Team Essentials – Resources: Catechumenate
In her blog ( 5 September 2011 A Parish begins the RCIA process) Caroline writes of the enthusiasts who are forming a parish RCIA team and the formation session offered to the team.
Resources are essential to anyone involved in RCIA, and although it may seem a bit daunting, the Rite itself is a resource that needs to be looked at time and time again. I suggest one way.
- Get a photocopy of the Introduction and have a reading group over coffee and cakes [cakes essential!].
- Have coloured marker pens, and colour code the different periods; the different roles: the community, the catechumen; the mention of liturgical actions, and the mention of catechesis.
- Look ahead to the first rite. Make a bullet point list of what has to be affirmed at that rite, for that is the way your path is directed.
- Be flexible, be imaginative.
Journals provide another valuable resource, with contributors often concentrating on a specific period or role in the RCIA
An article in the latest edition of Catechumenate* by Christine Mader offers an interesting approach to the Rite of Reception of Baptised Christians into the Full Communion of the Catholic Church.
The author writes of how baptised Christians are included in the RCIA process alongside those unbaptised people seeking the full sacraments of initiation. This may mean a year long process that takes no account of the circumstances of the individual. So, fine, if the person is uncatechised, but what of the person who has been attending mass each Sunday with their spouse; who has fully involved themselves in parish life, praying with the community, sharing tasks of charity. Or what of the Christian who was active in their own denomination, perhaps practising a ministry.
Christine Mader considers the matter by asking 3 questions. I pick out just a few points
1. ‘Whom should we see?’
- We should see that the baptised is Christian, and so has already achieved the purpose that the RCIA process intends.
- That the baptised Christian is already in communion with the Catholic Church, although as of yet an imperfect communion.
- They may already have been fully initiated in their own church, and regularly receiving Holy Communion.
2. Why should we act?
- The author considers ‘Our experience teaches us that the status quo is inadequate’
- That both, those being received into the Catholic Church, and RCIA teams, acknowledge unease when ‘practising Christians are forced to go through a full RCIA process’ when their Christian experience doesn’t require it.
In answering the first 2 questions the author moves to 3. Who should we be? That there are new informed ways of being.
- Understand the rites. The Rite of Reception is separate from the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. It is in Part 2, 5. Rites for Particular Circumstances.
- ‘Be ecumenically informed and sensitive’. Consider what is the validity of their own sacramental journey. Help them to discern why they feel drawn to the Catholic Church.
- Don’t plan to provide them with them more doctrinal or spiritual preparation than the average Catholic in the community already has. They shouldn’t be subjected to a heavier burden because they have made a choice to become Catholic.
- Be prepared to complete the process in less time than that of catechumens.
- ‘Be communal.’ By using what is already happening in your parish community, a varied catechesis can be given which utilises existing resources: giving a mix of groups, talks, involvement in parish activities as well as individual meetings
The author also suggests the team have a session reading the rite, exploring what it means and what is required.
- Don’t forget to look out the Resources page on this website.
- If you come across an interesting resource, do please share it via the blog.
*Mader Christine, ‘Separating the Rite of Reception from RCIA’, Catechumenate, vol 33 no 5.(2011) 20-30. Liturgy Training Publications, Chicago.
A parish begins the RCIA process
After a gap of many years, with a new church building offering space that really cries out 'you are welcome', and a wise pastor, a parish in the Diocese is beginning the RCIA process afresh. They have gathered a group of 6 enthusiasts, men and women, different ages, as the 'parish team'. We opened the formation session for the team with Bernadette Farrell's 'You have called us by our name' and reflected on the words -
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!
Pentecost and beyond: living and sharing our life with God in the everyday!
God with us in every day relationships
How was it for you? Easter? Pentecost? Trinity Sunday?
Walking alongside our elect, we have trod the lenten path in preparation for sacraments of initiation at Easter. We have rejoiced with them in the Easter Vigil, and have lived and shared our faith with our new Catholic members throughout the 50-days of the Resurrection of the Lord. We havecontinued with joy through Pentecost, and yesterday, with the feast of the Most Holy Trinity we again gathered together as a parish community, Body of Christ, to know, celebrate and experience how much God loves us. I was very struck by the Opening Prayer yesterday - in the current 1973 Missal translation: '
Father, you sent your Word to bring us truth and your Spirit to make us holy. Through them we come to know the mystery of your life. Help us to worship you, one God in three Persons, by proclaiming and living our faith in you.
