Lent comes early in 2008—February 6. That means that you only have a few weeks to decide who among your catechumens will celebrate the rite of election.

Unless you have a year-round process, you’ve probably already made the decision. In most parishes, anyone who celebrated the Rite of Acceptance this past fall (or even this past Advent!) is expected to become one of the elect and to be baptized at the Easter Vigil. It is difficult, however, to know if those who have been catechumens for only a short time are really ready for the next step in the initiation process. In this year when Lent begins so early, it might be a good time to look more closely at the shortcomings of a nine-month process (which, this year, works out to something more like a three- or four-month process).

Let’s first agree on what we are looking for. The RCIA gives us a list of criteria.

Before the rite of election is celebrated, the catechumens are expected to have undergone a conversion in mind and in action and to have developed a sufficient acquaintance with Christian teaching as well as a spirit of faith and charity. (120)

There are three clear challenges listed there. First, what does a conversion in mind and action look like? Well, that’s hard to answer. I’d have to know your catechumens pretty well. I’d have to know what their lives were like before they started coming to your parish. I’d have to know what they said they were looking for when you asked them at the Rite of Acceptance what it is they asked of God and God’s people. I’d have to watch them in the parish and how they interacted with various parish groups. I’d have to listen to them talk about their faith. I’d have to have long talks with their sponsors.

The next challenge is to see in them a sufficient acquaintance with Christian teaching. The rite says at a minimum, that teaching takes a full liturgical year to unfold. It is not so much a list of precepts and dogmas they have to master. It is a deep understanding of what Jesus meant when he said follow me. Do they know in mind and heart, what it means to follow the cross? I’d have to listen to the catechumens discuss their beliefs. I’d have to observe how they brought their beliefs to bear in difficult times. I’d have to see how they responded to the gifts God has blessed them with. I’d have to see how faithful they were in celebrating the liturgy of the church.

The final challenge is to see in the catechumens a spirit of faith and charity. I’d have to hear them talk about and see them care for those who are less fortunate than they. I’d have to witness an attitude of generosity in them. I’d have to know in my heart that they believed the poor and the outcast are especially loved by God.

Honestly, I just don’t see how it is possible to get to know these things in a few months, especially if you have a large number of catechumens. If you’re feeling the same way, then what can be done at this point? It seems you have only a couple of options. If you have the stomach for it, you might pose these challenges to the catechumens themselves. If you really don’t know them well enough to discern these areas of growth in them (or you know for sure they have not grown in these areas), tell them that. Tell them you cannot in good conscience recommend them for the Rite of Election this year.

Your other option is, perhaps less pastoral, but less stressful on you. Come clean with them about your misgivings. But, offer the catechumens the option of celebrating the Rite of Election in spite of your hesitations. Encourage those who wish, to remain in the catechumenate for another year, but allow those who are determined, to move to the next stage. The reason I suggest this is less pastoral is that those who do go forward will almost certainly fall away after the Easter Vigil. They are the ones most interested in “finishing,” not beginning.

Finally, make a New Year’s resolution that any new inquirers you encounter in the coming year will not be promised a “date” for their initiation until after an in-depth discernment process based on the criteria the RCIA provides.

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As you know, there are four pillars of catechesis on which we need to help the catechumens build a life of faith: word, worship, community, and service (see RCIA, 75). January 1 is World Day of Peace, and it is an excellent time to strengthen the catechumens in the area of service. Pope Benedict has offered some reflections on the topic (click here to see what he said), and the U.S. bishops have also provided some material for parishes to use. The New Year is a time for making resolutions, so perhaps you might consider making some communal resolutions as a parish, setting an example of service for the catechumens to follow. Here are some suggestions from the U.S. bishops’ handout:

Teaching

• Provide a context for this year’s peace message by sharing a brief history of the message. (This is the 40^th anniversary of the first World Day of Peace, which was begun by Pope Paul VI in 1968.)
• Share some of the inspiring themes from past messages to illustrate the Church’s commitment to peace throughout the years.
  

