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
Building Good Foundations
A Reflection for the 9th Week in Ordinary Time
Our next door neighbours are currently having a house extension built. For the past few weeks the builders have been busy digging the foundations. Being wise builders they are spending a lot of time doing this properly, they are even re-routing pipes! They know the importance of good, solid foundations for what is to come. We too, as disciples, need good foundations as we seek the Kingdom of Heaven in our lives.
The key to entering into the Kingdom, according to the Gospel given to us in the 9th week of Ordinary Time is to do the will of God. Jesus says,
“It is not those who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21).
This will of the Father is revealed in Jesus own words, the words of the Gospel.
“Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man…” (Mt 7:24)
So we are challenged to both listen to and obey these words of Jesus because they really are for us the key for entry into God’s Kingdom, they are a sure foundation for us.
How well do we listen? How well do we obey?
As people involved in the RCIA process many of us are probably fairly used to hearing Scripture. Perhaps we can ask ourselves about the quality of that hearing. Jesus makes clear that both hearing and obeying are necessary. In the parable those compared to the wise and foolish both listen to the Word, the distinction is that only some act on what they hear.
“everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock.”(v24)
“everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.”(v26)
Perhaps I can ask myself today…
- What is the quality of my listening to God’s Word?
- To what extent, in all honesty, do I act on what I hear?
In the parable, storms come to both houses. Storms are inevitable. It is not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’.
When the storms come, the quality of our foundations will be revealed.
Like the builders next door let’s encourage each other to build good foundations now.
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?
New Missal: what’s that got to do with RCIA?
Much of my current work is to do with preparing for the use of the new translation of the Roman Missal which we will begin to use in September this year. If you want to know more of the whys and wherefores look at the FAQs on the Liturgy Office website.
I want to highlight four aspects that relate to those supporting RCIA:
- experience
- catechesis
- liturgical catechesis
- liturgical formation
Experience
The first is a longterm reflection. Though it sometimes that the Rite thinks people come to us with no experience of Church many who come will already have been to Mass. From September part of that experience will be the new translation. Indeed they might even come to Mass becasue they have heard about this new translation. One thing that I have found in looking at the text with groups is that there are usually a wide range of opinions and the importance for those who lead RCIA is to recognise that their response might be different to others.
Catechesis
For teams that use the Creed as the foundation of their catechesis it is worth noting that there is a new translation of the Creed — both Nicene and Apostle's. An aim of the translation is to give us a text which is not just more faithful to the Latin but is theologically precise. For those interested in the changes Paul Turner's booklet Understanding the revised Mass texts provides a good introduction.
Liturgical Catechesis
The whole new translation is going to offer opportunities for catechesis as enquirers and catechumens ask questions about the new translation. Dioceses, deaneries, parishes will be providing formation in the new translation and it would be good if some of the team were able to avail of these opportunities. The translation will also offer a resource for catechesis. We are used to using scripture and the Lectionary as a source for major events in the life of Christ, to this we will able to add the texts of the liturgy such as the Preface as helping us to understand what we are celebrating.
Liturgical Formation
One of the 'tasks' of the Catechumenate is to form peoples in the habits of a disciple and this includes participation in the Mass and in particular Sunday Mass. This suggests that teams are preparing people for the translation, seeing as assisting them in participating through prayer and action and reflecting with them on the experience of the new translation.
“You are the salt of the earth…” Yes, but how?
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Well, have you noticed how salt improves the taste of the food that comes into contact with it? In the right amount of course, salt somehow makes the food more interesting; it brings out its characteristic flavour. So what is the particular gift, trait or value in us, in me, that brings out the best in my environment? And where around me is the taste bland, boring or lacking that pleasant “something” – a clear sign that the Gospel is missing? Or am I just safely clustering around the other “bits” of salt, the other Christians, creating salty “rocks” that are too big a dose for any regular consumption? The world longs for our “pinch of salt” - in moderation, but also in generosity…
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With salt in our diet, lots of things transpire. Salt makes people thirsty for example. But thirst is a good starting point for anyone looking for living water. It motivates and drives people to quench their need. So which elements of my life make people around me thirsty “for more”?
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Salt is also an ancient food preservative; it prolongs the sell-by date of meat by fending off the rot. Equally, our faith and the gift of our relationship with Christ can preserve “the flesh” in a confident hope of resurrection. This can be contagious too, despite the hardships we face. Our “saltiness” in season and out of season can enable those around us to pluck up courage and dare to hope for some meaning in the midst of various crises, pain, sin or suffering. In fact, even our tears are full of salt…
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Salt is occasionally used to thaw ice on roads. Similarly, we are called to warm the hardened hearts locked in fear, selfishness, anger or lack of forgiveness. Thus our “saltiness” can help to clear the path to God. However, this undoubtedly means getting “out there”, into the frozen conditions of our cultures, transforming them into safer places. And risking the resulting “melt-down” that binds us irrevocably together. Formerly two different materials, salt and ice, dissolve slowly into a single substance of salty water. Indeed, in Christ all can become one… but only if no one remains the same.
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Unsurprisingly, salt without its salty “edge” loses its purpose. In the same way, when we lose our integrity as Christians, we need “re-salination”. We need to regain that taste of eternity which God has engraved in us. For it is the internal structure of the atoms of salt that makes it taste salty. Equally, the very pattern of Christ in us gives us the unmistakable flavour of God’s children. We are the salt of the earth if we live out of this deep mystery dwelling inside us...
A parish RCIA group: the story so far
In an excellent book called ‘He loves me!’ by Wayne Jacobsen describes how he once prayed each day that God would bless his plans. The turning point came when he realised that it was a case of waiting and listening until the Lord said to him ‘I’m going to reach out to touch some peoples’ lives today – would you like to come with me?’.
