Rite of Welcome/Acceptance in the West Country
I often wonder why some communities ignore the Rite of Acceptance into the Catechumenate and the Rites of Welcome for candidates, perhaps for fear of imposing a burden on people, but they are missing some exciting opportunities in the process. Our parish looks forward to celebrating these rites each year. At our recent combined Rite of Welcome and Acceptance held at the beginning of a Saturday evening parish Mass, there were so many people that we worried that our RCIA group, their families and sponsors and the parish community would not fit into the church. A recent Sunday Gospel reading from Luke 5:1-11 with its abundant image of bursting fishing nets full of teaming fish seemed rather apt.
Whereas we normally have three or four adults, plus a few children for RCIA and CICCA (Catholic Initiation of Children of Catechetical Age) in our city parish here in the West country, this year we have twenty-five adults and children coming forward to be baptised and received at Easter, including seven adult baptisms and six adult receptions. This has brought its own logistical problems in our small church, one of three, which make up our small parish, where the total combined Mass attendance across three parishes, numbers no more than three hundred.
Although we had described the Rites briefly to the members of the RCIA group, - the danger of revealing too much could detract from the actual impact of the experience on the day, there was much excitement on the day of the event. The group had had two questions to consider "What do you ask of the Church and why?" Each had agreed to give an individual, personal answer. Responses were written at a previous RCIA session, to act as an aide-memoir in case adults and children were nervous on the day.
When this was tried last year, as a result of a suggestion made by the parish priest, but greeted with a little scepticism by hard bitten catechists, the catechists had been surprised that the adults had agreed to it and secondly, how deeply it had prompted the group to think about their responses. The third surprise was the witness that it gave and the impact it had had on the parish communities, who had strained to listen to every word of the moving answers. There was even a tear or two. This year a microphone was used!
On Saturday morning, the phone lines were busy, as catechists phoned and checked that people were OK and knew what they were doing, reassured those who were nervous, listened to question responses that had been changed, reminded people to arrive early. Both individuals and families shared how nervous and excited they felt. Some parents were busy listening to their children’s answers. Some could not but help mention at work, what was going to take place at the weekend. Some had spoken to others in the group and compared notes. Some shared how this had made them think very seriously about the step they were taking. It seemed the very act of preparing for the rites had brought the whole group together.
Even our parish priest, who enjoys celebrating these beautiful rites - he himself came into the church through the RCIA process – was becoming a little apprehensive, less he fail to remember which part of the rite applied to each adult and child. There was a master spreadsheet which showed all the permutations, which became translated into colour coded cards with names. The complication came when families had members who were to be received and baptised and where parents had to speak not only on their own behalf, but on behalf of younger children not old enough to be part of CICCA.
One of our parishioners, who normally directs the traffic in our local, large ferry terminal to make sure that all the lorries and cars are correctly loaded onto the ferries, made short work of organising the movement of prospective candidates and catechumens, adults, children and babies, sponsors, catechists etc., as they were greeted at the door at the back of the church at the beginning of Mass and then moved around our tiny church, so there was room for catechists and sponsors to continue with the signing after the priest etc., and the rite could be celebrated in a dignified manner.
After the homily, gospels were presented to each person. The Mass was a long one, but no one seemed to mind, as the excitement felt by the RCIA and CICCA groups was communicated to parishioners and reminded those who had been received in previous years of their own experience.
When entered into enthusiastically, these rites provide a profound experience for those standing at the threshold of their new Christian journey or encouragement for those already on their journey, they mark the next step, they give visible witness to the building of community and give heart to all of us who are on the self same journey.
Baptized into a Way of Life
Things happen when Jesus is ‘at prayer’. ‘At prayer’ for Jesus is definitely not about a cozy chat with the Father but about the possibility of being transformed in such a way as to be open to ‘not my will but yours be done’. This week we are invited to reflect on what it is to be baptized.
I have often wondered what it would be like to be baptized into the Church as an adult rather than as a baby. I have never regretted the fact that my parents and extended family following the long tradition of our Church had me baptized within weeks of being born. I have been fortunate indeed that my understanding of what it means to be baptized has grown and developed over the years. I now know, in a way that I never understood for many years, that I am continually called upon to be baptized rather than simply be a card holding member of the Church.
