In 1952, educator Robert Havighurst wrote: “When the timing is right, the ability to learn a particular task will be possible. This is referred to as a ‘teachable moment.’ It is important to keep in mind that unless the time is right, learning will not occur” (Human Development and Education).

So how do you know when the time is right? One clear indication is when someone has a question. If I ask you how to get to the post office, that is the exact right time to teach me how to get there. If I ask you why the priest kisses the altar when he comes into church, that is the moment when you can teach me about reverence…or holiness…or sacrifice.

The Mass is filled with potential teachable moments like that. Pope Benedict XVI said, “The liturgy can be called the permanent catechesis of the Church, the inexhaustible source of catechesis.” Often, however, we miss opportunities to maximize the teaching potential of the Mass.

Liturgy is liturgy—not a tool for catechesis

Unlock the symbolic code of the Mass: A key for RCIA catechesis

One-hour webinar

Join Nick Wagner and Diana Macalintal for a one-hour online workshop to explore these questions:

• Why are liturgical symbols important for catechesis?
• What is a symbol?
• How do symbols catechize?
• What if we based all our RCIA catechesis on ritual symbol?

Presenters: Nick Wagner and Diana Macalintal
Date: Thursday, November 17, 2011
Time: 2:00p to 3:00p Eastern Standard Time

Click here for more information.

The reason we miss opportunities may be because we misunderstand how the liturgy catechizes. The pope also said we must reject “all undue instrumentalization of the liturgy with ‘catechetical’ ends.” What that means is, we cannot turn the liturgy into a tool—an instrument—for catechesis. Liturgy is liturgy. It is not an excuse for a “teaching Mass” or a platform for things like a “three-minute catechesis” before the final blessing. When we “instrumentalize” the liturgy, we are attempting to teach people what we think they should know—not what they are asking to learn.

So if we are not supposed to instrumentalize the liturgy for “catechetical ends,” how does the liturgy teach? Think about falling in love. How did you learn about your beloved? How did she “teach” you what would win her heart? We woo and learn to woo mostly through symbolic behavior—like kissing. Why do you kiss your husband or wife when you wake up? Or before you leave for work? Or when you return home? For much the same reason the priest kisses the altar, I think. It is a sign of reverence…or holiness…or willingness to sacrifice.

If you want to teach your spouse that you love him, you show him signs like this. In the liturgy, if we want to catechize about the love of Christ, we do it through ritual signs and liturgical symbols. In much the same way that long-married spouses have a daily routine of such signs, the liturgy has a routine way of symbolizing the love of Christ.

Word

The first major symbol is word. The way in which “word” gets expressed is an orchestration of liturgical symbols.

• We gather to hear the word
• We process the word into the gathering
• We proclaim the word
• We sing praise to the word
• We might bow to the word
• We might incense the word
• The priest or deacon kisses the word

And most importantly, we respond to the word.

Eucharist

In the Mass, our response to the word is Eucharist—which is our second major symbol. Eucharist is a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. The way in which we offer that sacrifice is an orchestration of still more symbols.

• We present bread and cup for the sacrifice
• We sing holy praise with all the angels and saints
• We remember the story of our salvation—especially the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection
• We break the bread that has become body
• We pour out the cup, now filled with the blood of new promise
• We share in the feast of sacrifice
• We pray as one that the sacrifice we have just shared will save the entire cosmos

How the Mass teaches

The way the Mass teaches best is when we do these actions as clearly and simply and elegantly as possible. When we rush or minimize these potential teachable moments, we reduce the likelihood that a question will arise in the hearts of the newcomers.

On the other hand, when we take care to do these symbols well—with a sense of reverence, and holiness, and sacrifice—they teach in a way that no other action of the church can teach.

1. Mystagogy My Mother Could Do
2. A step-by-step guide to mystagogy
3. A French chef’s guide to the RCIA
4. Reimagining catechesis for RCIA
5. What does the RCIA mean by “uncatechized”?
6. How to provide a complete RCIA catechesis: use liturgical symbols
7. The right way and the wrong way to do a “teaching Mass”—according to the pope
8. What research says about teaching adults in the RCIA

My friend and I were laughing the other day remembering how our kids loved to put on “shows.” In fact, on Erin’s daughter’s eighth birthday she received a special gift which she had specifically requested: a huge roll of red tickets – the kind you get at a school carnival or raffle. These tickets were given to drafted parents and siblings who were required to be the audience and watch every show performed in the family room or basement. Remember those days when your kids would dress up and give you “a show?” Or, maybe you’re living “those days” right now.