  “Men must always speak of Peace. The world must be educated to love Peace, to build it up and defend it.” —Pope Paul VI, 1968

  “If you want Peace, work for Justice.” —Pope Paul VI, 1972

  “Life is the crown of Peace. If we base the logic of our activity on the sacredness of Life, war is virtually disqualified as a normal and habitual means of asserting rights and so of ensuring Peace.” —Pope Paul VI, 1977

  “Paul VI’s phrase – ‘Development is the new name for peace’ – specifies one of the keys in our search for peace. Can true peace exist when men, women and children cannot live in full human dignity?” —Pope John Paul II, 1987

  “To say ‘peace’ is really to speak of much more than the simple absence of war. It is to postulate a condition of authentic respect for the dignity and rights of every human being, a condition enabling him to achieve complete fulfillment. The exploitation of the weak and the existence of distressing pockets of poverty and social inequality constitute so many delays and obstacles to the establishment of stable conditions for an authentic peace.” —Pope John Paul II, 1993

• Help people to be in solidarity with those in other parts of the world; emphasize that we are all part of the one human family.
• Read Chapter 11 of The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church on “The Promotion of Peace” (Chapter 11).

Advocacy

• Encourage parishioners and catechumens to learn more about the church’s engagement in issues of global peace and justice by visiting this site.
• They can also sign up for action alerts on legislative issues.

To download the entire handout and list of activities from the U.S. bishops, click here.

QCan you take RCIA classes online?

A“RCIA” is an acronym for “Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.” It is first of all a rite and therefore cannot be done online.

Sometimes we think of becoming a Christian as simply a matter of making an intellectual assent to a body of beliefs. This notion leads us to the understanding that we need to be instructed in a school-like structure about Christianity just as we might be instructed about mathematics. While there is an important intellectual component to Christianity, becoming a Christian is much more about practicing a counter-cultural lifestyle. The early Church called it “The Way.” One learns to live as a Christian by living with and imitating other Christians. That cannot be done online, just as learning to play baseball or learning to be a member of an orchestra cannot be done online. You have to be there.

QWe have a candidate preparing to celebrate the Reception into the Full Communion of the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. This person was baptized and confirmed as a Lutheran. Do we recognize Lutheran Confirmations as valid sacraments? Or do we confirm him at the Easter Vigil?

AFrom John Huels’ book, The Catechumenate and the Law: A Pastoral and Canonical Commentary for the Church in the United States, Liturgy Training Publications, 1994, p 24:

Confirmation is valid only in those churches that have the valid sacrament of holy orders. Besides the separated Eastern churches, this would include the Old Catholic, Old Roman Catholic, and Polish National Churches. The Protestant denominations are not recognized as having valid orders, so persons baptized in those ecclesial communities should be confirmed during the rite of reception into full communion.

However, the other question you could also ask is: Should you celebrate the rite of reception at the Easter Vigil? Some points to ponder:

Anything that would equate candidates for reception with those who are catechumens is to be absolutely avoided. (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, 477)

The commentary on The Code of Canon Law, commenting on canon 206 regarding catechumens, makes these distinctions between candidates and catechumens:

• “[B]aptized non-Catholics who seek full communion with the Catholic Church are not catechumens or ‘converts,’ although they are moved by the Spirit and have an explicit will to join the Church.”
• “They are not, however, to be exorcised or to receive other elements of the liturgical rites involved in baptism, since they are already baptized.”
• “No greater burdens are to be imposed on them than are necessary for them to come into full communion.”

Back to the initiation documents…

Those who have already been baptized in another Church or ecclesial community should not be treated as catechumens or so designated. Their doctrinal and spiritual preparation for reception into full Catholic communion should be determined according to the individual case, that is, it should depend on the extent to which the baptized person has led a Christian life within a community of faith and been appropriately catechized to deepen his or her inner adherence to the Church (“National Statutes for the Catechumenate,” 30)

This means that a baptized Christian who wants to become Catholic and has been faithfully participating in a Christian community (not necessarily a Catholic community), who lives a Christian (not necessarily Catholic) lifestyle, and who has been catechized in order to deepen his or her resolve to live as a Christian disciple in the Catholic Church is ready to celebrate the Rite of Reception into the Full Communion of the Catholic Church.

