Setting souls free…
A conversation a couple of weeks ago has left me wondering … if the person to whom I was speaking was seeking full communion with the Church (they weren’t) how would the Team deal with what the person came with?
It was clear from the conversation that there were some mental health issues but, sensing some deep spiritual disturbance, I continued with gentle questioning which brought out the fact that the person had been heavily involved in tarot reading and that many aspects of their life was now controlled by the cards. They were convinced of the presence of an evil spirit and terrified that, if they got rid of the cards, it would harm them and members of their family. We got as far as putting the cards out of easy reach and I am hoping that we will get as far as the cards being given to me or to someone else who can destroy them on the person’s behalf… it would take a long time for them to be able to do this for themselves.
But the thought lingered – and so I thought this opportunity to prompt discussion could be helpful not just to me but to others who might be walking alongside someone who has had a similar experience.
If the person is not baptised, there are, of course, the minor exorcisms where there is provision made for a prayer asking that, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, God will remove “the worship of false gods and magic, witchcraft and dealings with the dead” (Prayer B, p42 of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults). But how often is this part of the prayer used? Is there a temptation to avoid saying the words out loud? Are we inclined to see such a prayer as appropriate in mission territories – or perhaps in Pentecostal churches – but less necessary for us? And yet, tarot – astrology – wicca – mediums – and more – are increasingly prevalent in the UK and many who are searching for “the spiritual” will often have tried some of them on their way to Christianity. Some may have emerged apparently unscathed. Others, such as the person with whom I was speaking, may be very seriously affected both mentally and spiritually and in need of medical intervention but also deep spiritual healing.
People who are baptised may also have been attracted to similar practices. The Rite does suggest that some of the rites belonging to the catechumenate could be used in the preparation of the candidates preparing for full communion. We often use the presentations of the Creed, Lord’s Prayer and Gospels and a penitential rite – but would we consider bringing in the minor exorcisms – and how would we do it? Obviously, there will be occasions when this is best done in private – and some people may need a fairly lengthy process of coming to trust that they have been set free of what was holding them bound with several rites along the way. (Discernment would be needed by catechists, sponsors and clergy as to how this might work bearing in mind the individual’s vulnerability). But might there be a place for the minor exorcisms to take place within a meeting – or during a service in the church? Does anyone have experience of doing this – and how did it work?
The person I was speaking to has a long journey ahead and its outcome is far from clear.
The prayer has to be that whatever brought them to take the step of getting in touch will give them the strength to continue the journey to healing… that they will continue to search for the truth – the real truth that will set them – and keep them – free.
Cometh the hour…
I'd always dutifully thought of the miracle at Cana in terms of a foretaste of the new wine of the Kingdom. I've always listened to the homily! But at Mass today another thought crept in, a picture of Jesus at this morning's wedding, waiting for a sign: when to begin the Great Work. Having refused to turn stones to bread for his own hunger and called his disciples together for whatever is to come, suddenly here is his mother at his elbow, giving him the same story: the wine has run out: my son, they have no wine! Jesus has promised his disciples visions of angels ascending and descending, but here is a crisis on the catering front. He says to her, Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come. But Mary has had years to ponder the angel's message, and she recognises hours when they come. She gives the instructions: Do whatever he tells you, and all are astounded at the quality of the wine-from-water.
It is as though Jesus realised that the sign he was waiting for might not be the mighty voice of his Father, but the quiet voice of his mother speaking out a human need. And so his ministry begins, life-giving miracles and meals with friends, transfiguration on the mountaintop and stories of lost coins. This is a man who will know if a sick woman touches his cloak to find healing, who will find faith in unexpected places and change his attitude, who will fight against ordinary, unthinking human injustice. Heaven may well open, with angels ascending and descending, but in the meantime Jesus goes among people who are in need. Nothing is too small or too great for the One who has put death beneath his feet, the second person of the Trinity.
