The Neophyte as Evangelist

You know who they are. They’re the ones who keep coming back week after week long after the Easter Vigil and Pentecost are over. They light up anytime someone mentions the RCIA or the catechumenate or becoming Catholic. They want to be sponsors even before they’ve gotten the Chrism smell off their pillow case.

They’re the neophyte evangelist, those newly-initiated who are not only living breathing proof of the resurrection but also walking billboards for the RCIA. They are your greatest fans and your number one supporters.

The RCIA process is not a one-way street that shapes only the catechumen into a disciple. It’s a mutual formation in the life of Christ that changes both the catechumen and the parish. That mutual relationship is evident when a neophyte feels called to share his experience of transformation with others. Essentially, this neophyte is doing faith-sharing, exactly what the catechumenate taught him to do and what all the baptized are called to do.

Some parishes invite neophytes to share their experience with the rest of the parish some time after their initiation. It’s best to give a neophyte time to process for himself or with a small group what he experienced and what it meant (mystagogy) before you ask him to speak to the assembly at a Sunday Mass about his experience. They might speak during the announcements or before Mass begins or even at coffee and donuts after Mass.

But don’t limit yourself to just the Sunday gathering as the venue for evangelization. Neophytes who are more comfortable writing their thoughts can provide a brief reflection for the bulletin or your parish Web site. Or better yet, record their reflection and put it on your parish Web site or blog just like Saint John the Evangelist Parish in Davison, Michigan, did with their neophytes.

Listen to Michael McCarty’s testimony

(Thanks to Michael McCarty and Elaine Ouelette, Director of RCIA and Family Faith Formation for their permission to include this testimony on TeamRCIA.com. Go to Saint John the Evangelist’s RCIA Web site to hear more testimonies.)

Imagine an entire CD filled with reflections like Michael’s from your neophytes, sponsors, team members, and parishioners who witnessed the transformation taking place in your catechumens and in themselves!

Do you have other ways you invite your neophytes to share their experience with the community? Have you included reflections from your neophytes on your Web site? Click the comment link below and share your ideas.

Tags: Evangelization, Mystagogy, Neophytes