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

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

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

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

This week offers an easy introduction into lectionary based catechesis. On Friday we have the memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary.  October traditionally is a month when we dedicate our prayers to the Blessed Virgin and whether we have an initial enquirer or are in the midst of the catechumenate period, this month offers  an opportune way to  introduce and consider a variety of facets of the catholic faith.

The ‘Hail Mary’  offers a wonderful example of a prayer of faith. It speaks of Our Lady’s faith, of her cousin Elizabeth’s faith: of enlightenment, and of our faith.

• During the 1^st period of evangelisation and precatechumenate, the community ‘welcomes them into their homes, into personal conversation, and into the community gatherings’ Rite of Christian Initiation of  Adults ‘RCIA’ 9.1.

If inviting an enquirer into your home, why not let them see  how a statue of Our Lady or  picture or icon is central to the home.  Show them  the rosary beads, tell them about the Marian shrines. Share with them the stories of Lourdes, Fatima and Walsingham.

As the catechumen 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 ...’ RCIA 75.2

• If you have a multi-cultural community ask parishioners to share stories of Marian devotion in their country.  It makes for a fascinating and lively discussion if you have someone who has a video of  fiestas and processions. We do good ones  here as well!
• Explore  icons, statues, books  for different aspects of the life of Our Lady.
• Explore the different types of prayer, of meditation, contemplation.
• Have another look at the prayers of Mass when we ask Our Lady to pray for us like the ‘I confess’.
• Use the episode when Mary is confronted by the angel Gabriel,  to  discuss  the challenges  faced on a journey of faith.

Share the experience of praying the rosary together, and let the community benefit  ‘by joining the catechumens in reflecting on the value of the paschal mystery’. RCIA 4

So what are you doing in your parish this month?

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!

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 (33^rd 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

In the 21^st century we have to become very adept at balancing: juggling our home life with our work commitments, ensuring a good balance of ‘busyness’ and ‘me-time’.  It is the same with RCIA: using the resources at hand (and here it is helpful to keep reminding ourselves ‘that the initiation of adults is the responsibility of all the baptised’  RCIA 9),  as a variety of enquirers, catechumens and candidates have to be assisted and supported along their journey of faith.

Fortunately as well as human helpers we are blessed by our scriptural and liturgical resources. There is the ease and importance of using lectionary based catechesis. ‘Ease’ because it follows the liturgical year and the scripture text comes around every three years, so it is experienced by every one of the faithful; and ‘important’ because it is the Word of God on which we all feed for the truth of what it means to be a catholic christian.

On the 32^nd Sunday in ordinary time as we near the end of this liturgical year it is easy to follow on from All Saints and All Souls and discuss the promise of resurrection in our sessions or meetings.  In balancing the needs of the unbaptised: whether initial enquirer or catechumen, and those perhaps of the already baptised: whether uncatechised catholic or those pursuing reception into full communion with the catholic church, the lectio divina process could be employed.

• Depending on when they became involved in the RCIA process, enquirers* should be open to learning about this ancient form of prayer. I find that it helps the focus, to use the shortened version of this text (Luke 20:27, 34-38).
• By explaining the whole exercise in advance, the enquirer knows how the time is going to be spent.
• Before it is first proclaimed, ask them to listen to it and to see if a word, phrase or image strikes them. (I find it breaks concentration if you say this after it has been read)
• If this is their first experience of lectio divina you may find it helpful to read it a second time before you invite them to share their phrase.
• Invite them to listen to what strikes them when they hear it proclaimed again.
• Then for the next reading invite them to listen to how the Word of God is meeting them at this stage of their life.
• In the final proclamation ask them to dig deep into their heart and ask what God is calling them to do.
• After each reading give at least a couple of minutes for reflection.
• After sharing give further time for meditation on what has been said.

The challenge of this type of prayer is that you don’t always know where it is going to lead, but it can offer a real insight into where your enquirer or catechumen are in their journey.

* For those making initial enquiry I would use part of the gospel, read once and invite them  to spend a couple of minutes in quiet reflection on what it is saying to them,

You might also find it useful to look at the Rite of Acceptance with the enquirer. In the first acceptance of the gospel all the proposed addresses stress that faith leads to ‘eternal life’ #52.