I was recently asked to officiate at the baptism of a family friend’s child. I was told that they wanted the baptism done by someone they knew and would like to have it done privately. I agreed, provided that they approached the parish priest, also a friend of mine, and got permission. After a little discussion it was agreed that baptisms really aren’t ‘private affairs’. In fact there were six baptisms that day. The service and the community gathered together proved very powerful indeed. I took the opportunity to point out that where the Church was concerned the most important thing the parents could do for their children was to love one another. And if they do that they would do something that no school, college or university could ever do. They would teach them the importance of fidelity, of learning to trust, of kindness, of the importance of forgiveness and generosity. In formal religious terms they would give them the gifts of faith, hope and charity. I also pointed out that if we had the eyes to see and the ears to hear then we would ‘see the heavens open, and see the Holy Spirit descend upon each one of the children and hear the voice from heaven say to each one “You are my daughter/son, beloved, my favour rests on you.”
It is easy to say these words it is another thing to allow them to shape your life. In the case of Jesus of Nazareth when he emerged from the baptism of John he began his public ministry how much more so when we emerge from the waters blessed by the fire of the Holy Spirit are we called to live in a more radical way. As I said at the beginning of this reflection it has taken me quite a number of years to come to some understanding of what it means to be baptized and to try to live as a baptized person.
To be baptized either as a adult or as a young person of suitable age certainly offers richer possibilities than being baptized as a child. As the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults reminds us – ‘The Adult is the Norm’. While the ‘normal’ is the child – the ‘Norm’ is the adult. I love the moment when the adult is baptized – it is a definitely a threshold moment. It both confirms and deepens the faith already present in the life of the person. It is obvious that the person being baptized is not just becoming a member of a club but entering a living community of faith. I love the ceremony of clothing the adult with a white garment as a sign of that new life. Each year in the parishes in which I served, to welcome the Elect, the custom grew that all who attended the Easter Vigil would consciously wear something white to indicate putting on Christ. Those who had previously being received into the Church came wearing the white garment that had been out over their shoulders during their reception.
While ‘at prayer’ in Luke’s Gospel Jesus reveals to us something of the mystery of the Trinity and offers a profound reminder that we are all baptized into the love of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- Take time this week and over the coming weeks to reflect on the challenge to live as one baptized into the love of God.
- Reflect on what it is to be plunged into the waters of life rather than standing on the shore and dipping one’s toes into the shallows.
- Ponder on the difference between saying prayers and being ‘at prayer’
The coming of the Magi – a message for our time
To many people the Magi are the ‘three wise men’ of Christmas cards and nativity plays, and of the carols we learnt as children. Yet what little we know of them suggests that they were on a journey of faith. Whatever their religious background we presume that they were not Jews yet they made the connection between their own observations of creation and the Jewish scriptures. They were earnestly searching for the truth. They were prepared to think outside of their cultural box. Yet ultimately, beneath all the historical and cultural baggage, there is only one truth. Their appearance in the Christmas story emphasises that The Word was made flesh for everyone. The Catechism (819) recognises that ‘many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside the confines of the Catholic Church’. This is largely referring to non-Catholic Christians, accepting them ‘with respect and affection as brothers’ (818). It also reaches out to those of other religions (839 to 843) and to ‘those, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart’ (847). There are a lot of such people around us these days.
Is RCIA about helping people to become Catholics or Christians? The short answer to this question is, of course, ‘both’. Most people who embark on an RCIA programme want to explore the possibility of being received into the Catholic Church. But RCIA is more than just instruction in what the Catholic Church teaches, important though that is. It is where a group of people at various stages on their faith journey share their experiences and deepen their personal relationship with Jesus Christ together. The Magi were neither Jews, Catholics nor Baptists but I imagine them as deeply spiritual people who, in the words of the catechism, had come to ‘seek God with a sincere heart’.
Some years ago our RCIA group was joined by a lady who was a Baptist minister. She wasn’t considering becoming a Catholic herself but she came to bring a friend. Her friend had been baptised a Catholic but had never been confirmed. The Baptist minister wanted to help her friend to grow in faith in the living reality of Jesus Christ in her life and she thought the best way to do this was to bring her along to RCIA. We enjoyed having our Baptist friend with us each week. She shared her spiritual experience with us and enjoyed sharing ours. She came along to the Easter Vigil to see her friend being confirmed. RCIA is not, of course, primarily preparation of baptised Catholics for Confirmation, but, in this case, it was very appropriate.
