Jonah – the Basil Fawlty of Prophets
Does lectio divina always have to be next Sunday’s Gospel?
Some times recently I have attended three meetings in one week where we have started each with a lectio divina on the same forthcoming Sunday Gospel. It seems to be fashionable at the moment to limit lectio divina in this way but’ in fact, lectio can be based on any part of Scripture – indeed on any suitable passage of spiritual writing. This is perhaps partly because many catholics are not very familiar with other parts of Scripture – despite the fact that the first reading in the Mass explores many parts of the Bible. An RCIA programme needs to equip prospective catholic Christians to begin to find their way about the whole Bible and to recognise it all as an expression the Word of God. This is an important strand in their spiritual growth, and an essential guide to their Journey in Faith.
Nowadays we are called to be a prophet
At first sight the Old Testament Prophets might look a tough place to start getting more at home with Scripture – but this is not so. Each prophet was on a personal journey in faith and his personal relationship with God was very much along RCIA lines. In the Old Testament this kind of personal relationship seemed to be the preserve of a limited number of holy men and women but the prophet Joel (Joel 3: 1 to 2) tells us that ‘In the last days – the Lord declares - I shall pour out my spirit on all humanity. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old people shall dream dreams, and your young people see visions’. In the New Testament St Peter quotes this very passage (Acts 2: 17-21) to explain what was happening in Jerusalem in the first Pentecost after the Resurrection of Jesus. This is not an obscure bit of the catechism – this is one of the most precious, important and wonderful messages of RCIA – you too have the Spirit – open yourself to his potential and let him flow through you and lead you into all truth.
Isaiah – well now, there’s a real prophet
When Jesus, fresh from 30 days in the Wilderness, chose a passage of Scripture to read when he went back to his home synagogue (Luke 4:16-30) he chose Isaiah 61:1-2. At the end of the reading and in a silence where you could hear a pin drop, he declared ‘this text is being fulfilled today even while you are listening’. In other words ‘this is about me’.
And Isaiah, who lived over 600 years before the birth of Jesus, also describes a ‘servant’ who offered his back to those who struck him (Isaiah 50:6), ‘a man of sorrows acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3), someone whose sufferings and sorrows were ours and who was crushed because of our guilt (Isaiah 53:4-5), and who was given a tomb with the rich (Isaiah 53:9). A prophet was – and is – someone who understands something of the mind of God and who is on a mission to declare God’s message, even if it costs him his life.
We too are called to share in this work. Serious stuff.
If you were to do an RCIA session on Isaiah, a good passage to read would be chapter 6. You might read it in full and spend a couple minutes in silence before reading it again. Whether you proceed to a lectio divina or you decide to move directly to a more directed bible study will depend on what you discern is best for your group. Some points which may arise from the discussion include:
-
Isaiah heard the voice of God after he had put himself in a Holy Place – in this case the Temple. Church is an obvious Holy Place where we can go to listen to God but can we create a Holy Place in our own homes, or, in a more abstract sense, within our lives?
-
Isaiah’s first-hand experience of God was, to say the least, awesome, and it made him feel very sinful, very humble and very small.
-
His humility and the honest acceptance of his inadequacy led to his lips being purified – of being made ready for what God was about to ask him to do
-
Then God says ‘Whom shall I send?’
-
And a trembling Isaiah responds ‘Here am I, send me.
What does it mean to our enquirers, candidates and catechumens to be called to be prophets?
Jonah – the Basil Fawlty of prophets
The book of Isaiah runs to 66 chapters and can be a bit much for many neophytes (beyond selected bite-sized chunks as above). But Jonah is only a modest four short readable chapters long and so it’s a good place to start studying a complete book of the Old Testament. You might get your group to read the whole book before the RCIA session, and then ask them to read part of the book aloud before leading a discussion.