Following Jesus, trying to be like him, is something which comes gradually. I've written elsewhere about how I fell into the Church through the liturgy and the music, a route I wouldn't change. But it meant that Jesus himself became for me a public figure glimpsed through the liturgy, whether as one of the 'presences of Christ' or a the star of the Gospels. In catechesis, he wears many hats: Son of God, Son of Man, Saviour, Emmanuel, Head of the Body which is the Church. To meet Jesus for the first time as someone who responds to the people he meets every day is something altogether different. Jesus challenged by his mother, Jesus, compassionate, Jesus, quick on the uptake, Jesus, powerful. All these hats, these titles are for something, and that something is us, his people. And not when the hour comes, but now, in our need.
What does this morning's Gospel mean for us today? Maybe, if we are following Jesus Christ and trying to be like he is, just maybe it's a reminder that the right time for compassionate action is not later on, as a New Year's resolution, or during Lent, or when we think we're ready, but now, now, now.
Listen: whose voices do you hear?
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
Being dogmatic or About a Boy
At the recent Network Study Days One of Us one thing that I heard a number of times was either 'I have never thought of it like that' or I had not realised it meant that'. These moments of revelation were often connected with fundamental aspects of rite. They were theological equivalent for not being able to see the wood for the trees. We may have read the Rite through but unless we have grasped some guiding principles or recognise the assumptions that the text is making we may miss the meaning. To give one example I think the rite assumes that parishes are places of life long learning. A surface reading of the rite might assume that mystagogia ends at Pentecost rather than the neophyte is initiated into a community that continues to want know more about the love of God and has opportunities to do so.
One of my favourite phrases in my favourite paragraph (75) is a suitable catechesis… 'accommodated to the liturgical year'. You could breeze past that without a pause. An interesting aspect of the Rite is that does not contain a syllabus, at first glance there are only rites but I would argue the information is all there. But first a quotation from Pope Benedict:
…in the Church's ancient tradition the process of Christian formation always had an experiential character. While not neglecting a systematic understanding of the content of the faith, it centred on a vital and convincing encounter with Christ,as proclaimed by authentic witnesses. Sacramentum Caritatis 64
This echoes the General Directory for Catechesis that the object of catechesis is to promote communion with Christ. (GDC 30)
Back to my favourite phrase. What is the purpose of the liturgical year — 'to unfold the entire mystery of Christ' (GNLYC 1). I would suggest that within the simple phrase 'accommodated to the liturgical year' is a the foundation of the catechetical content of the catechumenate — to know the life, mission, teaching, passion, death and resurrection of Christ as unfolded through the liturgical year. We hear this story unfolding but it is not enough to know the story that would be seeing only wood. The story has meaning and challenges to how we live our lives.
In a review of the recent book by Karen Armstrong The Case for God the reviewer Paul Vallely summarised part of Armstrong's argument about the differences between earlier centuries understanding of belief and current perceptions:
We see a number of revealing shifts in meaning 'I believe' has become scientised to mean 'I assert these propositions to be empirically correct.' What it originally meant was 'I pledge my heart and my loyalty'. Jesus was asking for commitment not credulity. Similarly the word dogma now means a ruling laid down by authority. But originally it meant a teaching that cannot be expressed verbally but which is intuited through the liturgy.
…a vital and convincing encounter with Christ,as proclaimed by authentic witnesses…
A final reminder as to why the life of Jesus is not only foundational but necessary is the results of the Biblical Literacy survey. It is an area rich in anecdotes which we who are familiar can find amusing or astonishing, or perhaps should remind us that we can take these things for granted. As in one of a group of art students going round the National Gallery after seeing numerous Nativity scenes and asking why is it always a boy?
Open to the Spirit
Pentecost is upon us – the formal time of Mystagogy is complete, at least for those who were initiated at Easter and in at least some parishes things quieten down again in the catechumenal programme.
