Team Essentials – Resources: Catechumenate
In her blog ( 5 September 2011 A Parish begins the RCIA process) Caroline writes of the enthusiasts who are forming a parish RCIA team and the formation session offered to the team.
Resources are essential to anyone involved in RCIA, and although it may seem a bit daunting, the Rite itself is a resource that needs to be looked at time and time again. I suggest one way.
- Get a photocopy of the Introduction and have a reading group over coffee and cakes [cakes essential!].
- Have coloured marker pens, and colour code the different periods; the different roles: the community, the catechumen; the mention of liturgical actions, and the mention of catechesis.
- Look ahead to the first rite. Make a bullet point list of what has to be affirmed at that rite, for that is the way your path is directed.
- Be flexible, be imaginative.
Journals provide another valuable resource, with contributors often concentrating on a specific period or role in the RCIA
An article in the latest edition of Catechumenate* by Christine Mader offers an interesting approach to the Rite of Reception of Baptised Christians into the Full Communion of the Catholic Church.
The author writes of how baptised Christians are included in the RCIA process alongside those unbaptised people seeking the full sacraments of initiation. This may mean a year long process that takes no account of the circumstances of the individual. So, fine, if the person is uncatechised, but what of the person who has been attending mass each Sunday with their spouse; who has fully involved themselves in parish life, praying with the community, sharing tasks of charity. Or what of the Christian who was active in their own denomination, perhaps practising a ministry.
Christine Mader considers the matter by asking 3 questions. I pick out just a few points
1. ‘Whom should we see?’
- We should see that the baptised is Christian, and so has already achieved the purpose that the RCIA process intends.
- That the baptised Christian is already in communion with the Catholic Church, although as of yet an imperfect communion.
- They may already have been fully initiated in their own church, and regularly receiving Holy Communion.
2. Why should we act?
- The author considers ‘Our experience teaches us that the status quo is inadequate’
- That both, those being received into the Catholic Church, and RCIA teams, acknowledge unease when ‘practising Christians are forced to go through a full RCIA process’ when their Christian experience doesn’t require it.
In answering the first 2 questions the author moves to 3. Who should we be? That there are new informed ways of being.
- Understand the rites. The Rite of Reception is separate from the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. It is in Part 2, 5. Rites for Particular Circumstances.
- ‘Be ecumenically informed and sensitive’. Consider what is the validity of their own sacramental journey. Help them to discern why they feel drawn to the Catholic Church.
- Don’t plan to provide them with them more doctrinal or spiritual preparation than the average Catholic in the community already has. They shouldn’t be subjected to a heavier burden because they have made a choice to become Catholic.
- Be prepared to complete the process in less time than that of catechumens.
- ‘Be communal.’ By using what is already happening in your parish community, a varied catechesis can be given which utilises existing resources: giving a mix of groups, talks, involvement in parish activities as well as individual meetings
The author also suggests the team have a session reading the rite, exploring what it means and what is required.
- Don’t forget to look out the Resources page on this website.
- If you come across an interesting resource, do please share it via the blog.
*Mader Christine, ‘Separating the Rite of Reception from RCIA’, Catechumenate, vol 33 no 5.(2011) 20-30. Liturgy Training Publications, Chicago.
Sunday Parish Mass as ‘catechist’ on the Journey of Faith
I have recently returned from the Society of St Gregory's Summerschool (see www.ssg.org.uk) The society was founded way back in 1929 in order to promote active participation in the liturgy - and the week is spent with 'ministers' of all sorts - singers, instrumentalists, readers, clergy, 'liturgists' and catechists. There is a great sense of community and fun during our time together, as we celebrate and reflect on liturgy and its meaning and purpose for our lives, in a context of warm, genuine hospitality for one another, old hands and newcomers alike.
