People in darkness…
It was odd coming back from Evening Prayer tonight... for the first time I noticed that there weren't so many lights on the outsides of houses this year. No enormous blow-up snowmen or Santas climbing walls - and just a few flashing icicles and snowflakes – and, bizarrely, one Father Christmas on a penny-farthing! (Obviously a new tradition in the making there!)
It's as if the financial gloom is being translated into a literal gloom with fewer lights to brighten dull winter nights. Perhaps it speaks too of an inner gloom besetting the minds and hearts of people as the fears of unemployment and loss of income take hold. Faced with massive uncertainty, people seem to become stuck in wintriness and losing faith that things will get better – and it is true that the light on the horizon is very faint for many people at present.
But as we approach the darkness of the longest night, we know (somewhere very deep down) that the nights will begin to draw out and light will prove stronger than the darkness. As we approach the feast of Christmas – with its timing at the darkest part of the year – we may be lighting the third and fourth candles of Advent wreaths and seeing the increase in light reminding us of this. On the other hand, Advent candles are gradually burning down – and the chocolates in the Advent calendars running out!
We are also coming up to the pre-Christmas Octave and the time of the O Antiphons – the antiphons that open the praying of the Magnificat at Evening Prayer in the days leading up to Christmas. These are a rich source of images and thoughts for prayer – for the dark time of year and the chill of economic troubles – drawn as they are from a heritage of faith of people who lived through their own dark times – of slavery – of Exile – of longing for a shoot of hope from long-dead tree.
Even if time does not permit the praying of the whole of the Evening Prayer of the Church, it could be worth finding the antiphon for each day (see below) and praying it – and the Magnificat – and praying that the prophecies and promises of God intervening in the world will be fulfilled. We can explore the Divine Office and its role in the prayer life of the whole Church – and then unpack the meaning of the Antiphons a little with our catechumens and candidates.
The opening words of the Antiphons form titles of Christ – and the links between the dates and the titles are as follows
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17 December - O Wisdom
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18 December - O Adonai (an ancient name of God)
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19 December - O stock of Jesse
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20 December - O key of David
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21 December - O Rising Sun
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22 December - O King...
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23 December - O Immanuel...
And, as a thought for Christmas Eve, we could add, though not a title of Christ, an acknowledgement of the woman who made it possible with
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24 December - Blessed is she...
There is a variety of places to find the O Antiphons – in the Office books for starters but also online – at http://www.universalis.com/ for example. A daily reflection on them with a Scripture reading and questions can be found from http://www.wellsprings.org.uk/o_antiphons/index.htm
As people become – like those in the time of Isaiah – people who walk in darkness, we can point them to the promise of Light… to the One whose titles span the centuries – the One who is Emmanuel, God in it with us.
Advent – and 1 year on
So Walking the Rite Way has clocked up its first year. Thanks to all the writers who have shared their thoughts and ideas over the last year. It has been inspiring and thought provoking.
Thanks also to everyone who has passed by, and returned, to read the weekly offerings. We average about 150 visits a week. I hope you find it useful and stimulating.
We always looking for new contributors — if you are a Network member and interested send me an email.
As well as looking for more writers we would also welcome your thoughts and comments to each week's entry. Just click on 'comment' below. For your first comment I need to ratify you are not selling insurance or offering spam; after that it will recognise your email address. Join in and share!
To begin an invitation to share either of Advent scripture that inspires you in the context of RCIA or a thought or experience that is connected into the season.
I was struck by the passage from Isaiah 30 that is read on Saturday in week 1 of Advent. I am not sure I had come across it before but it seemed to intertwine many of Isaiah's images of the God who redeems his people, who is hope. Hope seems to me be at the heart of Advent and the process of Initiation:
He will send rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the bread that the ground provides will be rich and nourishing… on the day the Lord dresses the wounds of his people and heals the bruises his blows have left.
Be Alert
BE ALERT
I love the Church’s new year – In this year of Mark the season of Advent begins with the imperative to ‘Be on your guard’, ‘Stay awake’, ‘Be alert’ ‘Don’t be caught asleep’. There is a great urgency in the language, there is no time for sitting back and taking ones time, considering all the options and then coming to a reasonable decision. Now is the time for action.