Lent and Easter sees extraordinary activity for our RCIA groups. The Rite of Election, Scrutinies, and the celebration of the sacraments at the Vigil, and then adapting ourselves to the distinctive form of catechesis that is Mystagogy and finally the gathering of new Catholics with their bishop. Now there’s a checklist and a half. Which of these things have we done? And which have we failed to do. What omissions were due to us, and which were due to others? What might we learn from how kept Lent and Easter with our catechumens and neophytes this year for what we might want to do next year?
In the parish where I serve our catechumenal programme used to really quieten after Pentecost. In fact it went into complete hibernation – with an expectation that it would start up again in the Autumn. This was the practice up until this year.
That things are different this year is not especially because we decided to do things differently, (and some might say ‘properly’). However change has been thrust upon us by those who have been coming along to our parish enquirers meetings this year.
Unusually (for us) those people have mostly been unbaptised people, and have been young parents with pre-school children. The number of pre-school children for whom our enquirers have responsibility presented us with an early challenge.
Our Enquirers group has traditionally met on a weekday evening. This year’s participants were happy with this so long as they could bring their babies and toddlers with them. The group leaders found this a challenge too far so after six weeks or so we switched to an afternoon meeting which was good for the parents and ok for our leadership team.
The next challenge was just how much formation the group needed at enquiry stage. It was quickly clear that they would not be ready for the sacraments at Easter this year, and that was quite a break with tradition in this parish, where we have for many years operated a curtailed and constrained Autumn to Easter programme. So we had no Easter baptisms or confirmations from this group and had a very much more extended enquiry stage, because the members were very clear they were not ready to make any commitment.
Interestingly enough we did have a number of confirmations this Easter – for a number of adults, already regular in their practice, independently approached the parish team wanting to receive the sacrament. Our enquirers not yet having become catechumens we found it better to establish a new group which met weekly during Lent to prepare for confirmation.
The experience of Lent/Easter was a powerful one for our Enquirers and has helped them all to come to the decision that they want to make the commitment to continue their exploration of faith in a more committed fashion. Which itself presented the team with an issue – what to do about welcoming into the catechumenate, and what form might that catechumenate take.
Over recent years we have not made much of the role of sponsor: the RCIA group itself has tended to take on that responsibility. But this year was to be different in this respect also. We’ve encouraged the enquirers to think about who they already know that in fact is exercising something of that role. And where those people are ready and able we have chosen them to be the sponsors.
The Rite of Entry into the Catechumenate is being celebrated on Trinity Sunday. The season of Easter has come to take on a particular initiatory flavour for our parish. This is not only because of the (usual) celebrations of adult initation at the Easter Vigil. In our diocese confirmations take place in the Easter season and this year all our parish first Holy Communions (about 100!) have taken place over the last 4 Sundays of the Easter season. But this year, when Easter has finished we gather the next Sunday to celebrate a rite which has us mark out work to be done in readiness for Easter 2010.
Our present expectation is that the group will be ready for baptism next Easter but as flexibility has been our keyword so far this year, who knows?
And as for catechumenal process, one good thing that has come from this group is that because of their various other commitments they are happy to try out Sunday dismissal catechesis. This will be something new for us all. So please keep us in your prayers!
Come Anytime
It has always felt wrong to ask inquirers to wait. Once they have taken the all important first step of approaching someone it is not fair to send them away to wait until a more ‘convenient’ time for us. Last year we tried to solve this dilemma by working towards monthly open ‘welcome’ sessions for inquirers, perhaps to include new parishioners.
Other parish needs pre-empted that particular drive and the parish is benefiting from the reconstituted Ministry of Welcome and new impetus to complete a parish handbook.
What had felt like something of a setback with regard to a way of being available to inquirers, in fact has solidified into a ‘come anytime’ mentality. Though the experience is now more of fluidity than of something solidifying! The work of the Spirit - not how we had meant to plan!