My post-summerschool reflection is that we cannot separate out the threads of life in liturgy, or liturgy in life. It is all an integrated web of relationships - God and us, and ourselves and one another. We celebrate one in the other, and vice-versa. The encounter with God and one another in the liturgy forms and shapes and feeds us, and like food, becomes part of who we are. It literally gets into every fibre of our being, shaping what we believe and our response to life. Whatever it is that happens in and through the liturgy is what keeps us going - and yes, it is beyond words!
RCIA is often simply referred to as 'Journey in Faith' - and like any journey, it is something we are actively engaged in at every step. It isn't a 'system' or 'education' or 'entertainment'. Nor is it something we do alone - 'me and God'. It's when we can find ourselves most aware of being held in a unity, addressing God together, in, through and with Christ. We need to sing our songs and listen and respond to the Word, make gestures and soak in moments of silence - and this tunes us in afresh to who we are, and gives our lives its gospel shape. On my own, I have limits, needs, longings - and recognise I cant 'do' life or liturgy on my own. The journey of faith, for all of us, needs nourishing through company - and the Liturgy is the visible sign of our deepest reality - being made One in Christ, and receiving the life of Christ not for ourselves but for the world. We had Marty Haughen with us for the week - we laughed a lot, and we sang many of his songs.
'Let us build a house where love can dwell, and all can safely life. A place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive. Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace; Here the love of Christ shall end division: All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.'
In these lovely Summer weeks, where we seem to have more space than is usual in our busy, 7-day week lives, perhaps we can be increasingly hospitable in the Sunday Mass, and accompany our catechumens and candidates in a more reflective way of experiencing the Liturgy. The Liturgy can only be the 'catechist' if we let it. We need to encourage reflection - and to be reflective ourselves for a start! In every Mass we are working in 'partnership' with:
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the liturgical and scriptural texts: alive and active words that accomplish the actions they describe!
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the community itself - being together, and open to the power of the texts as the Word of life addressed to us!
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on this particular Sunday - for speech, listening, silence, encounter! to find ourselves surprised, breathless!
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in this space - our building, and the symbols we use - do they bear the weight of the mystery?
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thy mystery that is to be revealed today - full of hope and possibilities, new life.
Perhaps we can help enquirers, catechumens, candidates with a simple 5-minute reflection before Mass:
- How am I as I come to Mass today? Who have been listening to this week? What about the key things going on in the world? What do I expect as I come to Mass today?
And then to tune in to all the different elements of the Mass - alternating between sound and silence, speech and song, movement and stillness, proclamation and reflection, word and action (Environment and Art in Catholic Worship 25) - the way liturgy is celebrated will itself carry the mystery - and this is how we 'pass on faith' to those who come.
- How does it feel to pray at this point in the Mass, how does it shape or influence my understanding and commitment to the Liturgy at this point?
At the end, we are sent out to 'glorify the Lord by your life' (new translation)
- What is your overriding feeling or thought at this point as you leave Mass? What do you expect as you go?
If we can reflect on our experience of the Mass, and allow it to bubble away in us, we will somehow find it speaking into to life during the week - courage, peace, joy, comfort, challenge. In the words of the late Cardinal Joseph Bernadin (Chicago):
The commitment I envision must be in our Catholic bones: the need to assemble each Sunday, to make common prayer, to hear the scriptures and reflect, to gather at the holy table and give God thanks and praise over the bread and wine which are for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and finally to go from that room to our separate worlds - but now carrying the tune we have heard, murmuring the words we have made ours, nourished by the sacred banquet, ready in so many ways to make all God's creation and all the work of human hands into the kingdom we have glimpsed in the Liturgy.'
One step at a time, imperfect, wounded as we are, encouraged by other wounded healers - after all Christ seems to say that we enter into the kingdom now by doing little daily things with love . And I would agree - 'it is not in craving after ready-made, complete and finished things that love finds its meaning - but in the urge to participate in the becoming of such things' (Bauman, Liquid Love: On the Frailty of Human Bonds). These Summer weeks of the community life and our Sunday Liturgy really are a very blessed time in the Journey of Faith.