The book was written in the 8th Century BC. Whether it describes actual events or is a work of fiction isn’t that important. Neither is it all that important whether it features a whale (not normally found in the Mediterranean) or a Great White Shark or a fictional zoological creation. At one level it’s quite amusing, over the top to make a good story. Jonah is a prophet like Isaiah – but not a very good one. It’s easier to identify with Jonah than with Isaiah – he tends to learn the hard way. Despite the humour in the book, the deeper layers beneath the surface become increasingly profound. Because it deals with God’s forgiveness of those who repent, it is read by Jews on the day of Yom Kippur. This message of repentance and forgiveness is a very profound one which is part of the core of the Gospel message. In the New Testament Jesus likens the three days in the belly of the whale (or big fish) to the three he would spend in the tomb (Matthew 12:40). He also suggests that even the notorious men of Nineveh will sit in judgement on the generation of the religious establishment which rejected him (Matthew 12:41).
-
Like Isaiah Jonah gets a mission from God – to go to the city of Nineveh (near the modern city of Mosul in present day Iraq) and tell the people that if they do not repent they will be destroyed. The Ninevites were not Israelites. In fact, to the Israelites, they were the enemy and regarded as evil. What is God asking us to do right now?
-
Jonah responds by running away as far as possible in the opposite direction. Tarshish might have been in Spain - on the edge of the known world – but, if not, it was certainly a long way from Nineveh. When people run away from God they not only make life hard for themselves but for others too. The storm threatens the lives of all the crew. The person running away may also not realise that all the trouble is their fault. In amongst all the mayhem Jonah is asleep. Have you ever run away from God and how did God bring you back?
-
Jonah admits it is his fault and suggests that they throw him over the side. Looks like King Hezekiah had such a moment (Isaiah 38: 10-15). Have you ever felt that it would be better to be thrown over the side?
The large fish was provided by God to be on hand to rescue Jonah when he finally got to the end of himself. God did not abandon the disobedient Jonah – although the rather uncomfortable way this happened was because Jonah had to discover how to follow the will of God the hard way. Plenty of scope to discuss how this can apply to our lives.
-
God now repeats the challenge for Jonah to go to the Ninevites and this time Jonah agrees. He preaches to the people of the evil city and they all repent and are saved. You might expect Jonah to be amazed at what God has done through him – but no. Jonah actually disapproves of the fact that God loves the Ninevites as much as he loves everyone. Jonah hates them and was looking forward to them getting destroyed. A key aspect of being a good prophet is to discern the mind of God and to work with him. In Isaiah 55:8 God observes that ‘for your thoughts are not my thoughts’. Which of the teachings of the Gospel do find most difficult to come to terms with?
-
In the remaining part of the chapters 3 and 4 Jonah’s relationship with God continues to be a difficult one – because he is so stubborn and ill-tempered. He has a lot of difficulty seeing things the way God sees them, yet God never gives up on him and never stops loving him. Of course if Jonah could just fall in line with the sovereign will of God and learn to appreciate God’s wisdom – indeed rejoice in it – it would be so much easier. At the end of the book Jonah still hasn't quite got it Are you learning to see the world through God’s eyes?
It’s Great To Be Growing! (Reflections for Corpus Christi)
Recently I planted some bedding plants in the garden ably assisted by my two children. A few days later after the copious amounts of sun, and rain, that we have enjoyed recently the plants had bloomed. Upon witnessing this, the joyful cry went up ‘THE PLANTS ARE GROWING!!!’
It’s great to see growth! It brings us joy and a sense of fulfilment.
When we see growth in the lives of neophytes we have been journeying with, and in our own lives, it too can give us a real sense that the God is truly with us. We can know once more that while we have done our best to be faithful ’planters’ and ‘waterers’ of the seed of God’s Word, it has been God alone who has given the growth.
“What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." (1 Corinthians 3:5-7)
In the period of Mystagogy that many of us are now experiencing, as well as celebrating the growth that has taken place we can also look ahead with hope for the growth that is still to come. Our hope is that we will see growth in our own lives, in the lives of the neophytes and in the Christian communities to which we all belong. But how can we encourage this growth?
How does the Church grow?