Wow! It sounds like the Governments response to the Credit Crunch. The difference being that our Government’s urgency is based on the belief that we are all consumers and that our whole economic viability depends on us becoming successful consumers. We kind of sleepwalked into the Credit Crunch by being encouraged to live way beyond our means. Now we are encouraged to become more alert consumers, spending with a purpose to kick start the economy. A pragmatic solution designed to bring about a brighter economic future.
Surely the Advent directives don’t belong to the same pragmatic camp. They certainly challenge us to:
BE ALERT
STAY AWAKE
BE ON OUR GUARD
To what purpose?
Getting ready for Christmas! Granted not the consumer Christmas symbolized by Santa, who year by year has a go at elbowing the infant child out of the crib, but for the celebration of the amazing truth that ‘God loved us so much that he sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent his Spirit into our hearts, crying “Abba Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.’ (Galatians 4:4-7) The great truth is that we already are the children of God, we already have the Spirit of God deep within us, enabling us to address God as “Abba! Father!” We are already heirs – the problem is that we sometimes miss this reality and live as if these great truths weren’t true.
Advent is a time not so much of preparing for Christmas but of longing. A deep longing that we might become what we already are – children of God. Those of us who were fortunate enough to hear the vision of Dr Martin Luther King whose dream of a future where children of different religions and different colour would walk hand in hand had our imaginations captured. We knew that when he spoke of climbing the mountain and looking into the valley and seeing the future – he was speaking of the present and calling on his community and society to change. It was an Advent speech inviting all to be alert, to stay awake and not to be found asleep – the future calling to action in the present.
The prayers used in the celebration of the Rite of Welcome or the Order of the Catechumenate are profoundly Advent prayers:- particularly the signing of the senses where past present and future come together in a great embrace.
“Receive the sign of the cross on your ears,
that you may hear the voice of the Lord.”
“Receive the sign of the cross on your lips.
That you may respond to the word of God” etc etc
Each prayer is an invitation to Be Alert, Be Awake, Be on your Guard. Be Advent people – don’t miss the moment.
Advent Awakening
As we move into the Year of Mark with the dawn of the First Sunday of Advent upon us we are challenged in the short gospel to really go against the grain! I don't know about you, but with dark nights that begin ever earlier and dark mornings that last ever longer, I really want to spend more time sleeping and dosing my way towards the shortest day. But the gospel and the season we are about to enter are very definitely about ‘awakening' and ‘staying awake'. It's perhaps a good time to encourage those we are accompanying to take stock of their journey of awakening to God and God's call in their lives and perhaps to discern their readiness to celebrate the Rite of Welcome or the Rite of Acceptance. At the same time it's worth asking whether the parish community is ready too and to consider the best ways of celebrating so that candidates and catechumens become the focus for all to experience the power these rites can have when celebrated well.
I used to only consider a combined rite celebration when dealing with both baptised and un-baptised enquirers and worked hard to differentiate the different elements of both rites so that all involved could appreciate what was happening. But it often failed to impact on the parishioners in the pews who seemed a bit confused and nonplussed and now I'm not so sure that combining these two rites is the best way forward. If we're working hard to make explicit the importance of the whole parish community in our enquirers' journeys, then these two key moments along the way are wonderful opportunities to move that forward. Rather than using a combined rite at one Sunday Mass, if you have both baptised and un-baptised enquirers ready to make that first witness within the parish community then why not celebrate ‘Welcome' during one Sunday Mass and ‘Acceptance' at another Sunday Mass a couple of weeks later, and maybe at a different time (Saturday evening Vigil perhaps). This will enable the parish community to see clearly that there are differences but more importantly, to have the opportunity of welcoming on a more personal and individual level. It will also encourage a more discerning spirit within the RCIA group as it decides who might be ready for these end of first stage rites. Finally, it can help to prevent that programmed sense of "We'll celebrate Welcome and Acceptance' next week because it's Advent and that's when we always do it!"
This First Sunday's readings also provide us with a rich array of images of the God who calls us and working with these would provide a lovely reflective session as part of the discernment process. How and where in our awakening to God might we have encountered God as:
Father, Redeemer, Ancient One, Guide, Melter of Mountains, the Presence, God as Face Hider, Creator, Potter, Shepherd, Planter and Protector of vines, Life Giver?