Lent – an important time for RCIA
Lent can be very much a time of being alone in the wilderness. We may discover that we rely on some worldly things more than we care to admit to cope with life. Yet giving them up helps us to see things that matter more starkly in the clean dry air of the desert. We can only ponder what Jesus was thinking about for forty days in the wilderness but after fasting for such a long time it is not surprising that he was very hungry and this exposed him to temptation.
Jesus normally warns us to avoid temptation. He asks us to pray 'lead us not into temptation'(Matthew 6:13) and suggests that 'if your right eye should be your downfall, tear it out' (Matthew 5:29). But in Lent as we open ourselves up to God we also may expose ourselves to testing but, if we approach it in the right way, we do so in a safe environment. To help us to learn to swim better the instructor asks us to jump into the water but remains always on hand to save us if we get in trouble. Lent is, of course, a time to deepen our relationship with the Lord through learning humility through repentence (we discover we really aren't as good as we think we are), and learning to trust in Him.
Lent may be a time of being alone with God - yet, paradoxically, being alone is a communal activity. We are alone with our brothers and sisters of our parish community. The wilderness is full of our friends! For the catechumens and candidates preparing for the Easter Vigil it is a period of Purification and Enlightenment. But then that is what Lent should be for all of us. This is why the RCIA process involves all the parish community. The catechumens and candidates can be a great blessing for us all, an encouragement and a challenge in our own Lenten journey, and a source of joy in the Lord.
The RCIA process offers a route by which people can prepare to be received into the Catholic Church which is inseparable from growing in personal faith. It also offers nothing less than a means of promoting renewal within a parish community. The more the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is implemented in full and the greater the opportunities it offers.
In our parish, as in many others that 'do' RCIA, we have never really carried it out in full, and what actually happens is somewhere between the ideal and what seems to be practical. This year we have gone increasingly lectionary-based, and carried out a combined Rite of Acceptance (of Catechumens) and Welcoming (of candidates already baptised) in Sunday Mass. We combined these because this year we have fewer participants than usual, just one Catechumen and two candidates. It is important to emphasise that catechumens and candidates are different yet just as important to see them as fellow travellers with us on their journey in faith. The Rite of Acceptance and Welcoming did not take up much of the Mass yet it proved very meaningful not only to both Catechumen and Candidates but provided a 'before your very eyes' experience of the work of the Holy Spirit. As Lent began the Rite of Election and Enrollment in the Cathedral a few weeks later gave added to the momentum. Two weeks later our catechumen took part in the First Scrutiny in Sunday Mass. The candidates came to support their catechumen brother and the scrutiny concluded with all three being presented with the Creed. Thus the people of the parish have their own experience of Lent deepened by being part of it. This year we are going to carry out the second and third scrutiny within the weekly RCIA meeting but next year we shall consider doing all three in Mass, particularly if we have more catechumens. Perhaps each scrutiny at a different Sunday Mass so that more of the community might become involved.
So far we have not gone as far as dismissal. It is quite possible that once we started the practice it might well become accepted much more readily than one might think. We considered introducing the idea towards the end of Lent this year as the first step in extending it to the whole period of the catechumenate. To do it this year might be to expect too much of our one catechumen but perhaps we shall have more next year and we can extend dismissal to the whole of Lent. In our parish we tend to have more candidates than catechumens and the candidates consist a mixture of those who have already been catechised as practicising member of a non-Catholic Christian Community and some who, though baptised as infants, have had little or no further catechesis. The Rite suggests that the latter might be dismissed but the catechised might not, with an element of choice. For this year at least, with only one Catechumen and two candidates , it seemed better to keep them together and encourage each other. Perhaps we shall have more catechumens next year, do all the scrutinies in Mass and start to introduce the dismissal principal.