This question was asked by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council. In response they stated that “as often as the sacrifice of the Cross by which Christ our Passover was sacrificed is celebrated on the altar, the work of our redemption is carried on.” In short they were affirming that the celebration of the Eucharist is at the centre of the process of the Church’s growth (Lumen Gentium 3, Ecclesia de Eucharistia 21).
Pope John Paul II in his Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia remarks that “the Apostles, by accepting in the Upper Room Jesus' invitation: ‘Take, eat’, ‘Drink of it, all of you’, entered for the first time into sacramental communion with him. From that time forward, until the end of the age, the Church is built up through sacramental communion with the Son of God who was sacrificed for our sake.” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia 21). He adds that “incorporation into Christ, which is brought about by Baptism, is constantly renewed and consolidated by sharing in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, especially by that full sharing which takes place in sacramental communion.” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia 22)
As we look back to the joys of our Easter celebrations, it is heartening to know that the grace of those baptisms are ‘constantly renewed and consolidated by sharing in the Eucharistic Sacrifice’.
So the Eucharist constantly renews and consolidates the gift of new life given at baptism, builds us up and enables us to continue to grow in our Christian life. This is captured in the Rite itself where the instruction for the Liturgy of the Eucharist at the Easter Vigil states:
“Before saying ‘This is the Lamb of God’, the celebrant may briefly remind the neophytes of the pre-eminence of the Eucharist, which is the climax of their initiation and the centre of the whole Christian life.” (RCIA 233).
So right at the outset, in the Rite, and in the Easter liturgy itself, the Church is encouraging us to find the source of our life and of our future growth in the Eucharist. These can be deeply encouraging truths and timely for us as prepare for and celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.
As we look ahead, to future ministry opportunities and new groups of catechumens and candidates we can also receive consolation and support by knowing that “from the perpetuation of the sacrifice of the Cross and her communion with the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist, the Church draws the spiritual power needed to carry out her mission.” The truth is that “the Eucharist... appears as both the source and the summit of all evangelisation...” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia 22)
So the Eucharist renews and strengthens us, it is the centre of our Christian lives and also gives us the spiritual power we need to witness and share the Good News in many and various ways. Truly we can grow strong and bloom if we can remain true to this great Sacrament.
To end here is a song that I heard some children singing at our local Catholic School, the words are set to the traditional tune Frère Jacques. As we continue to be a Eucharistic people we pray that the truth of these simple and childlike words can become our own as we see the growth that God’s grace will bring in our lives as we share the one bread and the one cup.
"I am growing, I am growing big and tall, big and tall. Growing up for Jesus, growing up for Jesus, big and strong, big and strong!”
And Renew the Face of the Earth
Pentecost - the Celebration of the Spirit; the Birth day of the Church; the fastest fifty days in the calendar.
The time between the celebrations at the Easter Vigil and Pentecost seems to be caught by the image of the Spirit which blows when and where it will leaving the neophytes, parish RCIA teams and communities in a spin.
In theory the process of the RCIA should still be engaging in the period of Mystagogia of reflecting on the experiences preceding and proceeding the Easter Vigil, but in reality many parish groups have by now stopped gathering. Some may have come together for a few weeks after Easter to share their Vigil stories and perhaps had a party of celebration. Some groups may have continued with a few sessions in order to cover some of the items left out of the schedule and other groups haven't met again, now that everyone is 'done'.
The Feast of Pentecost reminds us that in these past 50 days we were meant to gather in upper rooms and other rooms, not out of fear any longer but in anticipation of the coming of the gift of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, which animates all of us together, sending us out into the world as witnesses to God's power and Gods' presence in our lives.
The period of mystagogy is extended well beyond the 50 days, in reality the mystagogy of going deeper and reflecting on our faith experience is a life long activity...we are all still in this period. Reminding our newest members that we are also joining them in this life long journey gives them the assurance that we continue to be with them even after any formal meetings stop.