What does eternal life mean to those approaching the catholic church? How does the promise of eternal life impinge on their present way of living? Does it involve change and if so what support will they need from the community?

This also offers consideration for the discernment process. The uncatechised baptised may benefit from celebrating a Rite of Welcome #381. This needs to be discerned.

Discernment is also needed when considering the committed non catholic churchgoer. Perhaps in their previous church they were involved in church ministries and so may need very little ‘doctrinal and spiritual preparation’ #391. Their individual journey will help channel their journey, having regard that the Rite of Reception ‘is so arranged that no greater burden than necessary is required...’#387.

Whatever the individual journey lectionary based catechesis is an essential tool.

Once again we are invited to celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. We can admire and be inspired by the example of all the saints and be aided by their prayers. But as we celebrate we can also be challenged, challenged with the invitation to become one of their number!

Our reaction to this may take many forms, perhaps it is ‘Lord, I am not worthy...’ or alternatively we may share the sentiments of Groucho Marx who famously said “I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members.”  And yet the challenge and the invitation remain. By God’s grace we are called to become saints.

Many will know that this theme was emphasised at Vatican II and again significantly at the turn of the Millennium with these words:

“stressing holiness remains more than ever an urgent pastoral task. It is necessary therefore to rediscover the full practical significance of Chapter 5 of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, dedicated to the ‘universal call to holiness’. The Council Fathers laid such stress on this point, not just to embellish ecclesiology with a kind of spiritual veneer, but to make the call to holiness an intrinsic and essential aspect of their teaching on the Church. The rediscovery of the Church as ‘mystery’, or as a people ‘gathered together by the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit’, was bound to bring with it a rediscovery of the Church's ‘holiness’, understood in the basic sense of belonging to him who is in essence the Holy One, the ‘thrice Holy’ (cf. Is 6:3). To profess the Church as holy means to point to her as the Bride of Christ, for whom he gave himself precisely in order to make her holy (Eph 5:25-26). This as it were objective gift of holiness is offered to all the baptised.”(NMI 30)

This striking last sentence deserves some consideration, it tells us clearly that the gift of holiness is offered to all the baptised. This gift of holiness is offered therefore to us and to all those that we journey with on the RCIA process, all seeking baptism and full belonging to the Church. It reminds us that we are all on a journey. Some of us may be on a journey of initiation, but all of us are on the journey towards holiness. On this journey we accompany each other. And it is ultimately, from an eternal perspective, it is the only journey that really counts.

Pope John Paul II goes on to stress that the gift of holiness “in turn becomes a task, which must shape the whole of Christian life: ‘This is the will of God, your sanctification’ (1 Th 4:3). It is a duty which concerns not only certain Christians: ‘All the Christian faithful, of whatever state or rank, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity’”. (NMI 30)

So as we celebrate together, as we journey together, let us take this opportunity to be open to holiness, to be open to the gift that it is, and open to the task that it entails. And as we do so let us remember that many have trod this path before us, and pray for us to join them.

Pope Benedict, a visitor who was not at first welcomed by all in this land, brought a gift of faith for people. For some people this was gift which was new or maybe reawakened something. It is worth reflecting, I think, on what might have attracted people. First of all it will be a variety of things, and indeed probably a mixture rather just one. There will be some who heard something in what the Holy Father said; in a liturgical context or in one of his speeches. Perhaps they appreciated his quiet but strong defence of the place of religion in public life. It might have been others' words addressing him with affection or respect. Or maybe Newman was a source of interest and the idea of someone being declared 'blessed'. It might not even been words. Some of the music: quiet and prayerful or loud and joyful. Perhaps it was the sight of Benedict in the liturgy — prayerfully engaged. Or the sight of thousands of people coming together to pray. Or the crowds lining the routes; the babies kissed, the flags waving. Or the joy. Or the silence.

The pre-catechumenate is the time of anecdotes and stories. When we find out what has attracted people to make this step. And show them that the picture has many facets. When we help them articulate what they are looking for. It is a challenge for us to listen and then respond.

One of the key themes of Pope Benedict's teaching is that we are witnesses to a person - Jesus. In many ways, in words and in actions he came to us as a witness.