The more the members of the parish become involved in the journey of the Catechumens and Candidates and the more they will share their joy at the Easter Vigil and the more the newcomers will be a blessing to the whole community. After the period of mystagogia and they descend from the mountain of transfiguration comes the challenge not only of integrating the new members of the body of Christ into the parish but in appreciating that they represent new life which has the potential to renew us all. Are we going to be content to let them merge into the inward-looking background or are they going to lead us in inviting strangers into our church to 'come and see a man who has told me everything I ever did'? (John 4:29). Our new brothers and sisters of the Easter Vigil offer us the opportunity to see our parish community to grow not only in numbers but in spiritual depth and in the Joy of the Lord.
May we, along with our new brothers and sisters, all be Easter people!
RCIA as the model for all catechesis?
Having had a formation session on RCIA, the historical threads, vision and practice, a trainee catechist said this week that she couldnt see it working as a model for catechesis - her concern was the ability of the catechumen or candidate to 'know enough doctrine, and to fully understand the discipline of the sacraments' in order to take that step and become a Catholic', and very much seeing the main task of the catechist as providing a 'systematic programme' covering all there is to know...
Let's look at formation offered in the parish -
Children for first sacraments, baptism preparation with new parents, confirmation candidates, marriage preparation, welcome of returners and so on. How are these informed by the vision of RCIA? Where sacramental preparation is concerned, what are we saying through what we offer? Are Sacraments divine gifts, celebrating the human and divine relationship, to be prepared for, received and opened to, gradually over a life time, or are they the end-of-programme certificates of knowledge, passports to a Catholic school or a wedding in a pretty church?
RCIA gives the parish an incarnational model that involves the whole person, body, mind, heart and spirit -
with invitation and welcome (Come and See where we live), gradual pathway into community life (see how they love one another) , encounter with God (I am with you always) through the Word and the experience of Liturgy, prayer, and reflection on scripture and tradition, outward-looking concern for others, and steps marked by liturgical rites, and blessings to strengthen the whole community on the journey of deepening conversion.
I was invited by a priest colleague recently to give a day for engaged couples, as part of their preparation for the sacrament of marriage. In this one parish, 12 couples have applied to get married this year. So far the marriage preparation has involved: (1) individual meetings of the couples with the priest to discern where they are and what they are asking for (2) invitation to weekly Family Mass on Sundays to celebrate with and meet the community (2) a rite of welcome that took place during
T & C vows
a Sunday Mass, asking the community to pray for all the couples (3) marriage preparation sessions given by a married couple covering all aspects of 'Catholics and marriage' - opening with 'beginner's guide to lectio on the Word, and finishing with special prayers of blessing for them (4) members of the community involved in preparing for the wedding itself (5) follow-up sessions to share wedding stories, and offer ongoing support. Not a bad RCIA model!
What is your experience of RCIA as model for other areas of catechesis?
New Missal: what’s that got to do with RCIA?
Much of my current work is to do with preparing for the use of the new translation of the Roman Missal which we will begin to use in September this year. If you want to know more of the whys and wherefores look at the FAQs on the Liturgy Office website.
I want to highlight four aspects that relate to those supporting RCIA:
- experience
- catechesis
- liturgical catechesis
- liturgical formation
Experience
The first is a longterm reflection. Though it sometimes that the Rite thinks people come to us with no experience of Church many who come will already have been to Mass. From September part of that experience will be the new translation. Indeed they might even come to Mass becasue they have heard about this new translation. One thing that I have found in looking at the text with groups is that there are usually a wide range of opinions and the importance for those who lead RCIA is to recognise that their response might be different to others.
Catechesis
For teams that use the Creed as the foundation of their catechesis it is worth noting that there is a new translation of the Creed — both Nicene and Apostle's. An aim of the translation is to give us a text which is not just more faithful to the Latin but is theologically precise. For those interested in the changes Paul Turner's booklet Understanding the revised Mass texts provides a good introduction.
Liturgical Catechesis
The whole new translation is going to offer opportunities for catechesis as enquirers and catechumens ask questions about the new translation. Dioceses, deaneries, parishes will be providing formation in the new translation and it would be good if some of the team were able to avail of these opportunities. The translation will also offer a resource for catechesis. We are used to using scripture and the Lectionary as a source for major events in the life of Christ, to this we will able to add the texts of the liturgy such as the Preface as helping us to understand what we are celebrating.