Now is the time to integrate them more fully into the community at whatever level and pace is best for them. Afterall, it is into the life of the Christian experience that has been the goal, not the meetings. However, even though teams and the neophyetes themselves may be 'tired', it is crucial that people are not just left alone and this is where the role of the whole faith community comes into being. It is in this period of mystagogia that the people of the parish, of all ages, become real and tangible for our neophytes. A welcoming, consistent, authentic community will gather the neophytes in as if they had always been there.
As we reflect on the fire of Pentecost which kindles and sparks us into a community which accepts and respect all, we remember that each person has something to offer in spreading the Good News and building up the Kingdom of God. When we are tired or fearful or doubtful we could recall this excerpt from Nelson Mandela's Inaugural Address, May 1994:
'Our worst fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask oursleves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God; your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. '
As we embrace the power of the Spirit, reaffirmed at Pentecost, we look forward to the life long period of mystagogy and the variety of ways in which together we will renew the face of the earth.
This is the season
In the words of the Exsultet, This is the night! The Easter Vigil, often described as the high point of the liturgical year. For the people who have been preparing to receive the sacraments of initiation on this night, the description is a good one; but in the whole of our Christian life we might do better to describe the Vigil - or, better, the whole of the Paschal Triduum - as the centre of the liturgical year, the centre of our lives as Christians. Each year we prepare for it during Lent by prayer, and by thinking about how we live our lives, making a conscious effort to follow Jesus Christ more closely. We enter Holy Week ready to hear again the Scriptures which bring the mysteries of God's plan before us, and walk through the events of the Last Supper, Good Friday, the awfulness of death, the hope of the Vigil, the joy of the Resurrection. By Sunday morning we are very properly ready for a bit of a rest.
But what's this? Fifty days for our delight! It often seems that parishes are great at the seasons of preparation - in Advent and Lent you can't get stirred for shared lunches, Scripture study, Stations of the Cross and days of recollection, but Christmas and Easter arrive in a blare of trumpets, then fall away to white vestments and extra flowers. The effort we put into preparing for them is all too often not balanced by the actual celebration throughout the season.
One of the ways in which the Church shows that it is still celebrating is by continuing to highlight the sacraments of initiation and those who will receive them. Many parishes invite the Bishop to confirm their young people and schedule their children's First Holy Communion during the fifty days, recognising that every sacrament has its roots in Baptism, knowing that the most appropriate time for a Christian community to make new members is during the Easter season. The liturgy itself makes all the connections: light, water, oil, the story of the young Church in the Scriptures, the eucharist we share. In mystagogia new Christians explore the Church and the world with new eyes, from the point of view of those who have just been baptised. But it is an exploration we all need - and this is the season!
What’s next
So the Day of Resurrection that took a week to celebrate draws to a close. Birthing pools for baptism by total immersion are put away; the Easter flowers are beginning to fade; congratulations cards are being filed away with smiles as the names of well-wishers known and unknown are read … there is a real sense that a stage in the journey is complete and, despite the promise of mystagogia for the rest of one’s life, there can begin to creep in a sense of anti-climax… a “what next?” True, there are some whose enthusiasm will stay on a high for some time – particularly if they are given opportunities to relive the experience of the Vigil – but even for them the story of Thomas in the Gospel of the Second Sunday of Easter can sow useful seeds for the future.
It is strange that of all the wonderful stories in the Gospel, this is one the very few that we hear every year – and always at the end of the Easter Octave. True, it is about appearances of the Risen Lord – but most of us will probably remember Doubting Thomas and his frustration at the “tall tales” his friends - previously seen as fairly sane if not always quick on the uptake - are telling him – and their frustration at his not being able to accept what they say. You can imagine the Aramaic equivalent of “oh you had to be there…” springing to their lips, particularly as at that stage, Jesus had given no indication as to whether this was a one-off appearance or was to become a regular occurrence. How do you convey the encounter with a man who was dead in ways that convince someone who wasn’t there when he turned up? Thomas’ (again Aramaic equivalent of) “Yeah… right…” is actually quite sensible under the circumstances.