Not to mention 'the unexpected owner of the house who looks for a wide awake welcome'!
‘Returners’ inspire repeat Come Home for Christmas outreach
Sarah* wrote last January, “I do not know if you are still there now that Christmas has passed, but I would like to let you know that shortly after my e-mail to you my local church had a penitential service. This helped me go to Confession. I have been going to Mass and Communion ever since, including on Christmas Day and most of the Octave of Christmas, as I was off work at that time. It takes quite a lot of courage to go to Confession after 34 years. Thank you for your encouragement. The Christmas season was very joyful for me. I hope lots of other people have been helped through ‘Come Home For Christmas’.”
Another enquirer wrote: “I am a lapsed Catholic who recently moved to a new area and returned to the Catholic community... I am completely unfamiliar with Mass / Catholic law and am feeling lost and alienated. Finding help to answer questions when you return to the fold is proving difficult, unless I prefer having the whole parish know I and my spouse are ‘prodigals’. The most difficult thing in my life was to admit to myself that I had made a terrible, wrong decision in abandoning my faith. I am too embarrassed to ask anyone in the parish for help as only the Father (priest) knows that I stopped going to Mass 18 years ago aged 15. I sincerely pray that you are able to help.”
One couple who received an invitation letter said: “It was sleeping beauty waking up.” Someone who received a home visit said: “Now for the first time, I feel that I really belong to the parish.”
These are just some of the responses the Catholic Enquiry Office received as a result of last year’s first ‘Come Home For Christmas’ initiative, which was launched to equip parishes to warmly welcome those baptised who for many different reasons no longer attend church. Tailor-made posters, invitation cards, leaflets, welcome packs and a website were made available in support of this work of evangelisation. Parishes and individuals distributed around 100 000 leaflets and new materials are now available for Advent 2008 and January 2009. See: www.caseresources.org.uk and www.comehomeforchristmas.co.uk
St Hilda’s Parish in Sunderland was one of last year’s participating parishes. Parish Priest, Fr Noel Colahan said: “Parishioners seemed delighted to have something specific to hand to people. Having a physical resource made it easier to issue an invitation without appearing to pile on the pressure too much.”
Sheila Keefe, who is a parishioner at St Joseph’s in Romsey and promoter of the Portsmouth Diocesan KIT (Keeping In Touch) programme said: “So many church-going Catholics are concerned about their children and grandchildren who don’t seem to have any links with their local parish. We’ve found ‘Come Home For Christmas’ to be a real source of hope and, as a follow up to the initial Christmas invitations, the KIT programme offers home visits and small group meetings where people can share their stories and learn a little about today’s Church. In fact our meetings went down so well that we continued to meet in the local pub during the summer months.”
The Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation (CASE) is resourcing this year’s initiative and the theme of the outreach materials is “...something missing?” Also being offered is a free information pack from the Catholic Enquiry Office and a text featuring a message of welcome from Cardinal Cormac-Murphy O’Connor.
Clare Ward from CASE said: “We were overwhelmed by the response from parishes last year and are hoping for an even greater one this year. A variety of materials are available in recognition of the fact that ‘no one size fits all’ in a Catholic understanding of evangelisation. Do contact us. We’d be delighted to support and resource you and your parish.”
Bishop Malcolm McMahon, Chair of the Bishops’ Conference Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis, said: "The star of Bethlehem clearly guided the three kings on their long and arduous journey from a distant place to the wondrous reality of Jesus' birth. In the months leading up to this extraordinary event, let's seriously consider in our families, parishes, in our lives, how we can serve as stars, as beacons, leading those baptised who are no longer church-goers to 'come home', to attend Mass. Be bold and courageous. I encourage you to respectfully reach out and 'shine'."
For more information and resources please e-mail: info@comehomeforchristmas.co.uk
www.caseresources.org.uk
For more information about KIT please see: www.kit4catholics.org.uk E-mail: enquiries@kit4catholics.org.uk
Also see: www.everybodyswelcome.org.uk
In your dreams
In the Gospel of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, we hear that Joseph had learned the news of Mary's pregnancy. What would have been going through his mind as he tried to work out what to do? The desire to keep his honour wrestling with his desire to protect this young woman from any more disgrace than she was already facing...How many nights had he tossed and turned - before a fateful night on which, it could be said, the history of salvation depended. The Word had become Flesh but was infinitely vulnerable - and would be for many years. How was the Child to be protected in the long years of childhood if this good man rejected the woman who he thought had so seriously betrayed him?