When could reception take place then?

The reception of candidates into the communion of the Catholic Church should ordinarily take place at the Sunday Eucharist of the parish community, in such a way that it is understood that they are indeed Christian believers who have already shared in the sacramental life of the Church and are now welcomed into the Catholic eucharistic community upon their profession of faith and confirmation, if they have not been confirmed, before receiving the eucharist. (“National Statutes for the Catechumenate,” 32)

Further…

It is preferable that reception into full communion not take place at the Easter Vigil lest there be any confusion of such baptized Christians with the candidates for baptism, possible misunderstanding of or even reflection upon the sacrament of baptism celebrated in another Church or ecclesial community, or any perceived triumphalism in the liturgical welcome into the Catholic eucharistic community. (“National Statutes for the Catechumenate,” 33)

In other words, if a baptized Christian is faithfully participating in the Sunday assembly of the Catholic Church, is living a Christian lifestyle, and is adhering to the Catholic teaching, they may be received into full communion as soon as possible—even at the next possible Sunday celebration. They need not wait until the Easter Vigil to be received.

QCan you lead me to some material I could use to create a retreat for the catechumens? We don’t want to do an overnight. Thanks.

AYour request for RCIA retreats is one I have heard often, and you are correct in saying that there is not much out there. Just for that reason I wrote a book entitled Enter The Rose. It has a number of retreats for all stages of the catechumenate process and includes handouts (on a CD so you can reproduce them) and an audio CD with some ideas, poetry and music. It is published by World Library Publications.

You will find a description and order information by clicking here. Catechumenate teams that have asked questions similar to yours have found this resource very helpful and “user friendly.” I hope you will, too!

If you have any questions about the resource and how to make it work for the situation you describe in your own local setting, please let me know, and I will do what I can to assist you.

Benedict XVI released his new letter, “Saved by Hope,” a couple of days ago to coincide with Advent, the church’s great season of hope. In John Allen’s summary of the letter, he makes the point that a major concern of this pope is reasserting Catholic identity in a world dominated by earthly values. The theme of Benedict’s first letter was love. This latest one, focused on hope, continues to outline what Pope Benedict would have us—and the catechumens—understand as the core of the Catholic life.

If you don’t have time to read the entire letter today, at least read paragraph 3. The pope asks what does hope consist of, and how does hope save us? He answers his own question:

The essence of the answer is given in the phrase from the Letter to the Ephesians quoted above: the Ephesians, before their encounter with Christ, were without hope because they were “without God in the world”. To come to know God—the true God—means to receive hope.

The pope then makes what I think is a critical point, a point that is somewhat the theme of his papacy:

We who have always lived with the Christian concept of God, and have grown accustomed to it, have almost ceased to notice that we possess the hope that ensues from a real encounter with this God.

I find this is less true with those of us who work in initiation ministry. Our faith—our hope—is continually renewed when we see those who have been without hope for so long begin to “walk in the light of the Lord” (first reading, First Sunday of Advent, A). Nevertheless, many of us and many of our fellow parishioners can seem to the catechumens to be much like the rest of the world, tending to despair. Or at least not letting our joy spill over into the day-to-day affairs of our lives. Pope Benedict would ask each of us: do the catechumens and those in the world who are not walking in the light see the bright light of hope in us? Are we a beacon that draws the world to Christ our Hope?

In the rest of that brief paragraph, Benedict goes on to describe the journey of faith of Josephine Bakhita, canonized by Pope John Paul II. She would not have been called a catechumen since the rite had not yet been restored in her lifetime. (She was born in 1869.) Yet, her journey, as described in the pope’s letter, is certainly the story of an inquirer who found the first glimmer of faith, who claimed that faith, and who went on to share that faith with others who were without hope.