It came about without any fresh (autumn) invitation or information about the Journey in Faith process in the parish. That had been stalled while parish consultation about ways of inviting and welcoming took place. Yet, before that first meeting inquirers were making their own first approaches. For three weeks running a different person arrived making inquiries: one asking for baptism; one to be Confirmed and to receive Eucharist and then one to be received into Full Communion. Within a week or so of the first approach we had arranged a suitable time for her and those who where close on her heels. We gathered our small RCIA team and new sponsors. As with Peter at the house of Cornelius [Acts 10], the Spirit was leading people and all we could do was to respond to their request, and stay with them and share experiences of God’s work in the church.
So it has continued. We have managed to respond immediately to individuals who have continued to arrive – not weekly! We have taken account, of course, of their family, work and time commitments and fitted in with them as much as possible. One group now has a catechumen whose babies were baptised at Easter, a previously uncatechised catholic who is now fully initiated and a new catholic brought up within a different Christian tradition and another who remains on the periphery as yet. Because of child minding issues the best time for this group to meet was after Mass on Sundays, or rather, after coffee following Mass. [For very good reasons dismissal catechesis was not appropriate.] A result of that timing has meant that we had a natural way of parishioners and inquirers getting to know each other – people made new friends and parishioners became more aware and involved in the process simply by offering welcome and acceptance. Older teenagers and later families have become invaluable child minders too. It has been of great benefit to meet from within the heart of the parish assembly and fresh from the Sunday liturgy.
Another group has formed in the meantime - meeting on weekday evenings. Because of catechists and sponsors and by now the experience of the rites of acceptance, reception and confirmation and first Eucharist for those others there is a bond between the two groups. There is a sense of a heightened challenge – a goal that is achievable and empathy. The awareness goes both ways. For example, it mattered to those who went to the cathedral at the beginning of Lent that others were exploring in the ways that they had. At the same time it caused some excitement and a sense of unity for the inquirers.
In a sense it is a ‘messy’ process because of new inquirers joining a group who are in the early stages of getting to know each other. Yet it feels right. Ironically perhaps, it seems peaceful and is at once energising and calming. People who are still new in their exploration of catholic Christianity are themselves encouraged by, and encouraging of, new comers. It has made the RCIA process even more just that – a fluid process. We find that we don’t have to try to avoid the idea a programme. Liturgical catechesis feeds all of us and the issues that are brought by inquirers and that catechists suggest for exploration have no set sequence and get revisited along the way.
There are, of course, hurdles to overcome. There is a shortage of trained catechists and no diocesan provision to call upon. Inevitably the RCIA team is stretched even more in terms of time and commitment. Will we reach a time when we have confident catechists to lead in the initial stages and others to lead catechumens and candidates? Perhaps. For now we will endeavour to respond to the Spirit who prompts inquirers long before we meet them and try to offer “catechesis suited to their needs, [and] contact with the community of the faithful…” (RCIA n401)
You are warmly invited…..
Lent! and it begins with a blissful invitation 'Come back to me with all your heart'. At the beginning of this period in the ritual text is the quote 'The water that I shall give will turn into a spring of eternal life'. That sounds mysterious......
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RCIA 125: 'In the liturgy and liturgical catechesis of Lent, the reminder of baptism already received or the preparation for its reception, as well as the theme of repentance, renew the entire community along with those being prepared to celebrate the paschal mystery..... for both the elect and the cmmunity Lent is a time for spiritual recollection.'
We are being drawn into an ever-deepening experience of who Christ the Saviour is for us personally and communally. Through the Word, in Sunday Gospels, in scrutinies and presentations, we are invited to come closer and be touched by the one who has given us living water to quench our thirst, light for our path, and the freedom to live life to the full, in love and service of others. Its an opportunity for each of us to be reminded of who we are and who we are becoming, and to renew our resolve to hold fast. We might take time in these next six weeks to look at the initiation rites for ourselves, and through the lens of these promises, our intimate covenantal relationship can take on new meaning and hope. The whole purpose of the Gospel of John, proclaimed in the scrutinies, is our union wth Christ through the Spirit - so no academic pursuit this! No requirement to learn or acquire or achieve or posess - but simply to open, and allow for what is happening amongst the people in the Gospel narratives to happen among us in our communities. These are not rituals instituted and left behind by a departed Jesus, but Jesus risen and present in and around us now.
