All of the above scenes may be very familiar to our candidates and catechumens, but a trip to the crib: perhaps to host a session, singly or in a group, offers an imaginative form of catechesis as an opportunity to open up the Word of God, and could finish with a shortened celebration of the word [RCIA 81-82 ] 

It offers a suitable time to allow the catechumen to share their journey, what messages and insights they have experienced, how straight  has their path been, and what form guidance  in prayer and community support may perhaps take in future weeks and months.

For the team: catechists and sponsors, it is useful to re-assess how the journey is progressing with an eye to  how far the prerequisites for  taking the first step of acceptance into the order of catechumens has been accomplished. Perhaps explore RCIA 42 as part of a team meeting, for there is always the need to constantly evaluate and assess the 'candidate's motives and dispositions' [RCIA 43], just as there is the need to discern  the state of readiness of the catechumen for the Rite of Election.

Above all, have fun, for this is the season of joy and happiness, and a great time to involve the whole parish community, in  supporting the candidates and catechumens.

"Let us pray - as the family of God who share in his life.

Father in heaven, creator of all, you ordered the earth to bring forth life and crowned its goodness by creating the family of man.   In history's moment when all was ready, you sent your Son to dwell in time, obedient to the laws of life in our world.  Teach us the sanctity of human love, shows us the value of family life, and help us to live in peace with all people, that we may share in your life forever.  (ICEL 1998)

I was privileged to attend  two ordinations earlier this year,  and I recall thinking how well we catholics  do a good liturgy.

It is the liturgy that is often the introduction to the catholic faith for non-christians. Do we use the opportunity to its best advantage? How innovative are our liturgies?

I remember one lady in our RCIA team and the skill she had with fabric and simple props, turning a grey walled meeting room into a liturgical wonder where our faith came alive. An RCIA session always had that element of joy and discovery as we uncovered a new layer in our worship. I experienced that on Saturday with the blessing of our Altar Missals and their being sent forth with representatives from each local church in our parish cluster.

The symbols were simple: the Altar Missals impressive in their design, laid out on a low table, against the backdrop of the Altar with its bright candles. The quiet solemnity of the blessing was awesome. How different from the blessing of the Advent wreath and the lighting of the first Advent candle on Sunday. One could sense the air of expectation in the Assembly. It is that time of year again, when we are ready to ‘stay awake’. A lot is going to happen over the next four weeks of Advent.

There is the chance for further blessings and celebrations. In the extended period of the catechumenate why not have a special celebration of the Word of God.

• To give them instruction and experience in the different aspects and ways of prayer;
• To explain to them the signs, celebrations, and seasons of the liturgy;
• To prepare them gradually to enter the worship assembly of the entire community: RCIA 82

The structure of a celebration is suggested in RCIA 86-89, with an opening song, one or more readings, a brief homily  and  finish with a blessing. This would work well on Gaudete Sunday  or during the third week of Advent.

Or how about Advent Stations of the Cross with a Blessing of Oil and anointing [see RCIA 101B – 102].

There is also the opportunity for blessing of the Christmas tree  or the manger, or even someone’s home.

Perhaps this week as the English speaking churches turn to the New Translation of the Roman Missal,  catechumens could have the chance to see and touch the Altar Missal and gain a sense of just how well we catholics do liturgy, as they develop a love of the liturgy and its symbols.

The presence of the children has also given the assembly some thought. We take pride in the place these children will take in our community. We acknowledge that somehow their presence has enriched our own experience of participating in the mass. We each learn from each other.

Candidates and catechumens also enrich the community in which they grow and settle. They too can benefit from our example,  of being invited along to  see the church in which we worship. A meditative walk through the church with someone (sponsor) to answer questions, offers a good introduction. Follow up with attending mass with their sponsor or RCIA catechists or their own family. As soon as they are catechumens, let the rest of the church know that these are your catechumens, so the whole community can be ready to help and support them.

• All Saints day offers a great opportunity  for prayer, 
• stories and catechesis about the catholic church,
• the Church Fathers, our tradition and our  Saints.

A few years ago while on a family holiday abroad my wife and I sought out a Catholic Church on Sunday morning. We eventually found the local parish Church and entered, we had arrived fairly early and so were prayerfully waiting for the next Mass to begin. A few minutes later a woman arrived looking rather disgruntled. Though there were only a handful of us in this rather large Church she made her way over to the exact pew in which we were sitting and headed straight for us. We didn’t speak the language but by her body language she made it very clear that my wife was sitting in her seat and so she squeezed herself as near to her normal seat as she could, squashing my wife and half sitting on her leg during the service. Needless to say, later in the Mass at the sign of peace, this lady was distinctly frosty!