[B]esides her work in the sacristy and in the porter’s lodge at the convent, she made several journeys round Italy in order to promote the missions: the liberation that she had received through her encounter with the God of Jesus Christ, she felt she had to extend, it had to be handed on to others, to the greatest possible number of people. The hope born in her which had “redeemed” her she could not keep to herself; this hope had to reach many, to reach everybody.

This Advent will be an opportune time to teach the catechumens one of the central tenants of Catholic identity—we are a people of hope. Stay close to the Sunday readings and the opening prayers for the Sundays of Advent. Ask the catechumens to connect their personal stories with the Scripture stories. And tell them the hope-filled story of Josephine Bakhita.

For more on Catholic identity, see:

• Prayers every catechumen should know
• The Four Essential Doctrines the Liturgy Teaches

Spe Salvi

Previously, I looked at some of the pitfalls of trying to celebrate a combined Rite of Acceptance and Rite of Welcome. (See Part 1.) In most cases, the celebration fails the “mother test.” That is, the the combined rite itself is not clear enough that the average parishioner—for example, my mother—would be able to clearly understand what is going on.

We said this rite is often celebrated with five different kinds of candidates:

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1. baptized, catechized Catholics
2. baptized, catechized non-Catholic Christians
3. baptized, uncatechized Catholics
4. baptized , uncatechized non-Catholic Christians
5. unbaptized folks

The first step is to celebrate the combined rite only with those it is meant for. That means the first two groups—the catechized candidates—do not belong. There is simply no way to make this ritual make sense if you do it to catechized people. It’s like throwing a bachelor or bachelorette party for married folks. Doesn’t make any sense.

The second step is to take a cue from our Canadian brothers and sisters. They don’t have a combined rite. They celebrate the Rite of Acceptance with the unbaptized and then at some other time they celebrate the Rite of Welcome with the baptized, uncatechized. That makes so much sense! My mother would get that, and so would most parishioners.

Read the rest of this entry »

Many parishes have recently celebrated the combined Rite of Acceptance and Rite of Welcome. The full name of this rite tells you right away it is going to be problematic:

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Celebration of

the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens

and of the Rite of Welcoming Baptized

but previously Uncatechized Adults

who Are Preparing for

Confirmation

and/or Eucharist

or Reception into the Full Communion of the Catholic Church.

I’m tired just reading it.

The introduction to the rite lays out for you an almost impossible goal. Flip open your RCIA text to paragraph 506: “[I]n the celebration of the rites, care must be taken to maintain the distinction between the catechumens and the baptized candidates.”

That sounds deceptively simple. So how did you do? Was the distinction clear? When I ask myself that question, I give myself the “mother” test. I replay the celebration of the ritual in my head. Except I imagine it as though it took place in my mother’s parish. Then I imagine Mom driving home after church and walking into her house. The test is, does she pick up the phone and call me to ask me to explain what happened? Or did she get it from the celebration of the rite itself? If she calls me, the liturgy wasn’t clear. So how was your ritual? Would it pass the mother test?

Here’s why the rite fails the mother test most times. The structure of the rite is designed primarily to deal with unbaptized people. The baptized are then sort of smooshed into a ritual structure that wasn’t originally intended for them. And, to complicate matters, you’ve got all different kinds of baptized people.

Baptized, catechized Catholics

Go re-read the title again. Slowly. The Rite of Welcoming is supposed to be for uncatechized Catholics who are preparing for Confirmation and/or Eucharist. Our parishes are filled with Catholics who missed confirmation somewhere along the way, but they’re going to Communion every Sunday. These folks are catechized. I know they probably can’t name the pope nor name all ten of the commandments. But they are going to Communion, which is the goal of initiation. If your parish is allowing them at the Table, you shouldn’t be allowing them in the catechumenate. And if you leave them out of this rite, it will be clearer to my mother what is going on.

Baptized, catechized non-Catholic Christians

This is the same problem. It’s not a rite for catechized Christians. And even though most of us know that, the majority of the folks who go through the Rite of Welcoming are baptized, catechized Christians who want to become Catholic. Next year, resolve not to do this to them. A ritual that is designed primarily for the uninitiated and imposed on catechized Christians is a subtle display of triumphalism, which the RCIA abhors. If you find another place for these folks, the rite becomes clearer.