Liturgical Formation
One of the 'tasks' of the Catechumenate is to form peoples in the habits of a disciple and this includes participation in the Mass and in particular Sunday Mass. This suggests that teams are preparing people for the translation, seeing as assisting them in participating through prayer and action and reflecting with them on the experience of the new translation.
“You are the salt of the earth…” Yes, but how?
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Well, have you noticed how salt improves the taste of the food that comes into contact with it? In the right amount of course, salt somehow makes the food more interesting; it brings out its characteristic flavour. So what is the particular gift, trait or value in us, in me, that brings out the best in my environment? And where around me is the taste bland, boring or lacking that pleasant “something” – a clear sign that the Gospel is missing? Or am I just safely clustering around the other “bits” of salt, the other Christians, creating salty “rocks” that are too big a dose for any regular consumption? The world longs for our “pinch of salt” - in moderation, but also in generosity…
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With salt in our diet, lots of things transpire. Salt makes people thirsty for example. But thirst is a good starting point for anyone looking for living water. It motivates and drives people to quench their need. So which elements of my life make people around me thirsty “for more”?
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Salt is also an ancient food preservative; it prolongs the sell-by date of meat by fending off the rot. Equally, our faith and the gift of our relationship with Christ can preserve “the flesh” in a confident hope of resurrection. This can be contagious too, despite the hardships we face. Our “saltiness” in season and out of season can enable those around us to pluck up courage and dare to hope for some meaning in the midst of various crises, pain, sin or suffering. In fact, even our tears are full of salt…
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Salt is occasionally used to thaw ice on roads. Similarly, we are called to warm the hardened hearts locked in fear, selfishness, anger or lack of forgiveness. Thus our “saltiness” can help to clear the path to God. However, this undoubtedly means getting “out there”, into the frozen conditions of our cultures, transforming them into safer places. And risking the resulting “melt-down” that binds us irrevocably together. Formerly two different materials, salt and ice, dissolve slowly into a single substance of salty water. Indeed, in Christ all can become one… but only if no one remains the same.
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Unsurprisingly, salt without its salty “edge” loses its purpose. In the same way, when we lose our integrity as Christians, we need “re-salination”. We need to regain that taste of eternity which God has engraved in us. For it is the internal structure of the atoms of salt that makes it taste salty. Equally, the very pattern of Christ in us gives us the unmistakable flavour of God’s children. We are the salt of the earth if we live out of this deep mystery dwelling inside us...
Made up your mind? For goodness’ sake, change it!
A busy last few days of Advent, with all the concerns about the celebration of Christmas at the end of the week - the weather, the food, the cards & presents, family relationships, lack of money, travel, church services, and so on! No time to log on and read a blog - facing all sorts of minor and major dilemmas! For the 4th Sunday of Advent we have Joseph as companion. Joseph is usually portrayed as the silent type, hovering at the edge of the nativity scene, or even asleep in a corner of the stall. Matthew gives us a very different picture, placing Joseph centre-stage, pivotal character in the story of Christ's birth - and through his experience, illustrating how the external forces beyond our control are often those which have the most powerful and significant effect in shaping our lives. Have you ever made up your mind about something important - and then had to change it because of someone else's greater need? How did you come to that decision, what forces were at work, and what blessings came from it?
Let's recap Sunday's Gospel for a moment: Mary, at stage one of her betrothal to Joseph, is pregnant, and he is not the father. He loves her and sees the solution, in obedience to the Law, as a quiet divorce, avoiding shaming Mary by a public scene. Having made up his mind, he goes to bed. In a dream that night an angel comes to him saying 'Do not be afraid to take Mary to your home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus'. Joseph affirms Mary's 'Yes' with his own courageous response, completing his betrothal by taking Mary to his home as his wife, offering her and the child Jesus security, love and protection.
