Nick Wagner is the cofounder and codirector of TeamRCIA.com.
On weekend evenings in downtown San Jose, there will often be a bearded man on top of a two-step stool shouting at passersby about being cast into hell if they don’t repent. Occasionally, a group of college students exiting from one of the nearby bars will shout back at him, and they enter into a […]
Five steps to fruitful evangelization
“Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and savior?” I did not immediately realize the young man on the sidewalk was talking to me. “If you died today, do you know for sure you would go to heaven?” he asked as I was about to pass by. He mistook my confusion for interest
What is evangelization that is not weird?
We have all heard that Catholics don’t evangelize. Some think that is because we worry we don’t know enough about the faith or we are afraid of rejection or conflict or we don’t want to seem like we’re judging someone else’s choices. But none of those reasons account for our weak evangelization efforts. A 2013
Why don’t Catholics evangelize?
The dismissal of the catechumens is a liturgical rite that is done any time catechumens are present at Mass: When [catechumens] are present with the congregation of the faithful, they must normally be gently dismissed before the Eucharistic Celebration begins. (OCIA 75.3) The practice of dismissing the catechumens before the liturgy of the Eucharist begins
Where did the dismissal of catechumens come from?
“Why do I have to go to church?” I was feeling cranky, and my six-year-old self wasn’t having it. “Because I’m your mother, and I say so.” My mother wasn’t having it either. End of discussion. Sometime later, we had a similar dispute about my need to finish the now-cold lima beans on my dinner
Is it really necessary to dismiss the catechumens?
There is a story about an old fish that swims near a couple of teenage fish. As he passes by, he says, “Hey guys, how’s the water?” And then, as the older fish swims away, one of the young fish says to the other, “What’s water?” Trying to describe water to a fish is a
What is a catechumenal culture?
Shortly after I moved to California in 1992, there was a story in the local paper about a woman who landed at the airport thinking she was in San Jose, Costa Rica. She took a taxi to her hotel, went to bed, and only realized the next morning at breakfast that she was in San
How do you know if your seekers are ready for the next step in the catechumenate process?
The new translation of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (which is not yet published), will make an interesting change to the ritual text in English. The current translation says that before inquirers can celebrate the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens, “sponsors, catechists, and deacons, parish priests (pastors) have the responsibility
Are we supposed to judge the seekers’ intentions in the catechumenate process?
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions. (Mt 19:21-22) The gospel story about the
Why discernment—from the very beginning—is so important in catechumenate ministry
“How can we grow in our capacity to live in full the liturgical action?” asks Pope Francis in his June 29 apostolic letter on liturgical formation. “How do we continue to let ourselves be amazed at what happens in the celebration under our very eyes?” (31). I think this may be the most important question
The first step in catechumenate formation is to recover our “capacity for symbol”