So with a double-awareness of Jesus in his time and history, and Jesus in similar movement in our lives, we respond to the invitation, the question:
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What is your thirst? What darkness or blind spots are in your life? What causes you to remain bound up in 'deathly' attitudes?
We read the gospel differently when we are hungry, says Gustavo Guttierez. You could by extension say we read the gospel differently when we are thirsty, blind or bound up with troubles? And we discover that Christ meets us right where we are, with living water, light for our path, new life full of hope and meaning.
So yes, I am looking forward to Lent and I pray to be open to both personal and community renewal.
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Lord God, You created the human race and are the author of its renewal. Bless all your adopted children and add these chosen ones to the harvest of your new covenant. As true children of the promise, may they rejoice in eternal life, won, not by the power of nature, but through the mystery of your grace. We ask this ghrough Christ our Lord. Amen (RCIA 122, B, Prayer over the Elect)
Saints Alive
Many countries are lavish in their remembrance of their saints’ days, with the whole village enjoying a day of festivity and reverence to a particular saint. The people of Malta take the celebration of the feast of St Paul’s Shipwreck, very seriously. Preparation is year long for this annual feast to their patron saint. It falls on the nearest Sunday to February 10th and there is much anxiety about the weather, for the 17th century wooden statue cannot be carried outside in high winds or heavy rain. I took this photo after the men had spent a couple of hours transferring the statue to its portable beams, had proudly begun the procession, only to be driven back into the safety of the church when the rain fell. It wasn’t only the bearers that shed tears, but many in the crowd acted as if they had suffered a great loss.
This year All Saints Day will be celebrated next Sunday November 2nd (England & Wales only) and I would like to explore how this provides a catechetical opportunity for RCIA catechists and the community.
Saints are so much a part of our life. We read about them, we pray to them in Mass and in a time of need; we feel supported by them and are secure in knowing they are a communion of saints. Our churches are dedicated to them, but so are street names, pubs and businesses. Statues are part of our architectural heritage Even non-christians have heard of St Christopher, and when on holiday how can you ignore the patron saint hanging above the visor of the bus driver in Malta, Crete, Cyprus etc.
From time to time, saints have featured with great predominance in my faith journey. Although, not always obvious at the time, on looking back I have been able to chart a sideways and upwards step, leading me to new exploration and depths as I try to fathom what exactly God has planned for me. While I find it a little puzzling why All Souls is not being commemorated on the 2nd November, I relish the opportunity that this change to the liturgical year offers to RCIA catechists.
- Those involved with the period of inquiry have the chance to share in hearing the richness of saints’ stories when members of the parish participate in group sessions. What an easy way to introduce a relationship with saints when exchanging stories of how St Christopher was invoked on a hazardous journey, or how prayers to St Jude or St Rita helped turn a hopeless situation into a triumph. As for the lost things that St Anthony is asked to find…
- For both inquirers and catechumens, there is the opportunity for exploration and discussion over birth names and what saints they identify with. This may involve hearing about holy people from other cultures, and learning about new saints.
- Hands on experience is possible by bringing statues, icons or pictures to the group. Many art books or museum catalogues will show how saints have been depicted through the ages.
- Use this time of the liturgical year to think ahead to the Easter Vigil to bring alive those named in the Litany of Saints, so that our candidates will be able to sing out ‘pray for us’ with some familiarity of the saints named.
In our parish, everyone has been invited to bring to Sunday Mass a picture or statue, or icon of their favourite saint. I am hoping that those who have adopted England as their second country will bring statues of the saints they have grown up with, and catechumens and all, will see the variety of holy people that have inspired those in our community. It is a time for the neophytes and those who were confirmed to remember their confirmation saint, and together with the parish young confirmed earlier in the year, they could place their saints in a special location in the church.
