Is my pastor right about dismissal?
QWe have two people in the catechumenate process this year. One person is unbaptized. The other was baptized as a Catholic but has had no religious formation whatsoever. We have been dismissing both of them each week to break open the word. However, my pastor is telling me the second person should not dismissed because he is already baptized. I disagree with him. Who is right?
AThere is no uniform practice on this. Many parishes dismiss both the catechumens and the baptized candidates, just as you are. However, my preference is to only dismiss the unbaptized. I agree with your pastor that baptized people should remain in the assembly for the entire liturgy.
The reason I believe this is because there is more to Eucharist than communion. Even though the baptized candidates cannot receive communion, they can, and should, participate in the offering the sacrifice through their participation in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This is as catechetical as breaking open the word would be.
The reason we dismiss catechumens is not simply to give them more time for breaking open the word or for catechesis. It is because they are not yet members of the Order of the Faithful and therefore cannot yet offer the sacrifice of the Mass through their prayer.
In addition, by dismissing the unbaptized and keeping the baptized in the liturgy, we are also catechizing the rest of the assembly about the importance and dignity of baptism.
The actual texts of the RCIA would seem to support this. If you look at the combined rites that include both catechumens and baptized candidates, only the catechumens are dismissed. See, for example, paragraphs 527-529, 544-546, and 559-561.
See also these related articles:
- Honoring the Baptized
- Is my pastor right about dismissal?
- Eucharist and communion—what’s the difference?
- Five things your RCIA team may not know about the dismissal
- Time to recover the prophetic power of the RCIA dismissal
- A powerful conversion process for baptized candidates in the RCIA
- What happens during dismissal?
Tags: Dismissal
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Disagree. Just because a person is unbaptized doesn’t mean they cannot pray. They have made a choice to become part of the Catholic Church, are attending Mass at a different time, and are learning prayers. All get dismissed or all stay.
I’ve been in two parishes, one which doesn’t dismiss the baptized, and the other one does. I would think it would depend upon whether the candidate was catechized or not. If there is needed foundation in scripture, then dismissal may be a good thing. There’s times where the baptized weren’t dismissed, and stated later they would like to be dismissed because of the growth experienced through the dismissal.
I disagree that the baptized should not be dismissed. There are three cases that you have in RCIA:
1. Unbaptized & uncatechized (non-Christian or never had any religion whatsoever)
2. Baptized & uncatechized (Protestant)
3. Baptized & catechized (Catholic who left the church after they had first communion but were never confirmed)
The only case in which I can see them not being dismissed is the 3rd case. And even then, I would leave it up to the candidate if they wanted to or not. There is an important thing that takes place in dismissals for an RCIA group each year – dismissals is (or can and should be) a real bonding moment for that group as they take their journey into the Catholic Church. This is there time to discuss, ponder, pray, ask questions as a unit together the most. To be there for each other. This is the moment when they are not being catechized, talked at, etc. So the 3rd case might find it a useful and important part of their journey back to the church. To see and experience the fresh faith of others coming to it new. I just think that the group should be kept together as much as possible. They are all in different places – yes. However, that bonding during the RCIA process, if done right, I have found to be a forever thing as I have taught RCIA and it can actually be quite important to keeping them active once mystogogia is over with. So I think the only case that they don’t have to leave is the 3rd case and even then, I think they should be encouraged to attend dismissal.
Hi Suzanne. Thanks for your post. I’m a little fuzzy, however, on why the candidates would need to be dismissed before the end of the liturgy to accomplish the goals you list.
We dismiss the baptized candidates with the rest of the assembly after the final blessing. They then gather in a meeting space to participate in breaking open the word. All of the bonding, pondering, and praying happens, just as you point out. But it happens after Mass.