Caravaggio's painting of Thomas and the Risen Jesus
But – and here’s the rub – isn’t that what we are doing in the RCIA – telling others of our own encounters with one who was dead and who is now risen? But we can’t see him and we don’t hear his voice and we can’t put our own fingers in his wounds (even if we could overcome our squeamishness to do it) and we haven’t smelt and tasted the bread and fish that he served up after the resurrection either.. As eye witnesses it doesn’t make us very good, does it? And yet – somehow we do it! Something in our joy at believing without seeing comes across and people are drawn in to learn more – though we have to admit that an awful lot more come into the “Yeah… right…” category.
So how can we help our newly-fledged Christians and Catholics as they prepare to take flight – to encounter those who will be bemused by their decision and perhaps even be hostile to it? And how do we prepare them for the moment when all the “specialness” begins to evaporate and new set of people are the catechumens – the Elect – and they are just part of a congregation? What about when even for them, faith begins to become niggling doubt – or the pulls of daily living in a frequently unsympathetic society take the edge off the joy they thought they would never forget?
Well, maybe we can look at Thomas – what made the difference for him? We know that Thomas was one of the apostles who said he would go with Jesus and die with him – but didn’t… Also he was the one who admitted he didn’t know where Jesus was going so how could he know the way? Like the other disciples, it would take the personal meeting with the Risen Jesus to make sense of the things he had said about dying and rising again.
That personal encounter…. that moment when the rest of the world falls away and Christ becomes all in all… So where was it for our neophytes? Where for our candidates? Was it in the Word – something that spoke so clearly that it changed their lives? Was it in the Body of Christ – the People of God? Or in a priest? Or, in that moment of receiving the Lord in Communion for the first time? When did they know with all the capacity of their being that this was true – and could say with Thomas, “My Lord and my God”?
Legend has it that Thomas left Jerusalem and took the Gospel to India. It is likely that there were times when he would have quite liked to have given up – and plenty of conversations with people who were not remotely interested in the Good News of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. But that moment – the moment of meeting with Jesus and hearing his words “Doubt no longer but believe…” somehow kept him going.
So as we reflect with our new Catholics on the next stage of their journey, perhaps we can bring Thomas alongside as a guide. When he set forth from Jerusalem, he probably had no idea of the way he was going to follow – but he did know who his Way was – and his Truth – and his Life. And so do our new Catholics…
Thoughts to reflect on…
- What are the “soul-memories” of ways in which we have encountered Christ over months and years? How do we keep them alive and ready to strengthen us for the way ahead?
- When I look at the Host and Chalice elevated during the Eucharistic Prayer – and receive the Body and Blood of Christ, how can I develop a sense of this being my personal encounter with “My Lord and my God”?
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.
Battling with a heavy sea in a headwind!
In the middle of August, we have this well-known Gospel, which echoes powerfully with us as a parish, in the 'holiday season' trying to maintain contact with our candidates - feeling we are battling against the odds..... And He made us get into this wretched boat and go on ahead while he dismissed the crowds (yes, dismissed!) and went up into the hills for a nice quiet time by himself! We quite fancy a nice bit of quiet ourselves.
Well, in this story there is room for both - time for quiet refreshment in the 'sheer silence' on the hillside (Community Bible translation of 'gentle breeze' (in 1 Kngs 19:12) and with the psalmist to 'hear what the Lord has to say, a voice that speaks of peace', and time for battling with our own fears and immaturity as we attempt to move forward with the process of initiation.
On reflection, perhaps rather than highlighting Peter's doubt, it is is his courage and faith that is emphasised when he says in the height of the storm on seeing Jesus walking towards them, 'Order (or 'tell')me to come to you' and Jesus says 'Come' and he climbs out and gives it a go!
So what have we been 'giving a go' this Summer? The 'group' has not been meeting to break the Word, which could be seen as a disapointment. However, the sponsors have been alongside our candidates these last weeks, sitting with them at Mass, bringing them to parish picnics, prayer vigils for Zimbabwe, and pilgrimages to local shrines, as well as continuing to share on the Sunday Gospels over a coffee, and telling stories of their own experience, for example, of reconciliation, as this sacramental opportunity approaches for the one who is to be received into full communion in September (on the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross - most appropriate for him). Our neophyte has got married - so that has been a great joy in the whole parish community. He specifically wanted the recitation of the Creed in the nuptial mass because it has come to mean so much to him. So on reflection, the community and the candidates have been quietly getting on with the business of helping 'those who are searching for Christ in the various circumstances of daily life'. (RCIA9) Perhaps, gradually we are moving towards a more liturgical/mystagogical apprenticeship!