The point is that most kids love attention.  And many kids especially love the attention received from a group or an adoring “audience.” On the contrary, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults tells that when celebrating liturgical rites with children, we should keep the congregation small, “since a large group might make the children uncomfortable” (see nos. 260, 257). To be sure, liturgical rites are not a “show.” The liturgy is the official public worship of the Church. And, a congregation is not an “audience.” Members of the congregation are active participants in the liturgy. Thus, the point made in the opening story does not directly apply to liturgical rites. Nonetheless, I believe the general principle is true: kids love attention from people who care about them.

And, I believe the people in our parishes care about children in the RCIA. Furthermore, I believe the RCIA is dead wrong about celebrating the liturgical rites with children. I think that both the children in the RCIA and the worshipping parishioners benefit when we celebrate the rites of the RCIA with the Sunday assembly.

First, the children in RCIA benefit from being present in the midst of the Body of Christ. Our Sunday assemblies, gathered for Eucharist, are the Body of Christ made manifest. When children in the RCIA stand in our midst for worship they are being formed by the Body of Christ. The liturgy is formative. And, we do our best liturgy on Sunday in the midst of God’s holy people.

Besides, the children are preparing to join our sacred assembly; they ought to have the opportunity to be among us. Moreover, in my experience children are not intimidated or overly uncomfortable being in a large congregation. Although it’s not uncommon for some children to be “nervous” about being the center of attention, all that’s needed it a little reassurance from a trusted adult. Once they know that loving parents, sponsors and same-age companions will be walking with them throughout the ritual, they usually feel safe and secure.

Second, members of the parish, young and old, benefit from children in the RCIA celebrating the rites on Sunday. When the rites of the RCIA are done well, they help worshippers grown in faith for the liturgy is formative for all participants. For example, when the person in the pew watches a parent get down on his knees and sign his son’s feet with the sign of the cross, the pew person is led to ask, “Do I walk in the way of Christ?”

In conclusion, even though I am sure the authors of the RCIA had the children’s best interest in mind when they advised us to celebrate the rites with a “small congregation,” I’ll stick to my position that they are dead wrong. And, I encourage you to celebrate the rites of the RCIA with your young catechumens in the midst of your Sunday assembly. You won’t even need the red tickets.

This weekend, I’ll be leading an institute in the Los Angeles archdiocese that focuses on the cathechumenate period (sponsored by the North American Forum on the Catechumenate). One of my presentations is on the minor rites that might be celebrated during that time. Lately, I’ve been using an online service, Prezi.com, to create my presentations. It’s much more fun than PowerPoint. See what you think, and offer your comments!

In our Diocese of San Jose, we have dancing books for the Rite of Election. Now hold on before you start groaning as you imagine young waifs in tights and leotards flitting about the altar.

Our Scriptural tradition has many stories of dancing—but the kind of dancing that comes out of ordinary, everyday people. David danced before the Lord, Miriam danced on the seashore, the women took up garlands and danced at Judith’s victory, and even John the Baptist did a little jig in his mother’s belly at the voice of Mary’s greeting.

And in our ritual, all of us dance—I mean, all of us, trained or not. When we dip our hand into the font, make the sign of the cross, bow low in reverence, raise arms in prayer, extend hands in peace and blessing, we are dancing. We are doing choreographed movement; we are expressing our faith, our joy, through our bodies.

This is what we do at our local Rite of Election, but just turned up a notch. The joy that our Rite of Election elicits—and the dancing that comes out of that joy—is often surprising for both the many long-time Catholics and “newbies” who come to our cathedral expecting a long, sober, restrained lenten ritual. Let me explain.

In our Rite of Election, after the homily, we present our catechumens to the Bishop in chant, in English and in Spanish. Then after he questions the godparents, asks the faithful for their affirmation, and confirms the catechumens’ desire to be initiated, the names of every catechumen are proclaimed by representatives from each parish. As the names are called, the catechumens and their godparents are led by their Book of the Elect to stand as a group before the Bishop. After he has accepted the proclamation of their names, the Bishop bows to the catechumens and godparents who bow to him in return.