And God sends a messenger to speak to this man in a dream... to enter his troubled sleep with words of comfort - of reassurance.But words that made no sense -what on earth does a child having been conceived by the Holy Spirit mean?
Joseph - like his namesake hundreds of years before - was a dreamer. Like the earlier Joseph, he trusted the dreams - and would have known that dreams are not always sweet - and their interpretation not always comfortable.Hadn't the first Joseph ended up in Egypt because of his dreams? But then, hadn't he ended up as Pharaoh's right-hand man because of his skill in dream interpretation?
And don't we now know that this Joseph's dreams were not prophesying a quiet life?
Yet he took Mary into his home and brought up the Child with such love that when Jesus came to try to express something of what God was like, he used the childhood word he would have used for Joseph: Abba.
What was in that dream that led a Jewish carpenter to stake the rest of his life on it?
An angel told him not to be afraid - that all these strange circumstances fall within God's plan - within God's great Dream for humanity. For a short time the dreamer catches a privileged glimpse into the Dream and for the rest of his life will play his part in its unfolding.
Those we accompany of their journey come with their own dreams - those glimpses that draw them to God - to enquire ‘what does this mean?' - to question ‘is it real?' Perhaps our role as catechists is to act as angels - as messengers of God. We listen to their stories - to their dreams - and we say "don't be afraid. God is with you." And we share from our experience of living out our part in the Dream. We speak of other players in the Dream - the great and the small - the ones who sought to interpret and the ones who simply gazed in rapt awe upon the mysteries within it. We tell of those who also staked their lives on the Dream - who gave and give their lives for love of it. We lead them into rites which earth the Dream in sight and sound and touch and taste and smell - for it is the Dream of the Word Incarnate - en-fleshed - a Dream to be lived out in human bodies. We feed the mind - the imagination - for it is here that the Dream takes root and heart.
Like Joseph, we are keepers of the Dream - but not its owners. We have heard our own angels calming our fears and encouraging us to faith - to hope and to love. Joseph's charge was the protection of the Child Jesus and his mother - ours to retell their stories. His privilege, it is said, to die with Jesus and Mary at his side - ours to know that his adopted son broke the barriers of death and made real the yearning dream of eternal life. His faith was to face the shattered dream of conventional marriage and family life and to trust the greater Dream through long journeys and exile. Ours is to stand with others in their broken dreams and to brave the journeys and the exiles that form our part of the Dream.
For we have glimpsed the Dream. We have sensed that before we were formed in the wombs of our mothers, God was dreaming of us and of the part we would play in the unfolding of his Great Dream. Our parts may be small - but are no less important for that - for without them the Dream is incomplete.In witnessing our faith, others learn to trust the dream planted in them and to let God's Dream take root - and grow closer to its fulfilment through those who, like Joseph, dare to dream their dreams and to stake their lives on the truth of the greater and eternal Dream.
What’s in a Family Tree?
Monday the 17th December marks a change in the journey towards Christmas or perhaps more correctly it marks a moment when the birth of Jesus comes to meet and remind us that we are all part of his family tree.
Matthew's Gospel begins with the family tree of Jesus the Christ, son of David, son of Abraham. It is beautifully put together, neatly divided and very often missed out as the list of names has a tendency to confuse rather than inform. Yet it is worth looking at and reflecting on.
Genealogies tell us where and who we come from, they give us a sense of identity and point us in a direction. Really good genealogies include even the skeletons we would like to keep in the cupboards of our lives. A bit like Harry Potter hidden away under the stairs.
The genealogy of Jesus goes a long way to telling us who he is, where he comes from and where he's going. He is a carries in his genes the blood of Abraham and the blood of David. It is important to remember that when Abraham began his journey from the ancient city of Ur, near modern Basra, he was a gentile. As King Hussein of Jordan reminded us when he spoke at the funeral of his friend Yitzhak Rabin's funeral "we are all the children of Abraham". If only we could take on board the implications of that word. The radicalness of us all being children of Abraham is found in the words of John the Baptist when he says "God can raise up children of Abraham from these stones". See the world through inclusive rather than exclusive eyes.