September comes with the scent of new books, new supplies, new uniforms and new or familiar routines. The roads fill up with extra cars on the school run and the sound of more children's voices can be heard.

This is also the time when our parish pews fill up again with those who have been away, choirs and liturgical ministers are back on schedule and RCIA groups begin, once again, to offer the invitation to those who might be enquiring about what it means to be a Catholic.

The Gospel heard this weekend, reminding us of the resolute and determined cost of discipleship, also gives us Jesus reflecting on 'being ready'; 'having a plan; and ‘thinking things through’.  Jesus is reminding us to have our plan of action in place.

If we are following an academic model of September to June then it raises all the very important questions about how we respond to an enquiry in the other months and what provision we have in place to respond to this situation.  Do we have members of the RCIA group ready to meet with our summer enquirers; are we thinking our welcome through?   

Along with all those children and young people returning to their studies and activities, RCIA groups could also use this period in early September to re-gather, to share their own summer stories, to reflect on where the group is at the moment.  This could be a time of formation by having a Team Development Day, a Retreat Day or a Day of Reflection.  It could be open to those who have been involved in the RCIA process in the past, as well as a time to welcome new members to the group.  This is an opportunity to refresh the understanding of the 4 stages within the process and to reflect on the individual elements of welcome, space, prayer, liturgies, content, community and group dynamics.

A time like this could also include reflection on passages directly from the Rite, for example to review the period of the Precatechumenate we could use RCIA 37 which reads:

 ‘From evangelisation, completed with the help of God, come the faith and initial conversion that cause a person to feel called away from sin and drawn into the mystery of God’s love.  The whole period of the precatechumenate is set aside for this evangelisation, so that the genuine will to follow Christ and seek baptism may mature.’ 

Or RCIA 38 which identifies who and why by suggesting:  ‘During this period, priests and deacons, catechists and other laypersons are to give the candidates a suitable explanation of the Gospel.  The candidates are to receive help and attention so that with a purified and clearer intention they may cooperate with God’s grace.  Opportunities should be provided for them to meet families and other groups of Christians.

If these two points were the focus of a team/group reflection and discussion then the value of God’s action in peoples’ lives, patience on our part as people move toward this clearer intention, the importance of relationships developed in the group and in the community and a discerning approach to the Gospel could be explored. 

As we prepare for Benedict XVI’s visit ‘Heart Speaks Unto Heart’ we may have more and more people drawn by God to seek out their local Catholic church and ask the questions which may arise from this event.  Have we a plan, have we thought things through, have we laid the foundations upon which to witness to and build a lasting relationship with our Lord and with others.        

He admitted later that when he first entered he had ‘cold feet’ and wanted to run away, but he came and introduced himself instead and I was able to introduce him in turn to someone I knew would be a very good ‘accompanier’ through the morning session. Nikki is in the second year of a Foundation Degree in Pastoral leadership at Hope University and is currently reflecting on the RCIA for her course so this opportunity for ‘hands-on’ experience was valuable for her too. I knew I’d made the right decision when at lunch time he came to me again and asked me how he could go about taking this forward: he had thoroughly enjoyed the morning and knew he wanted to further explore living as a Catholic Christian. I introduced him to the co-ordinator of the parish RCIA team which meets just five minutes away from his home and she accompanied him through the afternoon.

What were the main ingredients of the day that were so much appreciated in the final evaluation forms? Well we shouldn’t be surprised that in fact, they all flowed from the vision of the RCIA itself:

“warmth, we were made welcome, a variety of voices giving input, lovely spiritual atmosphere, good teaching and sharing, enlightening and encouraging, breaking and sharing the Word, friendliness and openness of people sharing, scripture study in a small group, excellent music ….”.[1]

Also greatly appreciated were the two real life story tellers who came to the day. The first told his story of his family’s journey from non-practising Anglicanism to becoming enquirers and spoke movingly of ‘the threshold’ of belonging and the freedom to choose. In the afternoon a Neophyte (he loved his new name!) described how full membership resulted in him knowing that he wanted to ‘give something in return’ and his involvement in the RCIA group in a new way. Both these ‘very brave witnesses who spoke on their journeys’[2] added a deeper dynamic to the experience of the day and kept it ‘real’.