RCIA – Burkinabé-style
It was an interesting conversation in a small parish office - talking about RCIA - initiating adults - how challenging it could be to sort out irregularities in marriages of people coming forward to join the Church- the process of ensuring that people had begun to conform their lives to Christ - marking the journey to Baptism with various rites and making sure that the new Catholics were well-supported during the period of mystagogia.
We are all familiar with the process - but this was somewhat different as the office was in the parish of St Vincent de Paul, Koko, Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso. (If you’re not sure where Burkina is or what it is like, click this link to see what Wikipedia says about on Burkina Faso). I had gone out for the ordination of a new Missionary of Africa (White Father), Anselme Tarpaga, in the cathedral there and the opportunity to chat to people about the inculturation of liturgy and Christian Initiation was irresistible.
Pere Albert with young women from a local village in Konadougou parish
Among those who spoke of the culture in which the White Fathers and Sisters were evangelising was Père Albert, a German priest with 37 years experience of living and working among the peoples of Africa. He invited me to spend a few days out in the mission station of Konadougou in the south-west in the Diocese of Banfora. This is pretty remote and Père Albert said that when he first came people hid behind trees as he passed in his truck… now they clamour for a lift as he passes at the end of the day! In such a place, evening meetings are impossible – people are understandably reluctant to risk meeting snakes on the way home! So much of the catechesis is done in basic Christian communities with leaders coming together for formation and to discuss how their catechumens are progressing. As the leaders can travel up to 20 km, meetings take place during the day and the people obviously need to be fed before returning home. Catechumens are brought together for a 7-day retreat each year with a two-week one during the Lent before their baptism – a chance to reflect together and deepen their spiritual lives... and a hefty commitment of time for subsistence farmers at the hottest time of year. Each week in Lent has its own rite – but given the distance between the Mass centres, not all can happen in every centre every week (as indeed Mass does not always happen).
A family's fetish in the village
The process takes 3-4 years – a one year pre-catechumenate and three year catechumenate – though this can be slightly less where candidates are literate and can undertake study and reflection at home.
Most of the people coming forward are animists, brought up with fetishes and animal sacrifices – and polygamy. It is the latter that often exercises the catechists and clergy and questions about the marital status of the catechumen form a significant part of the questionnaire the leader of the Basic Christian Community fills in to state the readiness of any given candidate. Where a man or woman is in a polygamous marriage, they cannot be baptised but, after their four years of formation receive a blessing during Eastertime. Where the marriage is to one other person, it is regularised as a religious marriage (to go along with the traditional and civil ceremonies that most people also have).
In the town, catechist Georges described a very similar process with candidates following a course of books which opens with the very simple question – who/ what is a catechist? (It prompts the thought about whether people coming to our sessions actually know who or what a catechist might be!) At the end of each year, the prospective new Catholic receives a small token to make the stage in their journey:
End of pre-catechumenate – a miraculous medal
Year 1 of catechumenate – a rosary
Year 2 – medaille croix – a cross with small images of the miraculous medal, St Christopher, the Holy Spirit, Christ and a Madonna
Year 3 – a crucifix
The main responsibility for the formation of the new Christian rests with the Basic Christian Community.
Lent is again marked by rites for each week – and, being in a town, means that people are more able to participate. Week 1 is the call of the candidate who seeks baptism and the vouching for them of the Base Community, catechists and clergy.
Week 2 is the formal renunciation of animistic practices and an exorcism of “esprits mauvaises”.
Week 3 is the giving of and recitation of the Creed by the catechumens.