- What major decisions have you faced in your life? How did you make up your mind?
- Have you ever said 'Yes' to a different course of action from the one you had planned?
- Do you believe that God is with you, now, today, whatever your circumstances?
I'm told that Joseph is the patron saint of anyone who has to change and adapt their lives because of 
someone else's needs. Perhaps this week, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, we can reflect on Joseph, and thank God for all those people 'off stage' in our own lives who have said 'yes' for our sake, and nourished, guided, encouraged and enabled us to live out our calling. Parents, grandparents, friends....?
Advent is coming
Advent: The Lord came once and He’s coming again.
Christmas is coming Christmas cards have been on sale for several weeks. I’ve already seen a garden centre advertising Christmas trees and a shop selling all you need to make a crib. All around us the world of commerce is gearing up for Christmas.
Harry Potter films do Christmas well – a flurry of snow, Hagrid dragging in a huge tree (presumably from the creepy forest), everyone riding in horse-drawn sledges and that magic happy snow music. To many people looking forward to Christmas is to chase a fantasy of lost childhood which often fails to meet the expectation. What kind of Christmas did you have? ‘Well you know, um, quiet. It’s nice for children though isn’t it?’ To say Christmas often turns out to be an expensive anticlimax has been said many times before. For many people it’s the looking forward to the great day that matters, rather than the day itself. To me the best bits of Christmas are not fantasy at all – seeing the family together again, and celebrating the birth of the Redeemer at Midnight Mass.
Advent is coming Advent does involve preparing to celebrate the birth of the child Jesus 2000 years ago, but the first two weeks are about staying awake for the Lord’s second coming when we shall meet him face to face. On the third Sunday we do commemorate the earthly life of Jesus but the Gospel is about John the Baptist sternly exhorting us to ‘repent for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand’. Only on the fourth week do we hear about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem but even this is full of harsh realism, a typically heavy handed piece of bureaucracy which sends a young pregnant women on a stressful journey and a birth in completely unsatisfactory circumstances because there was no room at the inn.
The second coming of Jesus Christ will not be as a baby but as King and Judge. The scriptures speak of difficult times with a final assault by the powers of evil before the final fulfilment of the Kingdom and they speak darkly of the antichrist and end of the world. The Church’s teaching is neatly summarised in the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 671 to 679). I explained some scripture to someone to whom I take Holy Communion recently by saying that one day we shall meet the Lord face to face and she said, searchingly ‘and do you believe that?’. It was Jesus who taught us the ‘Our Father’ and he included the line ‘thy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven’ and we often say ‘he will come in glory to judge the living and the dead’. The real meaning of Advent is very challenging to catechists as well as catechumens and candidates. Do we look forward to him coming in glory and majesty or do we secretly think to ourselves ‘well that probably won’t happen just yet’. When we say ‘thy Kingdom come’ do we not only believe it’s going to happen – but are we looking forward to it. And what we are looking forward to is the ultimate opposite of an anticlimax. It is about that which lasts even after heaven and earth have passed passed away. This is our faith.
How literally are we to take the details? The word Armageddon appears only once in the Greek New Testament. Some of the events prophesied in the New Testament, such as the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in AD70, have already happened. Members of the New Testament Church seem to have expected the Lord to return within their own life time which he clearly didn’t. Does time have any meaning in eternity? Prophesy may contain deep truth but it may be attempting to describe the indescribable. St Paul observes that we ‘prophesy imperfectly’ (I Corinthians 13:9) and that ‘now we see only reflections in a mirror, mere riddles, but then we shall be seeing face to face’ (1 Corinthians 13:12).
In a recent Gospel (33rd Sunday of the year, Luke 21:5-19) Jesus
- Warns people not to rely on things like the Temple which will pass away
- Warns them not to try to predict when the end will come and not to be taken in by dangerous distractions like false messiahs
- Warns his people not to be afraid when disasters happen
- To use every opportunity to witness to the Gospel and to trust him in it. He promised to give them the eloquence and wisdom they needed to witness
- Reminded them that not a hair on their head would be lost
- Pointed out that endurance would save them their lives.