A mixture of experience and freshness, of accompaniers and accompanied permeated the day and the inclusion of parts of the Rites themselves: in the signing of the cross during morning prayer and the dismissal … to lunch (!) brought alive the ability of the Rites to speak to our experience.

There was some serious conversation in plenary about people not wanting to be seen ‘upfront’ and therefore not celebrating Acceptance/Welcome rites except within the RCIA group, but these were countered by others who shared what it meant for them to receive the welcome which followed such a celebration.

Without doubt though what stays with me is the very rich sharing of the Gospel for the 32^nd Sunday in ordinary Time Year B. The images, words/ phrases and questions posed by people as it was broken open in the large group stretched and challenged my reception of it and I am left with the images of three faces discerned within the story itself: the smug, the humble and the watching face of Jesus.

Did we achieve what we hoped for? I think we did :

It is an introduction for anyone new to RCIA or for parishes wishing to refresh their team. An opportunity to glimpse a vision of the richness the RCIA journey offers, not only to new comers to the faith, but to the whole parish community. All are Welcome!”

The programme for the day was arrived at through inter-diocesan collaboration and was delivered through local collaboration: Amen to collaboration! May Middlesbrough, Hexham & Newcastle, Leeds and Hallam all experience similarly encouraging days.

[1] From the evaluation forms completed on 7.11.09

[2] Evaluation forms

You may have seen the bus campaign sponsored by R. Dawkins & friends ‘There’s probably no God.  Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.’ Produced in opposition to the visual Christian messages found in the public domain, the comment seemed to suggest that worry was associated with God while enjoyment wasn’t.

But the statement has also engendered a healthy Christian response, with one local church displaying the sign ‘There is probably no bus; so why not come in and enjoy God.’ Another has used the modern text message of: OMG! adding ‘Learn to say it and mean it’…and I’ve seen www.lookingforGod.come! with an arrow pointing to the church nearby.

The latest Alpha promotion asked several questions including ‘Does God Exist?’ with the familiar method of expressing an opinion in tick boxes of: □Yes, □ No □ Probably.

I saw examples where people had indeed ‘ticked a box’; one was Yes and one was No.  The No was on a large billboard, where the person had made a significant effort to climb up and make their mark in a bold lime green.  The Yes was in one of the tunnels at London Bridge station, where hundreds of people could potentially see this affirmative sign.  The fact that people were stimulated enough by the question to physically express their declaration of belief was very interesting.

It made me consider all those people who are searching, who are asking the same questions and who are coming to our RCIA groups to figure this out:  Is there a God?, Does God exist?, What do I believe?, What does it mean to say Yes?, Could we ever be satisfied with .. & How do we respond to… a Probably?, Are we part of transcending a Probably into a Yes?

These larger questions go well beyond ‘What does it mean to be Catholic …..??’ but they are linked to the deepest and innermost questions an enquirer might ask.  How do we, as those walking alongside listen, respect the curiosity within the questions…. and wait.  The Rite #6 mentions the periods of the RCIA and the steps that are part of the process with 6.1 ‘The first step: where an enquirer reaches the point of initial conversion and wishes to become Christian.’  Until that conversion of heart and mind, we are there to show through our lives, words and actions, the Yes of God’s love.

That waiting may challenge us not to rush to tick our own boxes.  Do we turn our RCIA time into an assessment:  Have they done this?  Do they meet our criteria?  Are we trying to give them the big answers too soon?   Paul addressed this in his letter to the Colossians 4:4-6 when he suggests that we ’Be tactful with those who are not Christians and be sure you make the best use of your time with them.  Talk to them agreeably and with a flavour of wit, and try to fit your answers to the needs of each one.’

Public displays which demonstrate a Christian presence and invitation may be the trigger/ prompt for those who are searching and some groups invest significant funding to promote their option.  A 2005 study by the Heythrop Institute for Religion, Ethics, and Public Life called ‘On the Way to Life’ pointed out that: “If the religious community seeks to evangelise the culture, it must also be aware that it is being evangelised by the culture.”

In the world, in our Catholic communities, and in our RCIA groups, our witness, sincerity and visible Yes may also animate someone’s quest to encounter Jesus Christ, who makes God known to all.