Jesus also carries the blood of David, the great King,who reigned over the Israel at a time when they were at their most powerful, a kingdom that stretched from Dan to Beersheba. A Kingdom which didn't last long, became divided and eventually became totally destroyed resulting in the deportation of the people to Babylon. The exile in Babylon makes a key moment in the history of Jesus' people. When all is lost and there appears to be no future, how can we and even God stay faithful to us?
A truly terrible time. Akin in the gospel story to the disciples facing the crucifixion of Jesus. All is lost, there is no future. How can we go on? Should we give up?
The Exile and the Crucifixion of Jesus amazingly become the great moments of Hope rather than despair. A miracle indeed!
The family tree of Jesus tells us that he carries the whole story of his people and not just his people in a narrow way but the story of all of us. The skeletons in the cupboard come in the names of the women mentioned in the otherwise more normal list of men. They are to say the least foreign and to a greater or lesser extent involved in rather dubious behavior even though they are undoubtedly very strong women who despite the unquestioned difficulties which face them come out with great integrity and wholeness.
Tamar: Who uses all of her cunning and skill to get her rights: Genesis 38
Rahab: of the scarlet cord hanging from the window: Joshua 2
Ruth: The Moabitess who becomes the Great Grandmother of King David: Book of Ruth
Uriah's wife: The unnamed Bathsheba who is simply taken by David and whose husband, the honourable Uriah the Hittite is murdered on David's orders. 2 Samuel 11
And finally Mary who is found to be with child by the Holy Spirit and whom Joseph takes home as his wife and who is named Jesus but will be called "Emmanuel" a name which means 'God is with us'.
The family tree of Jesus is definitely worth more than a glance or two. Also of course our own family tree whether that tree be biological or of our faith journey carries much that can enlighten, enrich and even challenge our lives. It is always good to remember that we are all in one way or another members of the family tree of Jesus.
Catechesis in Advent: Christ past, present and future
Most parish enquiry groups are a mixed bag, so I don't think ours is unique in that we have two unbaptised teenagers and their uncatechised but baptised Mum; a person who was 'received' elsewhere two years ago through one-to-one instruction but has never felt she 'belongs' to the Catholic church, and although fully initiated, she comes along to share in the catechesis; then we have a man whose first marriage has just been annulled, now engaged to a young widow parishioner; another is married to a Catholic whose children are now being prepared for Holy Communion and he wants to think about becoming a Catholic himself; a woman from a Protestant background with a strong personal relationship with God, but no experience of 'church practice'; and finally, a woman who met one of our neophytes in a cycling club and is interested in finding out more (about the Church, not cycling!)
When we first started using the Rites of Initiation of Adults we were worried about this sort of mix, and how to meet each person's needs. Now we have stopped worrying! We see it as real 'treasure' for the parish. Using the liturgical year, and the lectionary, as mainstays for our catechesis, we have found that over a period of between 1 and 3 years our catechumens come to a deep understanding and experience of the mysteries at the heart of our faith. We are no longer 'driven' by the time constraints of a more programmatic approach - and we would call this more of an 'apprenticeship' into the Catholic Christian way of life - the sort envisaged in the Rite itself.
All these people have knocked at our door at odd intervals since last January, and we have trained ourselves (!) to say 'Come in' rather than 'Come back in September'. We are muddling our way towards an all-year round 'Come and See' enquiry. By about Advent most people have been with us for several months, and we offer the first opportunity for the Rite of Welcome (or Acceptance). In looking at the Rite together, seeing what is required, it has been discerned (by us and them) that 3 of our 7 enquirers are ready for this step. And that hasn't been difficult - people know when they are reay, and we can see the change in them over the months - there is an infectious enthusiasm, an openness to the Gospel, eagerness to learn to pray, to be part of community life. Others are still a little cautious about what this commitment might mean, and want to carry on asking questions.