Once all the names have been announced, those carrying the parish Book of the Elect stand around the altar (our cathedral is in the round) holding their books open high above their heads. Parish by parish, the catechumens are called to stand as the Books and the catechumens are blessed with incense filling the air.

Then at the climax of the rite, the Bishop standing at his chair proclaims with great solemnity: “I now declare you to be members of the elect, to be initiated into the sacred mysteries at the next Easter Vigil!”

With that declaration, the entire assembly roars into a jubilant sung acclamation—”Thanks be to God!”—repeated over and over, handclapping and all! And the Books dance! The people holding the Books are swept up by the joy of the assembly that they can’t help but move—some can’t even wait for the acclamation to begin! Up and down, side to side, twirling around in circles, the names of God’s chosen ones fill the space. The assembly, amazed at the sight, sings and claps even louder. Thanks, indeed, be to our good and gracious God!

What a way to begin Lent!

Here’s a short video of our dancing books here.

Rite of Election 2009 video, Diocese of San Jose (hi-res) from Diana Macalintal on Vimeo.

If you participated in the webinar on the Rite of Election a few weeks ago, you will be ready to appreciate the good and the not-so-good aspects of any celebration of that rite. Even if you missed the webinar, however, I hope you are quite familiar with the rite as it appears in the ritual text (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults 118 ff.).

Keep your eyes open when you attend the Rite of Election. Notice what happens. Here are ten questions (in no particular order) to help you sharpen your observations.

1. Did each catechumen have a godparent?

They should. The godparents have an important role in this rite. No group godparents, please. Each catchumen should have somebody who is there for them, and who can testify before the community of faith on behalf of that catechumen.

2. Did the bishop sign the book of the elect?

He shouldn’t. It’s not in the rite. It’s not in the tradition. It makes no sense. The book is for the catechumens to sign, not the bishop. Some dioceses began having the bishop sign the book because in the beautiful books from Liturgical Press there is a line at the bottom of the page for the bishop’s name. I have it on good authority, however, that when the press designed that book they had no intention of creating a new ritual. The space for the bishop’s name records who presided. You can write it in later, but please not during the rite itself.

3. If you celebrated the combined Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion, could you tell the difference between the catechumens and the baptized candidates?

You should be able to. According to National Statutes #30, Those who have already been baptized in another Church or ecclesial community should not be treated as catechumens or so designated. If it looks like everybody is doing the same thing, something’s wrong.

4. Did the bishop greet each catechumen or group of catechumens personally during the rite?

He shouldn’t. The receiving line happens after the celebration, not during it. The bishop is the presider at liturgy; he is not a minister of hospitality. The purpose of the rite is not to have the bishop meet the catechumens or the catechumens meet the bishop. The purpose of this rite is rather to celebrate their election by God and the Church, in preparation for the Easter Sacraments.

5. Were the names called as the catechumens come forward to sign the book of the elect?

They shouldn’t be. The calling of names happens earlier in the rite, in preparation for the Affirmation by the Godparents and the Assembly. In fact, that is why their names are called—so that we know who is being affirmed. Once that affirmation has taken place, there is no need to call their names again. They may inscribe their names in the book of the elect in any order.

6. Did the godparents speak up audibly (strongly) when asked to affirm their catechumens?

They should. If necessary, you could practice this with them at home before going to the Rite of Election. A weak response is a poor sign. The affirmation is saying, in effect, Yes, this person is ready to go forward to the sacraments! If the godparents really believe it, they should speak up.

7. Were the names called out individually?

They don’t have to be. At the Rite of Election, the catechumens may be called forward in groups if there are too many. But if they are not called by name in this rite, they MUST be called by name in a special celebration beforehand. In fact, this provides the warrant for the Rite of Sending (see the rubrics for RCIA 130).

8. Did the bishop preach about election?

He should. It says so in the rite itself. The celebrant should open to all the divine mystery expressed in the call of the Church and in the liturgical celebration of this mystery. (RCIA 125). The rite makes no bones about it. The mystery is God’s election. This step is called election because the acceptance made by the Church is founded on the election by God, in whose name the Church acts. (RCIA 119).