As well as this personal experience some time ago I heard of a Church that was so effective at evangelisation and welcome that it was attracting significant numbers of new people to its congregation. As a result of this some of the more longstanding members of the congregation were beginning to feel left out and neglected claiming that the newcomers were getting all the attention at their expense- and they made this known in no uncertain terms to their priest!

In the Gospel passage given to us this Sunday Jesus addresses those who grumble against God’s welcome and generosity head on through the parable of the workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16). He makes it clear that there is no preferential treatment for faithful service, no long service award. Rather he tells us quite explicitly that ‘the last will be first, and the first, last.’  This can challenge us and be a stark reminder that God’s way of thinking is so unlike ours, as the Word of God says through the prophet Isaiah ‘Yes, the heavens are as high above earth as my ways are above your ways, my thoughts above your thoughts.’(Isaiah 55:9)

Fundamental to the RCIA process, to the life of the Kingdom and to our calling as Church is to be a people of welcome. The reality of this is costly. In our parish communities and on a personal level are we willing to embrace the cost of being a people of welcome? Are we willing, really willing, to be ‘last’ so that newcomers may be ‘first’?

Jesus tells us that at the last judgement he will welcome those who made him welcome in the stranger. The stranger can, among others, be the newcomer in our parish or in our RCIA group. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if their experience was one of unconditional welcome and support? Would each of them say of us and our parish communities:

‘I was a newcomer and you made me welcome’?

Action

• Reflect on the ministry of welcome in your parish.

• Reflect on how you offer welcome in and through your RCIA process. Consider asking people who have experienced RCIA with you if they felt welcomed and what helped them feel part of the community. Was there any part of their experience that made them feel alienated or unwelcome? What can you learn from their perspective and experience?

• Scripture instructs us to make hospitality our special care (Romans 12:13, Hebrews 13:1-2). What are the practical aspects of hospitality you could develop further in your parish or RCIA group?

you have chosen us to be members of your family, by your love you have created us to live in unity... you will lead us to your light, walk before us through the night, you will guide us on our journey, you will keep our vision bright.... You will hold us when we fall, give new strength to hear your call, you will never be beyond us for your love is all in all... You will nourish, you will lead, giving every gift we need, for your reign will be established from the smallest of all seeds.

The team began nervously, with the usual questions: how will we know what to say? What if we dont know 'the answers'?  They found the hymn reassuring - its God's work, trust God!   They know that everything they offer is in the context of the parish community of faithful people.  They have seven enquirers  who will begin with them next week - again, a real mix of people, all ages.  There are several parents from the school - their children made their first Holy Communion last term, and they were so touched by the journey they made with their children, that they now want to make that journey for themselves - a non-Catholic parent, an uncatechised baptised Catholic, a person with no faith background at all.  The team discussed how they could meet these people where they are - and what times are going to be  most suitable for them?  Is it a twilight session after school, or a session after Mass on Sunday with another catechist doing a liturgy of the Word/stories/games with the children  while the parents meet over coffee? This is going to be a time of listening and telling stories, responding to their initial questions, calming fears, exploring aspects of the faith, offering spiritual support, and introducing them more fully to the life of the community as they gather every Sunday.  During this time of evangelisation, the Rite says 'faithfully and constantly the living God is proclaimed and Jesus Christ whom he has sent for the salvation of all.'  How do we do this?  When someone comes to your house to get to know you, what do you do?

ACTION:

Have a formation session to refresh your own parish team and stir up new life and hope.

Put out an invitation for enquirers to 'come and see' and have an open session with a glass of wine to tell people about it.    Some will have been coming to Mass with their Catholic spouse for years, and have never been asked.  Others are new to the area.  Others are parents in the school.

One step at a time - do not worry about how it will go.  Pray, Trust and Go for it being as open and welcoming as you possibly can!

Action:

In our own lives, can we consider that question?  Maybe even ask it of a close friend  - Who do you say I am?  Perhaps this week we can set a few people free, unbind them from their lack of self-esteem or anxiety by simply recognising one another's need for affirmation and encouragement.  Perhaps tune in to other people a little more, especially those with whom you live or work, and take the opportunity to say 'I think you're doing a really great job' or 'thanks for listening to me - I really value  your friendship'  or 'It's good to have you around - you encourage me'.   Can we recognise the goodness of one another?  The Holy Spirit is echoing in the hearts and lives of all if we can but see it, and through us is ready to unbind and fill with 'the healing power of love'.

'All that exists comes from him; all is by him and for him.  To him be glory for ever! Amen' (Romans 11:36)

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:

• the liturgical and scriptural texts:  alive and active words that accomplish the actions they describe!
• the community itself - being together, and open to the power of the texts as the Word of life addressed to us!
• on this particular Sunday - for speech, listening, silence, encounter! to find ourselves surprised, breathless!
• in this space - our building, and the symbols we use - do they bear the weight of the mystery?
• 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.

In the 21^st 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 32^nd 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.

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?