had asked me those same questions 10 years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to respond confidently.

So we have two different perspectives: one of a cradle Catholic who was given the faith at birth and attended Mass every Sunday, and another of a person actively striving to learn and understand the faith. Who do you think will know it better?

OCIA is a two-year process of classes, Sunday Mass attendance, and homework. In addition, if a person was previously divorced, they may need to obtain an annulment. Yes, even if they had a civil marriage and divorce prior to being baptized, the Church may still require this process. This includes contacting the person’s former spouse to determine whether they object to the annulment. So a person must be motivated to persevere through two years of classes, Mass attendance, and possibly the annulment process before baptism.

That motivation often makes someone a dedicated student who views baptism as an honor, not a birthright. If you don’t believe me, look at Catholic influencers on YouTube. Many are converts from Protestantism or Atheism. These individuals often have their “hair on fire” for the faith. It is refreshing and energizing for the world’s largest and most influential Church. So here are the 6 reasons why all Catholics should take OCIA:

1. Learned Life Experience
Do you remember everything you were taught in high school math? How about history class? Do you remember everything from catechism? Probably not. Furthermore, do you have the same perspective at age eight that you do at 36? Of course not.

Throughout life, we experience emotional, financial, and spiritual peaks and valleys. Through these experiences, we learn and sometimes develop good habits, plus sometimes bad ones. Jesus was with us throughout that entire journey.

Revisiting the faith as an adult allows you to view it through the lens of lived experience. The teachings resonate differently when you have endured hardship, celebrated victories, and matured in understanding. Relearning your faith through OCIA can help you with a mature and deeper understanding of God and the church. . 

2. Deeper Relationship with Christ through Blessed Mother Mary and St Joseph
As adults, we are spiritual leaders for the next generation that includes our children, nieces, nephews, godchildren, or younger members of our parish. As spiritual leaders, we must embrace the examples of the Blessed Mother Mary and St. Joseph as caretakers of the faith.

Our faith is distinct because we do not rely on Scripture alone. We read the Bible daily at Mass and depend on its teachings for our lives. However, the Church predates the formal canon of the Bible. The original apostolic leaders handed down the teachings of Jesus through Sacred Tradition. The Church embraces both Scripture and Tradition together, forming a unified and powerful witness against evil.

As spiritual leaders, it is important to know our faith well and to be holy examples for younger generations. Attending OCIA can deepen your understanding and remind you of truths you may have forgotten. Blessed Mother Mary and St. Joseph are our spiritual caretakers in Heaven; we are called to be caretakers of the faith here on earth and embrace them as our Holy examples. 

3. Break from Spiritual Complacency
Anything done consistently will have peaks and valleys. There will be times of strong motivation and times when you are simply “going through the motions.” This is part of human nature.

Most of us have attended Mass and thought, “This is going longer than usual,” or found ourselves mentally reviewing a to-do list: wash the car, pay the bills, stop by the store, and so on.

The truth is that you can love God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit while still feeling spiritually complacent. Attending an OCIA class as a participant can add fresh spiritual energy to your life. It can challenge you to rediscover your faith alongside those encountering it for the first time.

Everyone needs continuing education in their profession. Doctors must obtain CE credits to maintain their medical licenses. While a profession is important in a worldly context, your eternal salvation is far more important. Consider OCIA your spiritual continuing education and a way to break the complacency that may have dulled your spiritual vitality.

Pope Pius X wrote “A Prayer to St. Joseph Before Work.” In it he prays to work “with purity of intention and detachment from self, keeping unceasingly before my eyes death and the account I must give of time lost, talents unused, good omitted, and vain complacency in success, so fatal to the work of God.” Complacency can be the biggest hindrance to spiritual vitality. 

4. Faith-Defending Tools
Many times, I have been challenged about my faith by Protestants or “spiritual” individuals, and I have struggled to respond well. I often walk away thinking, “I should have said this!”

Once, someone questioned why I fast every Friday. I was so caught off guard that I failed to give a strong explanation.

Later, I realized this happens to many cradle Catholics. Because we were born into the faith, we often embrace its culture and traditions without questioning. For us, praying the Rosary as a spiritual weapon is simply a given. So it may come off odd when answering “because it is” as if someone asked why the sky is blue.

In OCIA, you are placed in group discussions where you must articulate and examine your beliefs. Often, former Protestants and atheists share their perspectives and reasons for converting. Hearing these insights is powerful and clarifying.

Being in regular spiritual dialogue strengthens your ability to defend your faith charitably, without panic or judgment. If someone were to ask, “Why don’t you eat meat on Fridays?” I can now confidently answer: “Because the Lord died on a Friday. In remembrance, and as an act of penance, I abstain. It is a small sacrifice in gratitude for His sacrifice.”

5. Reminder of the Works of Mercy
It is a holy obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and other holy days, such as Easter. However, there are additional aspects of our faith that are not always emphasized, including the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.

The Corporal Works of Mercy are: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead.

The Spiritual Works of Mercy are: instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish the sinner, bear wrongs patiently, forgive willingly, comfort the afflicted, and pray for the living and the dead.

During the two-year process, these 14 works are studied, discussed, and embraced. As a cradle Catholic, do you actively live them out? Do you pray for the dead? Feed the hungry? Bear wrongs patiently? As human beings, we all fall short at times.

Attending OCIA can reignite your spiritual fire and deepen your understanding of these works and view them not as mere obligations, but as expressions of an act of faith.

6. Service to the Lord
Do you give time to the Church beyond the hour you spend at Mass on Sunday? Time is the most precious resource we have on earth. Knowing that, how much do you give to God? Is one hour per week enough?

Giving your time to grow in knowledge of God and His Church is essential to your spiritual life. God desires an intimate relationship and dialogue with you. Attending OCIA as a cradle Catholic can expand your spiritual understanding and serve as a way to support others who are discerning entry into the Church.

Some cradle Catholics who have attended OCIA classes have discovered profound spiritual callings. These callings often become meaningful acts of service and great blessings.

Conclusion 

It is true, you do not need to attend OCIA to know God fully. However, what is wrong with strengthening your spiritual foundation while also supporting those who are preparing to enter the Church?

Remember, it is the Church that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself established.

Challenge yourself to get to know him and his church more deeply.