The 1998 Icel text, also in our current missals as an alternative opening prayer reads:
God, we praise you. Father all-powerful, Christ Lord and Saviour, Spirit of love. You reveal yourself in the depths of our being, drawing us to share in your life and your love. One God, three Persons, be near to the people formed in your image, close to the world your love brings to life.
In the first Reading God proclaims Godself to be 'a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness.' In the second reading we are exorted to 'try to grow perfect, help one another, be united, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.' In the Gospel 'God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life.'
If we are praying these texts, opening our hearts and lives, they will have an impact - they will renew us and shape us, and be the lens through which we see the world and respond to people and events in the ordinary every-day of life. Every moment, bidden or unbidden, God is with us, revealing Godself in the depths of our being, drawing us to share in the Divine Life and Love. Wow! It's all a mind-blowing mystery. We are made new! We dont have to react in the same old way when the wrong buttons are pushed. We can see things differently, we can take the long view. Summer is a great time to allow this renewal to get into our bones - like vitamin D from sunshine, we need it. In quietly reflecting on our experience of the liturgy - what did I hear? What did I see? What did I sense? What did I touch? - we will find ourselves living it! Yes, the Lord is with you! The words and actions of the liturgy reflecting our relationship and sharing in the life of God, are echoed in the actions and words of daily events, daily encounters with others. As St Benedict use to say when he encoutered an old friend 'It is Easter indeed!'
Action?
Tune in and be consciously aware more often during the day - to the Word and the Spirit at work in YOU, achieving so much more than you can ask or imagine!
Look out and see just how close God is to the world his love brings to life.
In your journeys to and fro, God direct you. In your happiness and pleasure, God bless you. In care, anxiety, or trouble, God sustain you. In peril and in danger, God protect you. (Archbishop Timothy Olufsen, 1918-1992, Nigeria)
Lent – an important time for RCIA
Lent can be very much a time of being alone in the wilderness. We may discover that we rely on some worldly things more than we care to admit to cope with life. Yet giving them up helps us to see things that matter more starkly in the clean dry air of the desert. We can only ponder what Jesus was thinking about for forty days in the wilderness but after fasting for such a long time it is not surprising that he was very hungry and this exposed him to temptation.
Jesus normally warns us to avoid temptation. He asks us to pray 'lead us not into temptation'(Matthew 6:13) and suggests that 'if your right eye should be your downfall, tear it out' (Matthew 5:29). But in Lent as we open ourselves up to God we also may expose ourselves to testing but, if we approach it in the right way, we do so in a safe environment. To help us to learn to swim better the instructor asks us to jump into the water but remains always on hand to save us if we get in trouble. Lent is, of course, a time to deepen our relationship with the Lord through learning humility through repentence (we discover we really aren't as good as we think we are), and learning to trust in Him.
Lent may be a time of being alone with God - yet, paradoxically, being alone is a communal activity. We are alone with our brothers and sisters of our parish community. The wilderness is full of our friends! For the catechumens and candidates preparing for the Easter Vigil it is a period of Purification and Enlightenment. But then that is what Lent should be for all of us. This is why the RCIA process involves all the parish community. The catechumens and candidates can be a great blessing for us all, an encouragement and a challenge in our own Lenten journey, and a source of joy in the Lord.
The RCIA process offers a route by which people can prepare to be received into the Catholic Church which is inseparable from growing in personal faith. It also offers nothing less than a means of promoting renewal within a parish community. The more the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is implemented in full and the greater the opportunities it offers.
In our parish, as in many others that 'do' RCIA, we have never really carried it out in full, and what actually happens is somewhere between the ideal and what seems to be practical. This year we have gone increasingly lectionary-based, and carried out a combined Rite of Acceptance (of Catechumens) and Welcoming (of candidates already baptised) in Sunday Mass. We combined these because this year we have fewer participants than usual, just one Catechumen and two candidates. It is important to emphasise that catechumens and candidates are different yet just as important to see them as fellow travellers with us on their journey in faith. The Rite of Acceptance and Welcoming did not take up much of the Mass yet it proved very meaningful not only to both Catechumen and Candidates but provided a 'before your very eyes' experience of the work of the Holy Spirit. As Lent began the Rite of Election and Enrollment in the Cathedral a few weeks later gave added to the momentum. Two weeks later our catechumen took part in the First Scrutiny in Sunday Mass. The candidates came to support their catechumen brother and the scrutiny concluded with all three being presented with the Creed. Thus the people of the parish have their own experience of Lent deepened by being part of it. This year we are going to carry out the second and third scrutiny within the weekly RCIA meeting but next year we shall consider doing all three in Mass, particularly if we have more catechumens. Perhaps each scrutiny at a different Sunday Mass so that more of the community might become involved.