And how anxious should we be when we meet the Lord face to face? If we are in Christ then we are adopted sons and daughters – we are members of the family. We are not relying on perfection produced by our own muscular spirituality to justify us but on the sacrifice of the One who was crucified. His warning to stay awake is really about staying close to him and not being distracted by things that will not last, by fantasies and by false messiahs. When we meet him we shall be aware of our unworthiness and developing such an awareness is a feature of the life of faith.
I once had the privilege of briefly meeting Her Majesty the Queen. I remembered that, at the age of six, making red, white and blue decorations for her coronation. I had followed the events of her life ever since then and so I already knew her when I finally met her face to face. She looked at me thoughtfully and kindly and I wanted to be polite and respectful. During my life of faith I have slowly been getting to know the Lord and one day I shall meet him face to face. One of the ways that this meeting will differ from that with Her Majesty is that he will already know me and will have known me since before I was born.
The importance of grown-up thinking I am writing this blog on the Feast of Christ the King. The second reading (Colossians 1:15-20) emphasises that Jesus is King - the first-born of all creation whilst in the Gospel (Luke 23:35-43) he is a man being crucified with two thieves. One of them recognises his own unworthiness in the presence of someone special yet feels he can say ‘remember me when you come into your kingdom’ and Jesus replies ‘today you will be with me in paradise’. The fact that Jesus is both King and someone with whom we have an intimate relationship is so truly awesome that we shall never fully understand it until we meet him face to face’.
I tried to explain this to someone on my Holy Communion round, although it might just as much have been someone in the RCIA group. She replied thoughtfully that it was quite a difficult idea. Do we have to understand it? No, I don’t think so. If it’s getting complicated we only have to go back to Jesus the carpenter of Nazareth – for he is ‘the image of the unseen God’ (Colossians 1:15). What a wonderful thing for God to reveal himself through a person. You don’t need to be able to read or talk theology to understand a person. The ‘good thief’ was able understand what Jesus was about. In fact, Jesus likened himself to a ‘good shepherd’. Sheep cannot read and neither can they talk theology but they know a good shepherd when they see one and all they have to do is trust him. The potentially fatal mistake a sheep can make is to wander off to where it can’t hear the Good Shepherd’s voice. The Shepherd will leave the others and come and look for it – but a roaring lion might have found the sheep first.
So does it matter, trying to understand some of the huge ideas in scripture? If it’s starting to confuse and is leading catechumens away from the shepherd it is better to avoid it. But the understanding that is pitched at just the right level can deepen faith, release praise and promote faith sharing. St Paul exhorts ‘Brothers, do not remain children in your thinking; infants in wickedness – agreed, but in your thinking grown-ups’ (1 Corinthians 14:20).
But my real life is the faith I have in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2: 19-20
RCIA: A BALANCING EXERCISE
RCIA A Balancing Exercise
In the 21st century we have to become very adept at balancing: juggling our home life with our work commitments, ensuring a good balance of ‘busyness’ and ‘me-time’. It is the same with RCIA: using the resources at hand (and here it is helpful to keep reminding ourselves ‘that the initiation of adults is the responsibility of all the baptised’ RCIA 9), as a variety of enquirers, catechumens and candidates have to be assisted and supported along their journey of faith.
Fortunately as well as human helpers we are blessed by our scriptural and liturgical resources. There is the ease and importance of using lectionary based catechesis. ‘Ease’ because it follows the liturgical year and the scripture text comes around every three years, so it is experienced by every one of the faithful; and ‘important’ because it is the Word of God on which we all feed for the truth of what it means to be a catholic christian.