With the limited resources in our small rural community, the team decided to have the enquiry and catechumenal sessions on the same night. This means a welcoming drink and chat, followed by prayer time and gospel sharing together, and then split into the two groups for the deepening catechesis, with two members of the team guiding the process in each group, with sponsors there to support. 
The main 'pillar' of our catechesis in Advent for both groups continues to be the Sunday gathering, with opportunity to reflect afterwards on the experience of the Liturgy - the heady mix of signs and symbols, gestures and vestures, words and silence, is rich enough fayre for any apprentice to feast on! Leading up to Christmas we have some parish activities planned, and the enquirers and catechumens are actively encouraged to take part in community life - special advent liturgies, an outreach to the elderly housebound, a presentation on our Zimbabwe project - all of this is part of the apprenticeship in the Christian way of life, deepening the awareness of Christ in the season of Advent. Yes, Christ in history, and Christ who will come again, but most importantly, the Christ who comes and is present is so many ways in our every-day C21 lives.
Resources:
- Have a look at RCIA Network website [www.rcia.org.uk] for Tool Box for discernment among other things;
- The Liturgy Office for info on lectionary based catechesis and lectio divina.
- www.cliftondiocese.com produce some resources for year-round lectionary based catechesis
- Shrewsbury (Paddy Rylands) and Brentwood (Nuala Gannon) produce weekly 'lectio divina' leaflets.
All Are Welcome In This Place!
We all know that our parish community is a warm and welcoming community - its just that sometimes we hide it quite well!
I have three distinct experiences of moving to new areas and finding a new parish. When I left college and took my first job in a completely alien city, I found a warm, welcoming and vibrant parish community - people introduced themselves, told me what kind of things were happening in the parish and invited me to join in with certain groups and activities. When I moved to a new city with a new teaching post, I moved to a very active and lively parish - who didn't need anyone else. They were quite happy with themselves, thankyou very much. After a couple of months, I gave up. I felt quite invisible. It was a frustrating and isolating experience and for a time, I didn't go to Church at all until I moved house and thought I'd try again. It was a relief to find a parish where I met families I knew and children I taught. In my present parish (another city), there was a gradual initiation into the community in several stages. Week 1 - nothing. After a couple of weeks, when people began to realise that I was still there, there were a couple of nods of the head. After a month, there were greetings exchanged and finally conversation.
Stepping into a new place, meeting a new community can be very intimidating. Parish communities are no longer as stable and established as they once were - people move for work and a whole variety of reasons. Perhaps in larger parishes, new faces are lost in the crowd. So how do we welcome new people into our communities?
Our readings for the first Sunday of Advent asked us to ‘Stay Awake'. Maybe during Advent and the Christmas season, we can stay awake and watch for the new faces and families who join our communities and perhaps old ones we haven't seen for a while. We may only meet them once or twice, and how we welcome them on those occasions makes an impression and might well make a difference. Take a special care to notice those who come to Mass on their own. How do we welcome those for whom English isn't a first language? Do we have information in Polish, Portuguese etc?
Take a parish audit:
- When you walk through the doors of the Church, what is your immediate impression?
- Is the word "Welcome" obvious?
- Is information regarding mass times, facilities and contact numbers (e.g. Children's Liturgy leaders) immediately noticeable?
- Before Mass, who is there to welcome people?
As the new Church year starts, clear out the clutter of old notices and papers and create a fresh and welcoming space.
The First Sunday of Advent is one of the times, through the year, when many parishes celebrate the Rite of Acceptance into the Catechumenate. The continuing welcome we extend to those journeying towards initiation or reception into the Church makes a difference to their experience and the experience of the parish journeying with them. What opportunities are there for the two journeys to interact? Celebrate the liturgies of the RCIA publicly during the Sunday liturgy, pray for the Candidates and Catechumens during the General Intercessions, introduce the parish community to the candidates and catechumens and the candidates and catechumens to the parish community. Evidence suggests the welcome of the community both during the journey towards initiation and afterwards makes a difference to whether the newly received stay with the Church or disappear off the radar.
There is information available on the internet.
- Visit Portsmouth diocesan website and for downloads on the Ministry of Welcome, Tips for Being a Welcoming Parish and Keeping in Touch.
- Also CASE Resources which has suggestions for welcoming people back to Church this Advent and Christmas.
Stay awake. Keep watch.