So far we have not gone as far as dismissal. It is quite possible that once we started the practice it might well become accepted much more readily than one might think. We considered introducing the idea towards the end of Lent this year as the first step in extending it to the whole period of the catechumenate. To do it this year might be to expect too much of our one catechumen but perhaps we shall have more next year and we can extend dismissal to the whole of Lent. In our parish we tend to have more candidates than catechumens and the candidates consist a mixture of those who have already been catechised as practicising member of a non-Catholic Christian Community and some who, though baptised as infants, have had little or no further catechesis. The Rite suggests that the latter might be dismissed but the catechised might not, with an element of choice. For this year at least, with only one Catechumen and two candidates , it seemed better to keep them together and encourage each other. Perhaps we shall have more catechumens next year, do all the scrutinies in Mass and start to introduce the dismissal principal.
The more the members of the parish become involved in the journey of the Catechumens and Candidates and the more they will share their joy at the Easter Vigil and the more the newcomers will be a blessing to the whole community. After the period of mystagogia and they descend from the mountain of transfiguration comes the challenge not only of integrating the new members of the body of Christ into the parish but in appreciating that they represent new life which has the potential to renew us all. Are we going to be content to let them merge into the inward-looking background or are they going to lead us in inviting strangers into our church to 'come and see a man who has told me everything I ever did'? (John 4:29). Our new brothers and sisters of the Easter Vigil offer us the opportunity to see our parish community to grow not only in numbers but in spiritual depth and in the Joy of the Lord.
May we, along with our new brothers and sisters, all be Easter people!
It is Wonderful…
It is Wonderful...
"Lord, he said " it is wonderful for us to be here...effusive comment from Peter in this week's Gospel on the Transfiguation of Christ.
Some of the same sentiment was expressed by those who attended the recent celebrations of the Rite of Election. Various blogs and Diocesan website reports have noted the positive and encouragging experiences from around England and Wales.
The Transfiguration offers Peter, James and John, and us as the continuous Christian community , the preview and confirmation of the Resurrection. Peter's enthusiasim suggests he has had a 'eureka' moment and come to a realisation of who Jesus really is. However, we also know that Jesu asks the disciples not to mention the event until the time is right.
The RCIA process is that gradual realisation and acknowledgement of who Jesus is for us. In that journey we are often called to change; to change our ways, our perceptions and our outlook. Jesus' outlook was transformed. This is a reminder to us that His example of obedience to the Father's will, His faithful friendship and service to the people he met and His invitation to us to continually recognise him in his glory remains available to us today.
The Call to Continuing Conversion alongside the gospel of the Transfiguration promts us to reflect on this slow but steady process of becoming more Christlike while anticipating the surprises associated with the ongoing experience of conversion.
Peter is moved from excitement to reverence. We are to look for and savour those moment when we 'see' or know who Jesus Christ really is for us peronally and for all of us in the world toda. The call to continuing conversion asks us to be ready like Abram and like Peter to journey and then re-settle ourselves in the presence of God.
LENT AGAIN
For many in the parish, there can be that feeling that it is Lent again with decisions to be made: what to give up, what works of charity to do, what groups to go to, how to prepare for easter. But one group will be experiencing LENT as a whole new experience: those to be initiated through the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and eucharist, and those to be received into full communion with the catholic church.
I would like to suggest that sharing this period of Purification and Enlightenment with the whole parish could be a spiritual experience that the whole community share. Of course this is not a new idea for :
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 local community, therefore the Lenten season is a time for spiritual recollection in preparation for the celebration of the paschal mystery. RCIA 125.
The period consists ‘ more in interior reflection than in catechetical instruction, and is intended to purify the minds and hearts of the elect as they search their own consciences and do penance’ RCIA 126
Perhaps some questions to ask include:
- Is the whole community aware of the names of the candidates, and are they supporting their journey?
- What opportunities are being offered to allow the elect to experience a deeper knowledge of Christ?
- Is this an opportunity for some catechesis of the parish about the RCIA process?
- Is this an evangelising opportunity for those who may be wavering on the threshold?