I often wonder how we would feel if someone were to come to RCIA and, after getting a great deal out of it and growing in personal faith, were to decide to become a Methodist. The Holy Spirit can surprise us but it’s exciting to see him at work.
What many non-Catholic Christians respect about the Catholic Church is its spirituality - the distillation of 2000 years of reflection and spiritual experience. What we do in RCIA is to share what we have with each other as well as with our enquirers and catechumens. Not all of Our Lord’s disciples are Catholics by any means. If we share our spirituality, our personal relationship with God, rather than focus on just recruiting more Catholics, we shall help to build up the Church in a way that will stand the test of time. Many of the enquirers probably would want to be received into the Catholic Church – because they were hungry for more of spirituality which it offers. And those who do not become Catholics may well go on to build the Kingdom of Heaven in some other way that we would wish to support.
Ecumenism has come a long way since the 1960s. Back then it sometimes seemed that ‘Christian Unity’ could be a case of fudging differences in doctrine. Some cynics would say being united by not being sure what you believed. It soon became accepted that the way to be an ecumenical Catholic was to understand our own tradition better so that we were more able to share what we have with others of different traditions and discover the reality of our shared spirituality. Discussion of doctrinal differences is a job for theological experts and church leaders. Meanwhile there is plenty for the rest of us to get on with at grass-roots level.
John Ortberg wrote a challenging book called ‘if you want to walk on water you’ve got to get out of the boat’. Going into the world and making disciples does call for water-walking. The lives of many Saints, and of Christians in general, shows that it is amazing what people can do when they keep their eyes on Jesus rather than on the stormy waters around them.
But I’d like to focus on the importance of having a good strong boat to get back into when our attempts at water walking don’t quite come off. A boat where we can dry our clothes, get some encouragement from our friends, and, when necessary, learn some useful theory.
I chose to become a Catholic because it offered me a safe boat from which I could gingerly try a bit of water-walking. Non-catholic Christians who I meet whilst water-walking come from different boats yet they have been enticed out of them by the same Lord and they walk on the same water. We don’t always understand each other but what unites us is the common spirituality which lies beneath what we say.
Now we see through a mirror darkly but one day we may compare notes with the Magi.
The Messiah Is Among You
The Messiah Is Among you.
In one way it may seem the ideal if our Journey in Faith groups were to continue to meet over the Christmas season. It would be so good to share experiences of this and other Christmases in the light of the rich liturgies we will celebrate. As a catechist part of me wants to explore the richness of Word and prayer and living traditions. However, in the absence of dismissal catechesis at present, we have already bade farewell until January. This is ‘right and proper’. Family and other commitments also need to be honoured. I suspect it may be another reminder for us that the Spirit of God was at work calling our inquirers, catechumens and candidates to Christ in their familiar places, long before we met them.
Hopefully the next two weeks will also be a time when parishioners, with varying degrees of awareness, will have particular scope for their essential role:
“…the people of God should understand and show by their concern that initiation of adults is the responsibility of all the baptised… Hence, the entire community must help the candidates and the catechumens throughout the process of initiation… They should therefore show themselves ready to give the candidates welcome into their homes, into personal conversations, and into community gatherings…” RCIA n9
I am reminded of the story of the holy Rabbi living in the woods near a monastery that was declining in fervour and numbers. When the Abbot consulted him about his concerns the Rabbi told him that he had, indeed a message for him that he could repeat only once: the Messiah was living in his community. Returning to the abbey the Abbot told his brothers what the Rabbi had said, with the feeling that he had not received anything very helpful. It could just be true, but who could it be?! Gradually attitudes to each other changed – just in case this one or that one was the Messiah in disguise! This led to changes in the way they lived and prayed and soon others were attracted by their way of living and came to pray with them and some came to join them. Almost imperceptibly they’d found and shared a new way of living.
In responding to the Advent messages and all the preparations for celebrating Christmas (and the ancient ‘rites’ of the midwinter solstice too!) the parish community lives its response to the message that the Messiah is among us. In simple, unpretentious ways God’s presence will be witnessed again in this season.
Attracting people who wish to know more about being a Catholic Christian happens unseen, unknown to us. It is different for everyone but in our stepping back to appreciate this time of celebrating Incarnation we can consciously trust that it is the Spirit of God that works among us: individuals and parish.
By encouraging everyone to pray for each other, especially inquirers and candidates perhaps our community awareness of Christ being born in and among us will be heightened and grow the more.