I became involved in RCIA in our parish over 16 years ago by which time it had already become established through the vision and insight of two nuns. When the sisters left the parish our Parish Priest invited me to join the catechetical team of which he was a member himself. My previous experience had been as a catechist and parish co-ordinator of the Confirmation programme. I think it’s a privilege to be a catechist and I enjoy being there as people grow in faith and God does things in their lives. I never know what He will do next!
I am in the third of my three year stint on the RCIA national executive. I hope I have made a useful contribution as an ordinary lay person involved in parish RCIA but I have certainly enjoyed the experience and learnt a great deal.
In our parish we have always sought to follow the spirit of RCIA but I can’t say we have followed all the detail of the Rite as specified in the book. I think that this is true of many parishes. What happens is often a compromise between the ideal and what the people involved are comfortable with. In our parish 2010 to 2011 programme we have tried to move deeper into the RCIA process. In our enquiry phase we continued with our existing practice of looking at topics in order to explore what it is to be a Christian in general, and a Catholic Christian in particular. Part of this involved providing a kind of tool kit for enquirers, helping them to find their way around the Scriptures, sharing experiences of personal faith and starting to explore different forms of prayer.
In Advent 2010 we went lectionary based. We had not done this before but, despite some disruption of our meetings by snow just when we were getting used to the idea, this proved much easier and more successful than we had expected. The exploration of themes in scripture in the Enquiry phase probably did help but enquirers and catechists alike were led, through the lectionary, deeper into the wisdom of the Church’s year. After Christmas it was exciting to hear candidates and catechumens reflecting on how it now had so much more meaning to them than it had had before.
We have continued to use the lectionary-based approach and intend to continue to do so until Easter – what better programme can one have? The choice and combination of scripture readings in the lectionary is amazing, the connection between the Old Testament and the Gospel, and their rather more subtle connection with second reading. We have tried a little of the Lectio divina approach but we keep the period of silence very short at the moment. It will increase with time as people get more familiar with it. Some of our candidates find 'Wednesday Word' a useful preparation for the next RCIA session, based on the following Sunday’s readings. 'Wednesday Word' was the result of the vision of a member of our parish and intended to encourage families to pray and reflect on Scripture during the week to prepare themselves for Sunday Mass. It’s now used in many parishes and Catholic schools in England and Wales. We can always find spare copies for RCIA.
We effectively passed from the Enquiry phase to the Catechumenate at the beginning of Advent when the transition to lectionary-based catechesis represented a step-change in the character of the programme. The disruption of meetings due to snow meant that we weren't sure that the catechumens and candidates were all ready and fully prepared for the Rite of Acceptance. We have this planned for mid February. We shall have two catechumens and two candidates and we shall emphasise the distinction according to the Rite much more clearly than before. As we have a smaller number of candidates than we sometimes have, sponsors this year are all members of the catechetical team whom the candidates have already got to know by now. They seem to be very content with this arrangement.
Our parish priest is very supportive of our RCIA programme although he can’t be with us every week. He will be able to join us during Lent to provide some teaching and pastoral input. Our parish has also just been joined by another experienced priest who has started to come to RCIA. He has enriched our sessions by the spontaneous way he engages with everyone. I am hoping to persuade him to lead the group from time to time, but he seems to be comfortable doing a double act with the catechists.
One aspect of the Rite we haven’t yet implemented is the practice of dismissal of Catechumens (and candidates if appropriate) at the end of the Liturgy of the Word. As a parish and as a catechetical team we didn't to be ready for it this year. We are, I am sure, going to consider this issue thoughtfully with respect to next year’s programme.
We have moved deeper into the Rite this year and it’s been good. The Lord is touching people’s lives and it is a great privilege to be invited to come along with Him.
THE CALL OF BAPTISM
THE CALL OF BAPTISM
This photo is of the Memorial Window in Stevington Baptist Church. It remembers those from the two world wars who were called, who did their duty and who died. Perhaps it is the ‘call’ that we hold on to as we start a new year. In so many ways we have a new start. The incarnation, a new year, probably even a new session of RCIA meetings, and what a fitting way to begin, to remember our own baptism and what it feels like to be called to a ministry of evangelising, catechesis, welcoming and accompanying.
There is something about a New Year that lends itself to evaluating and making new plans. As RCIA catechists we have a double task, to look at our own ministry and that of our catechumens. Perhaps some questions will assist.
- How have I answered the call of my baptism in this past year?
- Were there times when I resisted or questioned what the Spirit directed?
- On what occasions did I use my gifts and skills to their best?
- Did I always listen, to myself and to others?
- How have I developed my faith?
From an individual evaluation we might in our first team meeting review how RCIA has progressed in the past year. What worked, what challenges did we have, how do we feel we responded to them? Is there a more public face of RCIA in the parish? Are more of the community involved, has the initiation of new catholics been adopted as the task of the whole community?
There were lots of challenges in 2010, and no doubt they will continue in 2011 but an evaluation, recorded, discussed and one that initiates change for the better, will give the whole parish a burst of new energy to continue its task of evangelising and retaining new members in its community. Perhaps 2011 will be the year when Dismissal during the Lent Sunday masses is introduced, or opportunities given to the catechumens and enquirers to continue to meet during the school holiday breaks: for a cup of tea and discussion, a quiet time in the church, to reflect on the Sunday Word.
- What specific decisions were made in 2010, and how well was the objective achieved?
- What will we do the same?
- What will we change?
- What will we introduce?
Sue P