Baptized, uncatechized Catholics

Most of these folks started their initiation process as children and dropped out before reaching adulthood. In this category, you have three sub-groups. Those preparing for confirmation. Those preparing for first Communion. And those preparing for both. While this can be an appropriate rite for each of these groups, you still have the challenge of keeping the groups distinct from the non-Catholics and the unbaptized.

Baptized, uncatechized non-Catholic Christians

Right rite, but a logistical, liturgical problem. How do you make it clear to my mother that these folks are essentially different than the unbaptized? Does the ritual make everyone look to Mom like just a big group of folks who want to become Catholic?

Click here for part 2 and discover some ways to make the distinctions clear by adapting the structure of the rite.

Here is an easy way to take the first step toward a year-round catechumenate.

Many parishes have recently celebrated their annual Rite of Acceptance. If that is your situation, you now have a brand new group of catechumens, and you will not be ready for more until next fall.

So here’s your challenge. If someone shows up in the next week or the next month or anytime before next fall asking questions about becoming Catholic, invite them to meet with your ambassador of welcome. Set up a meeting within a few days of your initial encounter. Make sure your ambassador of welcome has a significant contact with the inquirer at least once a month until it is time for your next Rite of Acceptance. (Significant is at least 45 minutes.)

The monthly meeting doesn’t have to be “catechesis.” In fact, it’s not supposed to be. It can just be conversation. When another person shows up asking questions a few weeks later, simply invite her to join the conversation. (But be sure the initial meeting takes place within a few days of the first inquiry.)

If you make that the normal practice in your parish, you will have moved to a year-round inquiry process without hardly lifting a finger.

I recently signed up for a new wiki. If you don’t know what a wiki is, click here. But that’s not what I want to tell you about. Almost immediately after I signed up, I got an e-mail from Kristine at PBwiki introducing herself as “the community evangelist” for PBwiki. Her reason for writing was to help me get involved and to provide assistance if I got stuck.

Then she gave me ten links I could click on to find out more about my wiki and the PBwiki community. She also promised to respond if I sent her a reply e-mail. (Click on the image for a little better view.)

How simple would this be to implement in our parishes? What if we made a habit of collecting e-mails from any of these folks:

• Couples who inquire about wedding preparation
• Parents who want to baptize their babies
• Anyone who calls the parish office “looking for a priest”
• Families that register for religious education
• Anyone who calls the parish school to get information
• People who call requesting a baptismal certificate
• Folks who call to ask about Mass times
• Newcomers to Mass on Sunday (or Christmas or Easter)

Then, within an hour of receiving their e-mail address, send a note similar to Kristine’s. This can be a template so you don’t have to compose it new each time. But you might have a few different templates on hand to relate more closely to the person’s needs (for example, a template for engaged couples and another for new parents).

Here’s my attempt at something for couples asking about getting married in your parish:

Hi from St. Nicholas Parish,

Thanks for getting in touch.

My name is Nick, and I’m the information contact person for St. Nicholas Parish. I’m here to answer any questions you have about getting married at St. Nicholas or anything else you’d like to know about the parish. I thought I’d send you our top tips for finding your way around the parish and discovering who’s who.

If you have any questions, just reply to this e-mail.

Wedding procedures at St. Nicholas Parish

Why marriage is a sacrament

10 tips for a great wedding liturgy

Should we have a wedding with or without a Mass?

People of the parish

Meet our pastor

Other helpful staff members

Couples who were recently married at St. Nicholas

What we do around here

Young adult Mass

Theology on Tap

Parish Festival

What Do Catholics Believe? discussion group

Get help

If you need any help along the way, preparing for your wedding or participating in the parish, check out these great resources.

Our parish receptionist
(she knows everything and everybody!)

Our wedding preparation team

St. Nicholas Parish Web site

FAQs about St. Nicholas Parish

Thanks!

Nick