The importance of sycamore trees
The importance of sycamore trees
Before I became a Catholic, reading and reflecting on Scripture, hearing the Word expounded, meeting with other Christians for prayer and praise, and praying on my own, were all important things I did in the practice of my faith. And when I did became a Catholic they remained just as important to me, although I also began to appreciate the reality of the Mass much more than I had before. I encountered some more things people did, such as the Stations of the Cross, saying the rosary, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, honouring Our Lady and the Saints and asking them to pray for us, and going to places like Lourdes. I now understand some of these practices more than I did and am much the better for doing so. The others I may come to understand more fully one day in the future when the Spirit leads me in that direction. But I see them all as part a fascinating spiritual landscape to be explored. A corporate distillation of 2000 years of shared spiritual reflection
But how many hours a day should I spend in prayer, or in reading the Scripture or in saying the Office, and how often should I say the rosary or go to Mass during the week, and how much of my money and time should I give away to those in need? The answer could well be ‘a lot more than I do’ but, apart from the useful discipline of the Sunday obligation, it’s the S word – the should word that often indicates that the cart is before the horse and that there is a major loss of the plot. St Paul (1 Corinthians13:3) went as far as saying ‘and even if I give up my body to be burned – if I am without love, it will do me no good whatever’. What St Paul (and, indeed, St Thérèse of Lisieux) meant by ‘love’ was inseparable from an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Originally the word ‘charity’ meant this kind of love (derived from the Latin caritas), but somehow the ‘should’ type of do-gooding gave birth to the unpleasant expression ‘as cold as charity’.
Sycamore Fig
Zacchaeus (Luke chapter 19) was a rich man but his riches did not win him any friends. His neighbours hated him as a tax-collector and a collaborator with the Roman army of occupation, and they suspected him of ripping them off. When Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was coming, the crowd would not let him get through to the roadside as Jesus came along. Being, like me, vertically challenged, he couldn’t see what was going on. But Zacchaeus had one quality that was to prove the gateway to life. He knew that he wanted to see Jesus very much indeed. He was so determined that he single-mindedly climbed a tree*, perhaps spoiling his expensive clothes in the process and causing some loss of dignity. But he wanted to see Jesus more than anything else. And not only did he see Jesus but Jesus looked up and saw him. And Jesus honoured him beyond his wildest dreams – he chose to come eat with him in his house. Here was totally undeserved and freely-given grace that filled him with joy. We are not told whether Jesus told him that he should clean up his act or even ‘should’ give up being a tax-collector. But when so much love is freely given there isn’t any ‘should’ about it. Zacchaeus reacted to the grace offered by Jesus by repenting and wanting to make amends to anyone he had defrauded by misuse of his office.
Religious practices are good sycamore trees if they help us to see Jesus and to reach out to him. If we let them become ends in themselves they are sycamore trees on the wrong road into Jericho. But if we let the living Holy Spirit lead us to the ways of organising our spiritual life according to where we are at the moment on our faith journey, the Lord will be spending more time at our house.
*The sycamore of the Bible is not the familiar Acer pseudoplatanus, (a kind of maple) that is so common in Britain but the Sycamore Fig , Ficus sycamorus . The tree Zacchaeus climbed would be much smaller than the ones around Wuthering Heights!
On the Road
We know that each inquirer’s journey in faith started long before s/he approached someone in the parish. In recent months we have met up with some people from close to home and some from eastern Europe, from Asia and from Africa. Diverse experiences of church and Christianity enrich our conversations and become parables that question our perspectives. We meet at a particular point on our roads of faith and know that God was there long before.
BarTimeus was on the Jericho road ahead of Jesus. This man seems to be nameless - recorded for us as ‘son of Timeus’. I’m reminded that all who come seeking baptism are already sons and daughters in human and divine relationships. Already they are prepared to recognise Jesus the Christ, already they have shouted out (or, at least, whispered their questions to someone) and been directed to ‘journey in faith’!
In his dark existence the son in next Sunday’s gospel story seems to have been waiting – on the ‘look out’ for possibilities of a different way of living, or seeing. He was restricted in physical sight but not in insight. He found the Son who took those possibilities way beyond his imaginings. We are told he was begging – waiting to be given what he needed to live on. So often we are witnesses in our Journey in Faith groups of the hunger that has developed for people when they experience new challenges in life. The birth of a child, or should I say, the awesome experience of becoming a parent, is one of those sparks that ignite a desire to see more, a recognition that they now perceive life differently. For others it maybe the death of someone close or a new stage in their children’s lives, or simply the culmination of years of questioning. For many different reasons people can find themselves “no longer at ease in the old dispensation…” (cf Journey of the Magi, TS Elliott). Ways that ‘fit’ for them in the past are no longer are enough.