Week 4 has the “Rite du Sel” – where candidates take salt as a sign of being salt of the earth. There is also the signing of the senses.
Week 5 is the choice of Christian name – where the catechumens give the name they have chosen and why.
The catechumens stay in Mass throughout their catechumenate – there is no dismissal after the Liturgy of the Word – and take full part in the liturgies of Holy Week.
The Easter Vigil starts at 21.00 with the Liturgy of Light and of the Word – and is timed so that the baptisms take place at midnight. There is then a thanksgiving Mass for the newly-baptised on Easter Monday with a blessing for those whose polygamous marriage prevents their being baptised.
Confirmation is deferred for a year and further instruction continues, reinforcing the new way of life the Christian is establishing. Various pictures are used for discussion and particularly significant seemed to be the emphasis on Christ as the perfect sacrifice and the need for the new Christian not to revert back to the sacrifice of chickens, sheep or goats of their animist past. There was also the interesting picture of a man beating a woman – with the explanation that this behaviour too is something that is not appropriate in a Christian marriage.
Of necessity, this really is just a brief summary of the conversations and experience of the Church in Burkina Faso – a country in Africa that prides itself on being an integrated nation where Moslems. Christians and animists live side by side. More snippets can be found on the blog I kept during my time there… including the experience of going to a place sacred to animists. Click here to read more: http://www.bilbosjourneys.blogspot.com/
Everything is Waiting For You
It’s a beautiful spring morning as I sit to write: the kind we’ve been longing for and which is much more Easter than most of the preceding twenty eight. Cold yes, but with the brightness of morning sunshine promising to warm water and soil and hearts. A wonderful morning to look to what will be next Sunday’s First Reading (Acts 6:1-7) and which begins with the words:
“About this time, when the number of disciples was increasing …”
It’s a familiar story: the good news of increasing numbers, tempered by struggle and tension; we’re not being fairly treated! And with it comes the requirement for the early church to listen to the complaints and adapt to meet the needs of the current situation. It’s certainly a relevant text for our own times, but what about the neophytes and their continuing reflection on their new status as full members of the Body of Christ? As the apostles considered ways of delegating and involving more people in the tasks of ministry, perhaps it’s a good time to consider ways in which the neophytes’ particular gifts and talents can be welcomed and put to good use within the particular parish community to which they belong. The rite instructs us:
“The period of post-baptismal catechesis is of great significance for both the neophytes and the rest of the faithful. Through it the neophytes with the help of their godparents, should experience a full and joyful welcome into the community and enter into closer ties with the other faithful. The faithful in turn should derive from it a renewal of inspiration and of outlook.” [R.C.I.A. 236]
In my last parish we made a special effort to undertake the necessary discernment and then training and support across various ministries in order that by Pentecost our neophytes could be seen to be active in an appropriate area of ministry. So we had new readers, new cleaners, new flower-arrangers, new welcomers and companions on the journey for new enquirers. Sadly, the new life of Easter can be restricted to a narrow, spiritual focus if we’re not careful and the opportunity to bring new people into new areas of ministry can be overlooked. Just as that clear blue sky of a sunny spring morning can highlight the tired paintwork and dingy windows that have survived the darkness and gloom of winter so too the Easter life of resurrection can highlight the need to revitalise ministries that have perhaps grown tired, albeit settled and comfortable. A burst of energy and enthusiasm can be just the Easter sunshine required to warm the water, the soil and the hearts of our parish ministries. Whilst a failure to consider ways of integrating the new life the neophytes represent into the existing life of the community risks leaving them marginalised and under-valued. There’s a wonderful David Whyte poem, Everything is Waiting For You, that I think speaks to both neophytes and the community at this special time, especially the final verse:
Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into
the conversation. The kettle is singing
even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots
have left their arrogant aloofness and
seen the good in you at last. All the birds
and creatures of the world are unutterably
themselves. Everything is waiting for you.
Perhaps part of the joy of mystagogia is the discovery that for both neophyte and parish community everything is indeed waiting!
- Everything is Waiting For You, Poems by David Whyte, 2003 Many Rivers Press