Prayer is a vital part of any spiritual preparation. There will be many forms of prayer: praying the rosary, the stations of the cross, reflecting in depth on the Opening Prayer. This could be a time to share the many different forms of prayer not only among the candidates, but throughout the community.
- TIP Invite people to bring a prayer that is special to them and pin them on a board at the back of the church or somewhere that is visible to the whole community. Watch it grow in size and variety.
A handy resource is Alison Berger’s A Prayerbook for Catechumens Twenty-third Publications
RCIA as the model for all catechesis?
Having had a formation session on RCIA, the historical threads, vision and practice, a trainee catechist said this week that she couldnt see it working as a model for catechesis - her concern was the ability of the catechumen or candidate to 'know enough doctrine, and to fully understand the discipline of the sacraments' in order to take that step and become a Catholic', and very much seeing the main task of the catechist as providing a 'systematic programme' covering all there is to know...
Let's look at formation offered in the parish -
Children for first sacraments, baptism preparation with new parents, confirmation candidates, marriage preparation, welcome of returners and so on. How are these informed by the vision of RCIA? Where sacramental preparation is concerned, what are we saying through what we offer? Are Sacraments divine gifts, celebrating the human and divine relationship, to be prepared for, received and opened to, gradually over a life time, or are they the end-of-programme certificates of knowledge, passports to a Catholic school or a wedding in a pretty church?
RCIA gives the parish an incarnational model that involves the whole person, body, mind, heart and spirit -
with invitation and welcome (Come and See where we live), gradual pathway into community life (see how they love one another) , encounter with God (I am with you always) through the Word and the experience of Liturgy, prayer, and reflection on scripture and tradition, outward-looking concern for others, and steps marked by liturgical rites, and blessings to strengthen the whole community on the journey of deepening conversion.
I was invited by a priest colleague recently to give a day for engaged couples, as part of their preparation for the sacrament of marriage. In this one parish, 12 couples have applied to get married this year. So far the marriage preparation has involved: (1) individual meetings of the couples with the priest to discern where they are and what they are asking for (2) invitation to weekly Family Mass on Sundays to celebrate with and meet the community (2) a rite of welcome that took place during
T & C vows
a Sunday Mass, asking the community to pray for all the couples (3) marriage preparation sessions given by a married couple covering all aspects of 'Catholics and marriage' - opening with 'beginner's guide to lectio on the Word, and finishing with special prayers of blessing for them (4) members of the community involved in preparing for the wedding itself (5) follow-up sessions to share wedding stories, and offer ongoing support. Not a bad RCIA model!
What is your experience of RCIA as model for other areas of catechesis?
Made up your mind? For goodness’ sake, change it!
A busy last few days of Advent, with all the concerns about the celebration of Christmas at the end of the week - the weather, the food, the cards & presents, family relationships, lack of money, travel, church services, and so on! No time to log on and read a blog - facing all sorts of minor and major dilemmas! For the 4th Sunday of Advent we have Joseph as companion. Joseph is usually portrayed as the silent type, hovering at the edge of the nativity scene, or even asleep in a corner of the stall. Matthew gives us a very different picture, placing Joseph centre-stage, pivotal character in the story of Christ's birth - and through his experience, illustrating how the external forces beyond our control are often those which have the most powerful and significant effect in shaping our lives. Have you ever made up your mind about something important - and then had to change it because of someone else's greater need? How did you come to that decision, what forces were at work, and what blessings came from it?
Let's recap Sunday's Gospel for a moment: Mary, at stage one of her betrothal to Joseph, is pregnant, and he is not the father. He loves her and sees the solution, in obedience to the Law, as a quiet divorce, avoiding shaming Mary by a public scene. Having made up his mind, he goes to bed. In a dream that night an angel comes to him saying 'Do not be afraid to take Mary to your home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus'. Joseph affirms Mary's 'Yes' with his own courageous response, completing his betrothal by taking Mary to his home as his wife, offering her and the child Jesus security, love and protection.
- What major decisions have you faced in your life? How did you make up your mind?
- Have you ever said 'Yes' to a different course of action from the one you had planned?
- Do you believe that God is with you, now, today, whatever your circumstances?
I'm told that Joseph is the patron saint of anyone who has to change and adapt their lives because of 
someone else's needs. Perhaps this week, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, we can reflect on Joseph, and thank God for all those people 'off stage' in our own lives who have said 'yes' for our sake, and nourished, guided, encouraged and enabled us to live out our calling. Parents, grandparents, friends....?