Was the beggar’s ‘trigger’ the noise of the crowd around Jesus? The opposition he encountered made him shout louder. Recently a young mother faced an obstacle to being received into full communion. The questions she had then increased for her but they also led her to a firmness of resolve and a deep peace. Along with this she had a willingness to wait for God’s timing, not hers. Of course, she also took action but it was coming from a place within her that she had not, until then, known in its depths and its patience. The initial anxiety that she felt as a process of discernment was suggested gave way to insights and commitment beyond her expectations.
We all struggle sometimes to find a place from which to face the road ahead. In sharing the insights each is given we are all led to be more aware of our own way on the journey of discipleship. We may be blind to so much of God’s ways for us but have the assurance that healing is offered. With Bar Timeus we, too, ask, “Master, let me see again."
Inquirers, sponsors and catechists alike, as Bar Timeus, come together to walk the road of faith for one reason and then find quite other reasons for continuing. Perspectives are altered on this journey. It may be a profound alteration as with another young woman who recently told us that she had never understood forgiveness before. The unfolding revelation changed her. Feelings of revenge and anger had seemed to her, a normal, even correct response to something like the murder of an innocent child. For many months the forgiveness offered by the child’s mother had bothered her. Now, however, she saw differently and felt that this change in her way of ‘seeing’ had effected a profound change in her. Looking back over recent months she spoke of seeing herself to be a different person now.
The beggar in Mark’s story was probably in a static place on the road so as to beg alms from those leaving Jericho and heading for Jerusalem. As that man became a traveller on the road he saw his life in a totally new way. He had somehow recognised that the person he was told was Jesus of Nazareth was in fact the Messiah and nothing would be the same again. He called out to Jesus as Son of David, not Jesus of Nazareth. He saw what other, sighted people could not see. Some tried to keep him quiet, keep him back – to keep him in his place? Once he was given sight Jesus told him to go, he was cured by his faith. What he did was to follow Jesus along the road from Jericho to Jerusalem – that faith led him was on a road of discipleship. There was nothing to hold him back now that he could see. To make the journey along that road takes courage. Asking for sight or insight means all that was familiar is open change. We are witnesses of this in the lives of our inquirers. May they see evidence of it in us too. It is the encounter with Jesus who asks to fill our needs that gives us what is necessary for the way ahead. As disciples there is companionship with him and his work to be done: a destiny in ‘Jerusalem’ to be faced.
Signs of the Times
The recent cultural campaigns asking questions about God’s existence, and whether or not that should matter to us – should matter to us!
You may have seen the bus campaign sponsored by R. Dawkins & friends ‘There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.’ Produced in opposition to the visual Christian messages found in the public domain, the comment seemed to suggest that worry was associated with God while enjoyment wasn’t.
But the statement has also engendered a healthy Christian response, with one local church displaying the sign ‘There is probably no bus; so why not come in and enjoy God.’ Another has used the modern text message of: OMG! adding ‘Learn to say it and mean it’…and I’ve seen www.lookingforGod.come! with an arrow pointing to the church nearby.
The latest Alpha promotion asked several questions including ‘Does God Exist?’ with the familiar method of expressing an opinion in tick boxes of: □Yes, □ No □ Probably.
I saw examples where people had indeed ‘ticked a box’; one was Yes and one was No. The No was on a large billboard, where the person had made a significant effort to climb up and make their mark in a bold lime green. The Yes was in one of the tunnels at London Bridge station, where hundreds of people could potentially see this affirmative sign. The fact that people were stimulated enough by the question to physically express their declaration of belief was very interesting.
It made me consider all those people who are searching, who are asking the same questions and who are coming to our RCIA groups to figure this out: Is there a God?, Does God exist?, What do I believe?, What does it mean to say Yes?, Could we ever be satisfied with .. & How do we respond to… a Probably?, Are we part of transcending a Probably into a Yes?
