Skip to main content

An Open Letter to Priests: When Catechumens and Candidates Step Back

Dear Fathers,

I write to you with deep respect and gratitude for the work you do in guiding souls toward Christ and His Church. The journey of faith is a sacred and personal one, and your role as spiritual fathers is invaluable. You pour your hearts into teaching, encouraging, and welcoming those who seek to enter the Catholic Church. For many, the OCIA process leads to the joyous moment of full communion. But for some, after months of discernment, the decision is made to step back.

This letter is for those moments—when a catechumen or candidate chooses, for whatever reason, not to enter the Church at this time.

Please know that this is not a failure. It is not a failure on your part, nor on the part of the sponsors, the catechists, or the catechumen or candidate themselves. Faith journeys do not always follow a straight path. Sometimes, God calls a person to wait, to wrestle with questions a little longer, or to grow in ways unseen before they take that final step.

As priests, you have planted seeds, and those seeds may take time to bear fruit. Even Apollos planted seeds, and others watered them, but it is God who gives the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6). Your words, your kindness, and your teaching are not in vain. Even when someone chooses not to move forward now, the love and truth they have encountered through you remain with them.

To the sponsors and fellow parishioners who have walked alongside them—your support has not been wasted. Your witness to the Catholic faith, your prayers, and your companionship matter. You have shown them what it means to be part of the Body of Christ, and that example may one day be what brings them into the Church.

And to the catechumens and candidates who feel uncertain or who choose to wait—do not see this as a rejection of faith, nor as a sign of failure. God works in His perfect timing. If you have wrestled with doubts, if you feel unready, if something in your heart says, "Not yet," trust that God is leading you. The Church will always be here, ready to welcome you whenever you are ready to return.

Fathers, your work is sacred. The impact you have goes beyond what you see. Trust that God is moving even when the timing does not align with human expectations. Continue to shepherd, love, and trust in the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

With gratitude and prayers,
A Fellow Seeker of Christ

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Navigating Faith: Received, Not Rewritten: My Quiet Step into the Catholic Church

  Priest, me, my sponsor Today, I was   received into full communion with the Catholic Church. And if you’ve spent any time around church culture, you already know the responses: everything from the well-meaning (but deeply uncomfortable) “welcome home”… to the confused, “Why weren’t you received at the Easter Vigil?” So let’s talk about it. Not just what happened, but   why it happened the way it did. A Little About Me (Especially If You’re New Here) My name is Rai. I’m Southern Baptist by upbringing, a theologian by education, and I’ve served as a Methodist lay minister. My story isn’t one of spiritual emptiness—it’s one of a long, complicated, very real relationship with Christ. It’s also marked by church hurt. I’ve walked through pastoral failure, denominational fractures, and the kind of disillusionment that comes when the Church doesn’t live up to what it proclaims. And then, in December, my mom died. Grief like that changes everything. It strips away what’s perform...
Post a Comment
Read more

Navigating Faith: Grief, and Belonging

A little over a month ago, I lost my mom. I won’t lie—losing her has been the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through. Some days, it feels like I’m moving through fog, trying not to collapse under the weight of it. Grief has a way of reshaping everything, including how we see our place in faith communities. Recently, my priest returned from a month-long vacation. Before he left, he asked me to tell him my confirmation date when he came back. I told him I would pray about it—and I did. I prayed really hard. But tonight, the first time I saw him since he returned, he asked again. I told him I didn’t know, because honestly, I don’t want to be confirmed. His insistence left me feeling frustrated, ashamed, and exhausted. The truth is, I was verbally attacked by members of OCIA leadership during dinner one evening. That moment has stayed with me and made me realize I don’t want to join the Catholic Church. I just want to sit in a pew and be present quietly, without anyone telling me where I bel...
2 comments
Read more

My First Week as a Catholic: Beautiful, Hard, and Honest

It has been a little over a week since I made my profession of faith in the Catholic Church—since I received my First Communion and was confirmed. In the days that followed, one question kept coming my way: “Rachel, how was your first week of being a Catholic?” If I am honest, it was a nightmare. That may not be the answer people expect—the polished, glowing testimony wrapped in sentimentality. But it is the truth.  I have always known that anti-Catholicism exists. I have studied it, encountered it, even anticipated it. But there is a particular sting when it comes not from strangers, but from people you love. There is a special kind of grief when family members do not ask how you are doing spiritually—not necessarily because they do not care, but because they do not understand. There is a quiet ache when conversations that once felt natural now feel strained. When the people who helped shape your love for Scripture seem unable to see where that love has led you.  There is a...
Post a Comment
Read more