Advent is coming
Advent: The Lord came once and He’s coming again.
Christmas is coming Christmas cards have been on sale for several weeks. I’ve already seen a garden centre advertising Christmas trees and a shop selling all you need to make a crib. All around us the world of commerce is gearing up for Christmas.
Harry Potter films do Christmas well – a flurry of snow, Hagrid dragging in a huge tree (presumably from the creepy forest), everyone riding in horse-drawn sledges and that magic happy snow music. To many people looking forward to Christmas is to chase a fantasy of lost childhood which often fails to meet the expectation. What kind of Christmas did you have? ‘Well you know, um, quiet. It’s nice for children though isn’t it?’ To say Christmas often turns out to be an expensive anticlimax has been said many times before. For many people it’s the looking forward to the great day that matters, rather than the day itself. To me the best bits of Christmas are not fantasy at all – seeing the family together again, and celebrating the birth of the Redeemer at Midnight Mass.
Advent is coming Advent does involve preparing to celebrate the birth of the child Jesus 2000 years ago, but the first two weeks are about staying awake for the Lord’s second coming when we shall meet him face to face. On the third Sunday we do commemorate the earthly life of Jesus but the Gospel is about John the Baptist sternly exhorting us to ‘repent for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand’. Only on the fourth week do we hear about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem but even this is full of harsh realism, a typically heavy handed piece of bureaucracy which sends a young pregnant women on a stressful journey and a birth in completely unsatisfactory circumstances because there was no room at the inn.
The second coming of Jesus Christ will not be as a baby but as King and Judge. The scriptures speak of difficult times with a final assault by the powers of evil before the final fulfilment of the Kingdom and they speak darkly of the antichrist and end of the world. The Church’s teaching is neatly summarised in the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 671 to 679). I explained some scripture to someone to whom I take Holy Communion recently by saying that one day we shall meet the Lord face to face and she said, searchingly ‘and do you believe that?’. It was Jesus who taught us the ‘Our Father’ and he included the line ‘thy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven’ and we often say ‘he will come in glory to judge the living and the dead’. The real meaning of Advent is very challenging to catechists as well as catechumens and candidates. Do we look forward to him coming in glory and majesty or do we secretly think to ourselves ‘well that probably won’t happen just yet’. When we say ‘thy Kingdom come’ do we not only believe it’s going to happen – but are we looking forward to it. And what we are looking forward to is the ultimate opposite of an anticlimax. It is about that which lasts even after heaven and earth have passed passed away. This is our faith.
How literally are we to take the details? The word Armageddon appears only once in the Greek New Testament. Some of the events prophesied in the New Testament, such as the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in AD70, have already happened. Members of the New Testament Church seem to have expected the Lord to return within their own life time which he clearly didn’t. Does time have any meaning in eternity? Prophesy may contain deep truth but it may be attempting to describe the indescribable. St Paul observes that we ‘prophesy imperfectly’ (I Corinthians 13:9) and that ‘now we see only reflections in a mirror, mere riddles, but then we shall be seeing face to face’ (1 Corinthians 13:12).
In a recent Gospel (33rd Sunday of the year, Luke 21:5-19) Jesus
- Warns people not to rely on things like the Temple which will pass away
- Warns them not to try to predict when the end will come and not to be taken in by dangerous distractions like false messiahs
- Warns his people not to be afraid when disasters happen
- To use every opportunity to witness to the Gospel and to trust him in it. He promised to give them the eloquence and wisdom they needed to witness
- Reminded them that not a hair on their head would be lost
- Pointed out that endurance would save them their lives.
And how anxious should we be when we meet the Lord face to face? If we are in Christ then we are adopted sons and daughters – we are members of the family. We are not relying on perfection produced by our own muscular spirituality to justify us but on the sacrifice of the One who was crucified. His warning to stay awake is really about staying close to him and not being distracted by things that will not last, by fantasies and by false messiahs. When we meet him we shall be aware of our unworthiness and developing such an awareness is a feature of the life of faith.
I once had the privilege of briefly meeting Her Majesty the Queen. I remembered that, at the age of six, making red, white and blue decorations for her coronation. I had followed the events of her life ever since then and so I already knew her when I finally met her face to face. She looked at me thoughtfully and kindly and I wanted to be polite and respectful. During my life of faith I have slowly been getting to know the Lord and one day I shall meet him face to face. One of the ways that this meeting will differ from that with Her Majesty is that he will already know me and will have known me since before I was born.
