What is your RCIA discernment plan this week?
Even though I don’t live in your parish, I know this is the week you need to do some discerning about your catechumens and candidates. How do I know that? Because discernment is an ongoing process. It never stops. Every week is discernment week.
What are you discerning?
There are two general kinds of discernment—annual and ongoing. Let’s look at ongoing discernment first. If your parish has a full catechumenate process, you are engaged in at least three levels of discernment all year long. Your discernment processes need to answer these questions:
Unbpatized
- Is this seeker ready to celebrate the Rite of Acceptance?
- Is this catechumen making steady progress at mastering the disciplines of word, community, worship, and apostolic service?
Baptized Catholics
- Is this returning Catholic ready to commit to a formal, regular formation process?
- Is this person making steady progress at mastering the disciplines of word, community, worship, and apostolic service?
- Is this person ready to celebrate the sacraments of initiation?
Baptized non-Catholics
- Is this seeker ready to commit to a formal, regular formation process?
- Is this person making steady progress at mastering the disciplines of word, community, worship, and apostolic service?
- Is this person ready to be received into full communion?
Discernment for election
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In addition to those ongoing discernment questions, there is an annual discernment question for the catechumens. Who among them is ready to celebrate the Rite of Election? If every week since their acceptance into the catechumenate you have been paying attention to their “steady progress at mastering the disciplines of word, community, worship, and apostolic service,” you will have a pretty good sense of their readiness by the time we start approaching the First Sunday of Lent. Even though you have a sense of each catechumen’s readiness, there is still a formal discernment process that needs to take place.
What happens in your parish?
I’m interested in learning more about that annual, formal process from you.
- When do you begin your formal discernment for catechumens who will move on to the Rite of Election?
- What is involved in your formal process?
- Who is involved?
- Have you ever had a catechumen who thought he or she was ready for Election and you didn’t?
- How did you handle that?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences.
See also these related articles:
- What makes catechumens ready?
- Discernment: Looking backward to move forward
- Discernment: What does the Rite say?
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I know this was posted a while ago (and I’m a little surprised there are no comments), so let me have a go at these questions.
1. Our formal discernment for the Rite of Election starts in January. I like to get past Advent and Christmas because there is so much else that draws away our attention (both in and out of RCIA). This calm of Ordinary Time gives us a chance to process past Advent (when we often have a Rite of Acceptance) and start planning the next leg of our journey.
2. I use a three step process. Step 1) a take-home worksheet that both explains discernment and asks them to respond to certain key questions. I find it gives the catechumen and opportunity to focus on their journey before we sit together for an interview. Step 2) a face to face interview with the catechumen, their sponsor, and the team leader (or other experienced team member). Step 3, a face to face interview that the catechumen and their sponsor schedule with the Pastor.
3. Directly involved would be the catechumen, their sponsor, the RCIA leader and team, the Pastor. Indirectly involved would be the catechumen’s family and friends (especially a spouse and children, if applicable), as well as other parish members who have a relationship with the catechumen.
4. Yes. I’ve experienced this a few times as a team member, and a couple times as team leader.
5. If I have a candidate who I feel is not ready, I first query others involved with the catechumen. Primarily their sponsor, but also the Pastor, a friend, their spouse, not only to get their take on the catechumen’s readiness, but to gauge their likely reaction for when we discuss this. As the team leader, I then have a meeting with the catechumen and their sponsor to discuss my feelings on the issue in the hopes of reaching a consensus. I find the role of the sponsor is critical, both for helping in the discernment, but also in caring for and guiding the catechumen through this moment. With regard to the two cases I had to handle as team leader, those catechumens, after their initiation, told me they were glad they waited.
Thanks for your terrific comments John! It’s obvious you have a profound sense of care for the catechumens in your community. Blessings on your ministry.