- For those experiencing mystagogy, here is a chance to explore holiness. Look at popular prayers, or the saints named in the Eucharistic prayers. What is amazing about saints, is that they come from such a diversity of backgrounds and cultures. Anne Gordon in A Book of Saints - True stories of how they touch our lives, offers instances where people today have been influenced by their relationship with a particular saint.
The glory of saints is, that they have lived, and coped with temptation, doubt and what seemed insurmountable obstacles; they have planned their path of faith only to find its progress thwarted, until eventually they have realised God is leading them along another path. But perhaps the most apt is St Martin of Tours, the pagan soldier who tore his cloak in half to give to a freezing beggar, and then in a vision Christ called him to stop being a catechumen, and to be baptised.
Credit Crunch – what currency have we invested in?
Every time you turn on the radio or the telly these days, its doom and gloom and credit crunch. None of us, whatever our financial 'profile' is immune from the effects of this, whether its the pension fund, or the high street bank we use, exchange rates, cost of heating and fuel, food, mortgage, even jobs. How does the Gospel speak into our lives this week? How does it fire up our faith when the going gets a bit tough? How does it support our catechesis for bringing people into communion with Christ? The entrance antiphon for 29th Sunday in OT is a call for protection, the opening prayer for strength and joy, Isaiah 'from the rising to the setting of the sun, apart from me, all is nothing'. Paul begins his letter offering grace and peace from God, and encouraging faith in action - 'when we brought the good news to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction'. Jesus, caught between a rock and a hard place, says legitimate government has authority and deserves our co-operation. Easy to get bogged down in worries, payment of bills and taxes, and forget to cash in the revealed treasure of God's salvation, freedom, and all the gifts poured out for our lived lives! These wonderful mysteries of our faith and our ordinary lives are not separate realities, but find their full expression in each other. As Seamus O'Connell, Professor of Scripture at Maynooth says, some people in restaurants refuse to put down the menu and do not taste the food - we know the teaching, we know the Gospel - but its useless unless we consume it and allow it to nourish us for every eventually, every worry, every 'crunch', every need. The Communion antiphon from Sunday's Liturgy supplies: 'See how the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those who hope in his love; that he may rescue them from death and feed them in time of famine.' Let's be aware of people whose basic needs are not being met.
Let your behaviour change
We are coming to the end of the reading of St Paul's letter to the Romans at Sunday Mass. It is Paul's longest letter and has been a thread on for Sundays 9-24.
This Sunday's reading (12:1–2) has a phrase that always stands out for me — Let your behaviour change — a phrase that is both a constant reminder and a challenge. It is a phrase that perhaps characterises the Catechumenate. But it doesn't stop there the need to take responsibility for my behaviour in my responsibility; to view myself in the mirror that is Christ and let my behaviour change.
Paul identifies one of his paradoxes. To change our behaviour is to model ourselves on Christ yet it is through changing our behaviour that we get to know what God wants. It is my responsibility to change but God will be there.
The changes are not necessarily the stuff of headlines. It is the small changes that build up to make the big differences. In that way it has similarities to livesimply — we need to learn new ways if we wish to live simply, in solidarity and sustainably.
This is the very stuff of the catechumenate; the very stuff of discernment. The catechumenate is not just the assimilation of theology — yes, it is part of it — it is that this desire to know Christ and the Church makes a difference in people's lives. For the team these are the signs to be looking for when discerning the time to move on to the next stage. Discernment is not an exam where the student produces evidence; it is the ongoing conversation. It is 'once I did that, now I no longer can.
Do not model yourself on the behaviour of the world around you,
but let your behaviour change,
modelled by you new mind.
This is the only way to discover the will of God
and know what is good,
what it is that God wants,
what is the perfect thing to do.