These larger questions go well beyond ‘What does it mean to be Catholic …..??’ but they are linked to the deepest and innermost questions an enquirer might ask. How do we, as those walking alongside listen, respect the curiosity within the questions…. and wait. The Rite #6 mentions the periods of the RCIA and the steps that are part of the process with 6.1 ‘The first step: where an enquirer reaches the point of initial conversion and wishes to become Christian.’ Until that conversion of heart and mind, we are there to show through our lives, words and actions, the Yes of God’s love.
That waiting may challenge us not to rush to tick our own boxes. Do we turn our RCIA time into an assessment: Have they done this? Do they meet our criteria? Are we trying to give them the big answers too soon? Paul addressed this in his letter to the Colossians 4:4-6 when he suggests that we ’Be tactful with those who are not Christians and be sure you make the best use of your time with them. Talk to them agreeably and with a flavour of wit, and try to fit your answers to the needs of each one.’
Public displays which demonstrate a Christian presence and invitation may be the trigger/ prompt for those who are searching and some groups invest significant funding to promote their option. A 2005 study by the Heythrop Institute for Religion, Ethics, and Public Life called ‘On the Way to Life’ pointed out that: “If the religious community seeks to evangelise the culture, it must also be aware that it is being evangelised by the culture.”
In the world, in our Catholic communities, and in our RCIA groups, our witness, sincerity and visible Yes may also animate someone’s quest to encounter Jesus Christ, who makes God known to all.
What were you arguing about on the road?
We have just had Sheila O'Dea (formerly of North American Forum on the Catechumenate) with us in the Diocese for three days reflection on our practice of RCIA. At the centre was the Word of God for last Sunday - and the whole thing of 'what were you arguing about on the road,.. being afraid... not saying anything.' This particularly struck me because it amazed me that the 'arguments' about initiation of adults come about because people dont even have copies of the Rite and are simply doing their own thing - many clergy hadnt opened the Rite since they were given it, let alone have studied and reflected on it together, with people from their parish. So that was the first point of encouragement: everyone who is involved at 'leadership' level in the process should have their own copy of the rite, read, mark up and inwardly digest! The Rite is the skeleton and our task is to put flesh on it, and not to replace it with a programme!! Flowing from this essential of knowing the rite inside out, the second point of encouragement: to get to know the community inside out too! If initiation of adults is the responsibility of the baptised and takes place in the heart of the community, a gradual process accommodated to the liturgical year, then we must know the community, and then we can 'link up' our enquirers with people who can accompany them - a single mum with another mum for example, a 20-yr old university student with a student, a family with a family and so on..
The third point of encouragement: the whole mystery of Christ really does unfold over the course of the liturgical cycle, and if we are reflecting on the Word of God Sunday after Sunday after Sunday, then we can be sure that our catechesis will be suitable and complete. These 'feasting on the Word' for at least one year is what the Church calls 'appropriate' preparation - together with the catechumens we feast and grow into the Body of Christ.
RCIA is about who we are as Church - and the focus is not about 'getting sacraments' but on becoming a member of the Body of Christ and doing the mission of Christ! RCIA is about how we celebrate Liturgy and how this forms us as 'Church'. RCIA is about how we do catechesis - and the goal is communion with Christ. And finally, RCIA is about living and sharing the life we have with others - to be a place, a heart, that offers hope and listening, peace and reconciliation - the mission!
What now? Well if we really believe that RCIA is not about 'them' but about 'us', then can we do a few simple things for ourselves?
Encourage 'feasting on the Word' for all the community - many many Catholics still havent heard that God is really present in the Word... there is a 'famine of hearing the Word' (Amos). Can we celebrate the Liturgy of the Word really well every Sunday, and teach people how to open to the power of God's presence through the Word?
Q: To start with, have all the Ministers of the Word in your parish been offered and taken up formation? Including praying with the Word? And then, what about other opportunities to reflect - in families, neighbours, parish groups of any kind?
You Can’t Be Serious!
Over the past couple of Sundays the foot stamping antics of the bold John McEnroe questioning the referee decisions at Wembley seem very appropriate. It is easy to imagine Peter and the other disciples talking among themselves saying “He can’t be serious?”
“How could He possibly mean that the whole adventure will end in total failure? – on a Cross! Surely not!”
“And what does he mean by saying we must become like a stateless child, one who has no say and that’s the way to leadership!”
“And we must work with others who are outside our group and not shut them up!”
He can’t be serious – but maybe He is.