On the 32nd Sunday in ordinary time as we near the end of this liturgical year it is easy to follow on from All Saints and All Souls and discuss the promise of resurrection in our sessions or meetings. In balancing the needs of the unbaptised: whether initial enquirer or catechumen, and those perhaps of the already baptised: whether uncatechised catholic or those pursuing reception into full communion with the catholic church, the lectio divina process could be employed.
- Depending on when they became involved in the RCIA process, enquirers* should be open to learning about this ancient form of prayer. I find that it helps the focus, to use the shortened version of this text (Luke 20:27, 34-38).
- By explaining the whole exercise in advance, the enquirer knows how the time is going to be spent.
- Before it is first proclaimed, ask them to listen to it and to see if a word, phrase or image strikes them. (I find it breaks concentration if you say this after it has been read)
- If this is their first experience of lectio divina you may find it helpful to read it a second time before you invite them to share their phrase.
- Invite them to listen to what strikes them when they hear it proclaimed again.
- Then for the next reading invite them to listen to how the Word of God is meeting them at this stage of their life.
- In the final proclamation ask them to dig deep into their heart and ask what God is calling them to do.
- After each reading give at least a couple of minutes for reflection.
- After sharing give further time for meditation on what has been said.
The challenge of this type of prayer is that you don’t always know where it is going to lead, but it can offer a real insight into where your enquirer or catechumen are in their journey.
* For those making initial enquiry I would use part of the gospel, read once and invite them to spend a couple of minutes in quiet reflection on what it is saying to them,
You might also find it useful to look at the Rite of Acceptance with the enquirer. In the first acceptance of the gospel all the proposed addresses stress that faith leads to ‘eternal life’ #52.
What does eternal life mean to those approaching the catholic church? How does the promise of eternal life impinge on their present way of living? Does it involve change and if so what support will they need from the community?
This also offers consideration for the discernment process. The uncatechised baptised may benefit from celebrating a Rite of Welcome #381. This needs to be discerned.
Discernment is also needed when considering the committed non catholic churchgoer. Perhaps in their previous church they were involved in church ministries and so may need very little ‘doctrinal and spiritual preparation’ #391. Their individual journey will help channel their journey, having regard that the Rite of Reception ‘is so arranged that no greater burden than necessary is required...’#387.
Whatever the individual journey lectionary based catechesis is an essential tool.
Will he find any faith on earth?
As 'Los 33', the Chilean miners, were winched to the surface one by one in the 'Phoenix' , greeted with such scenes of jubliation in Camp Hope, and around the world, their personal stories began to emerge. One miner said that during those 69 days of incarceration hundreds of meters down in the earth, he had met both God and the devil, and that God had won! Another, on stepping of out the capsule, fell on his knees and prayed his thanksgiving for being brought out of such darkness into light . In the days and weeks ahead we will hear more - life will never be the same again. What caught my imagination was the fact that many people had been praying continually and not losing heart - it echoed with the readings yesterday 29th Sunday Ordinary Time, year C - Moses with his arms raised in prayer for his people, supported on either side by Aaron and Hur; Paul to Timothy saying stick with your faith in Christ and all you have been taught and know to be true, and be guided by it, and Luke, with the parable of the persistent widow.
The real-life drama of the last few weeks in San Jose mine, and the Word of God in sacred scripture intermingled. I wondered what sort of witness to my faith do I both give and receive in the parish community, particularly in our accompaniment of enquirers and catechumens? Is it obvious that we are trying to live what we know to be true, tuning in to the Spirit listening in us, teaching us? Perhaps it is in our darkest times that we recognise our need of rescue - and find that there are life-forces at work unknown to worldly authorities. It could have turned very nasty down there in the dark ruins of the mine - but it seems that other deeper truths were drawn on and sustained them - discipleship seems to function at a level where power does not exist..
This week? Will Christ find evidence of real, living faith in me? Can I open my eyes and ears and heart and notice the sacred encounters the continuing, ongoing, dynamic, saving, healing presence of Christ among us, whether I am in darkness or light, creating that life-giving environment? I think Christ will, Christ does find faith on earth! Do you?