The importance of grown-up thinking I am writing this blog on the Feast of Christ the King. The second reading (Colossians 1:15-20) emphasises that Jesus is King - the first-born of all creation whilst in the Gospel (Luke 23:35-43) he is a man being crucified with two thieves. One of them recognises his own unworthiness in the presence of someone special yet feels he can say ‘remember me when you come into your kingdom’ and Jesus replies ‘today you will be with me in paradise’. The fact that Jesus is both King and someone with whom we have an intimate relationship is so truly awesome that we shall never fully understand it until we meet him face to face’.
I tried to explain this to someone on my Holy Communion round, although it might just as much have been someone in the RCIA group. She replied thoughtfully that it was quite a difficult idea. Do we have to understand it? No, I don’t think so. If it’s getting complicated we only have to go back to Jesus the carpenter of Nazareth – for he is ‘the image of the unseen God’ (Colossians 1:15). What a wonderful thing for God to reveal himself through a person. You don’t need to be able to read or talk theology to understand a person. The ‘good thief’ was able understand what Jesus was about. In fact, Jesus likened himself to a ‘good shepherd’. Sheep cannot read and neither can they talk theology but they know a good shepherd when they see one and all they have to do is trust him. The potentially fatal mistake a sheep can make is to wander off to where it can’t hear the Good Shepherd’s voice. The Shepherd will leave the others and come and look for it – but a roaring lion might have found the sheep first.
So does it matter, trying to understand some of the huge ideas in scripture? If it’s starting to confuse and is leading catechumens away from the shepherd it is better to avoid it. But the understanding that is pitched at just the right level can deepen faith, release praise and promote faith sharing. St Paul exhorts ‘Brothers, do not remain children in your thinking; infants in wickedness – agreed, but in your thinking grown-ups’ (1 Corinthians 14:20).
But my real life is the faith I have in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2: 19-20
This will be your opportunity to bear witness…
This will be your opportunity to bear witness…
This weekend’s Gospel from Luke reminds us to be ready to stand up for our faith and not to be deceived into thinking the Kingdom of God is at an end by worrying about the events in the world or the disparaging way in which we see many Christians being treated.
To follow on from the recent visit of Pope Benedict, September 2010 we are urged to respond and affirm through our faithfulness his comment ‘that the Catholics of this land will become ever more conscious of their dignity as a priestly people, called to consecrate the world to God through lives of faith and holiness.’
One of the key documents from the Second Vatican Council was Lumen Gentium; the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, which can also be understood as ‘Christ is the Light to all humanity.’
In Chapter 4:31 we read that ‘The duty of the laity, which springs from their own vocation to seek the kingdom of God in the transaction of worldly business and the godly arrangement they give it. Their life is lived in the world. It is lived in each and all of the world’s occupations and employments and in the ordinary situations of the life of the family and society. This is the context of their existence. This is where they have their call from God to make their contribution to the sanctification of the world from the inside, as a leaven, by tackling their own job with the spirit of the gospel as their guide. This is the principal way in which Christ is to be shown to others, by their life’s witness, in the glow of their faith, their hope and their charity. It is their especial concern to bring such light and order to all worldly business, in which they are deeply involved, that it may be performed and developed in Christ’s way, and may give glory to the Creator and the Redeemer.’
This passage is rich in its parallels with the Rite and aspects of the Catechumenate when catechumen and candidates are encouraged to consider the ways in which their lives in the ordinary experiences of work and family life are impacted by the action of God. It is also where the opportunity to witness to our faith comes alive. RCIA teams, groups and parish communities express this witness in their love, prayers and support for the catechumens and candidates. The ways in which we greet, work and interact with people each day is a significant example of how we show and share our love of God.
RCIA 75.2 reiterates the themes from Lumen Gentium when it offers the instruction:
‘As they become familiar with the Christian way of life and are helped by the example and support of sponsors, godparents, and the entire Christian community, the catechumens learn to turn more readily to God in prayer to bear witness to the faith, in all things to keep their hopes set on Christ, to follow supernatural inspiration in their deeds, and to practice love of neighbour, even at the cost of self-renunciation.’
Archbishop Vincent Nichols wrote recently that in order to accept the Pope’s invitation that to be more overt in our expressions of faith we could take small steps such as offering to pray for and with people, making the sign of the cross or simply saying ‘God bless you’ all of which can be daily signs and witness of our faith and which encourage others to ‘become familiar with the Christian way of life.’
God Bless You.