A number of years ago with a small group we visited the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi – it was a most moving occasion. What stayed with me, however, aren’t the beautiful frescos by Giotto or even the image of Francis himself but the question put to us by the American Friar who led us around the building. “Before we begin, can I ask you; “Are you here as tourists or pilgrims?” Rather shame faced we replied “Pilgrims”. Then he said “Great – I will try to bring you into something of the experience of Francis.”
The question has continued to haunt me. Am I a tourist or a pilgrim? – The tourist goes on a journey and tries to capture the moment taking the photo before even looking at the scene, trying to capture the moment - a journey of refreshment and hopefully excitement but essentially the tourist doesn’t change. The adventure just adds to his or her levels of experience and possible knowledge. The Pilgrim on the other hand sets out on a journey where hopefully he or she will experience change, possibly radical change, and come back seeing with different eyes, becoming, in the words of St Paul, a new creation.
These past few weeks are definitely an invitation by the Man Himself to get off the tourist journey into becoming an Adult Christian and move away from a rather shallow discipleship – away from the pick and mix of many a market based media approach to spirituality with instant formation and preference. The invitation is to step into deeper waters, to reflect and grapple with the riddles and ambiguities of the Man from Galilee – a task not just for one or two evenings but for years to come.
How is it possible to die and rise again – to be open to complete failure– and make that a creative way of life?
If we are caught up in the language and behaviour of “Who is the greatest?” what hope is there for true peace?
The great Mohammed Ali, used the phrase “I am the Greatest” not simply as a sign of personal vanity but as a profound challenge to the prejudices and bigotry of his own nation at a time when black people were very definitely second class citizens. Is it possible to use the language of dying and rising, becoming like a child, working with those outside of our group, beyond the pale, in a similar imaginative way?
The challenge to catechists, inquirers and catechumens is to allow the gospels of these weeks to find a deep home within and to resist the temptation to water down these radical sayings of Jesus and like the disciples to hide behind: “We don’t understand what he’s saying and we’re afraid to ask”. Or like the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane to simply run away.
Surely! He can’t be serious?
A prayer every catechumen should know
Listening to the Gospel on Sunday I was struck again by the power of the Magnifcat. It bursts in as a response to Elizabeth's friendly and formal greeting. It is as though these words have been bubbling up in Mary and Elizabeth is first person she has seen who can begin to understand what she is going through.
A favourite bugbear of mine are those songs which are predominantly in the first person, 'songs about me and Jesus, which often come from different ecclesial traditions fit uneasily in our liturgy with its ecclesial/communal dimension. I was once asked, 'yes, but what about the Magnificat - is that in the first person' But looking at the text it anything but self-centred. Elizabeth says Blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled. Mary's response is two-fold: it's not about Mary it is about God — she is blessed for what God has done for her; he is holy, and she has come to realise that the fulfilment of God's promise affects everyone — the world will be turned upside down by the child in her womb. We sometimes forget that Mary sings her song before Christ is born — she is a prophet.
So why should every catechumen know this prayer? Well, it is a core liturgical text. Sung by the Church every day as part of Evening Prayer. It occurs a number of times in the Lectionary either as part of the Gospel, as yesterday on the Assumption, or in place of the psalm. When the liturgy refers to a song of thanksgiving such as following communion or at the end of a penitential service the Magnificat is often given as an example. So part of the reason a catechumen should know it is so that they can participate in the prayer life of the Church. There is both a richness and a radicalism in the text which has sustain the Church's prayer across the centuries.
Furthermore I think it offers a model of prayer:
- that the fundamental attitude or starting point should praise and thanksgiving — for what God has done for us
- that our petitions should remember the lowly and hungry — that God has an option for the poor
- that our prayer links us with the wider Church across time and space — even to Abraham
- that God's promises will be fulfilled.
Some thoughts about putting it into practice
- Ideally introduce the text within the context of the Gospel passage
- Use the Magnificat in your prayer
- Sing it — it's the original Marian hymn. There are plenty of settings — try to use one which sticks closely to the text. If your parish has a regular sung Evening Prayer why not use that version.
- Use it as a building block to praying Evening Prayer together possibly in a simplified form.
- Make or obtain a prayer card with the text on and give one to each catechumen inviting them to pray it every day.
- Have an Advent reflection using the Magnificat perhaps focussing on Mary'. What does the text tell us about Mary?
- Magnificat is the first word of the Latin text and is used a shorthand way of referring to the text in any language. It can be translated as proclaims, rejoices, glorifies.
- The clip art is from a site run by Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Peru who provide an image for every Sunday