9. Did the catechumens sign the book of the elect during the rite?

They don’t have to. The book may be signed at the parish, if signing at the diocesan celebration would be cumbersome or take too long. Be warned, however. If you don’t sign the book at the diocesan rite, something else has to take its place at this point in the ritual—usually a presentation of the books brought from the parishes. This can be done with ceremony, and should be reverent and impressive as a ritual act. Stacking up books on a table is a poor witness to the value of this symbol.

10. Did you get a sense that the elect are being called to mission?

You should. Election is for mission. God calls us so that we may share in the very mission of Christ. God calls us to be light for the world, not merely to bask in the light of Christ ourselves. If we forget the mission, election becomes little more than a feel-good moment. But if we remember the mission, everything else makes sense—including the need for purification, through the Scrutinies that are to come.

Happy Rite of Election, everyone!

Today’s readings (the third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C) are outstanding for many reasons, but what struck me most of all is how they seemed to be speaking pointedly about things we do in the catechumenate.

Some of you may be puzzled to hear me say this. But think about it. These scripture passages for this Sunday are talking about—well, us.

•  The reading from Nehemiah talks about men, women, and children old enough to understand—they are the adults and children of catechetical age.
• Ezra reads from the scroll and they say Amen. It’s a powerful scene. His listeners are moved to tears of repentance—it’s all about conversion and commitment.
• But they are told not to weep but to rejoice and celebrate a feast on this day—just like Sunday.. and the Eucharist!
• The reading from Saint Paul talks about a variety of gifts—RCIA team, take note.
• He says we need each other, and that our diversity builds up the body of Christ—the community of the faithful is not a collection of competitive individuals, but a caring and graced and organic whole.

You see what I mean. In fact, you could write the rest of this post yourself. But here’s the rest of my thought.

• In the gospel reading we hear that Luke’s orderly account is for you, Theophilus (the name means lover of God), so that he will understand all that he has heard—I think we are meant to put ourselves into the picture here, as a sort of modern-day Theophilus. The gospel is written for Hearers of the Word, so that they may understand. In a very special way, every catechumen is the lover of God whom this gospel addresses.
• Finally, Jesus himself, by opening up the word of Scripture, reveals himself as the Word who has come to save us. It’s the encounter with Christ that liberates, heals, and brings the year of favor about which Isaiah speaks.

For the record, let me emphasize that I’m NOT seriously suggesting we create a Catechumenate Sunday like we have Catechetical Sunday or Catholic Schools Week. Heaven forbid. No, every Sunday is Catechumenate Sunday as far as the Church is concerned!

But it is good now and then to notice how thoroughly and well the central themes and institutions of the RCIA correspond to what we hear in the Sunday Word of both Old and New Testaments. That Word is fulfilled in our hearing in the very practices of Christian initiation, when we follow the vision of the rite.

One last item. RCIA catechists and team people, here’s a question for you, sparked by this Sunday’s readings: How many of you used Minor Exorcism H (found at RCIA #94) in praying with your catechumens today? This beautiful prayer is based on today’s Gospel reading.

If you haven’t discovered it yet, you might want to look it up in your ritual text and put a marker in that page for future reference. In my opinion, it’s one of the loveliest prayers of the Minor Rites. (I’ve reproduced it here, for your convenience.)

Lord Jesus Christ,
sent by the Father and anointed by the Spirit,
when you read in the synagogue at Nazareth
you fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah
that proclaimed liberty to captives
and announced a season of forgiveness.

We pray for these your servants
who have opened their ears and hearts to your word.
Grant that they may grasp your moment of grace.

Do not let their minds be troubled
or their lives tied to earthly desires.
Do not let them remain
estranged from the hope of your promises
or enslaved by a spirit of unbelief.
Rather, let them believe in you,
whom the Father has established as universal Lord
and to whom he has subjected all things.

Let them submit themselves to the Spirit of grace,
so that, with hope in their calling,
they may join the priestly people
and share in the abundant joy of the new Jerusalem,
where you live and reign for ever and ever.

Amen.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

This is the All Saints altar at the parish I was in on All Souls Day. The marigolds are supposed to provide an attractive scent so loved ones who have passed away will want to come and visit the altar. The altar is filled with favorite foods and drinks of the loved ones. There are also pictures of the dead on the altar. The skulls are made out of sugar and are technically edible, but I don’t think I’d try one. These particular skulls are stored at the end of November and reused every year.

I know. There are supposed to be seven deadly sins. I did think of seven, but one of them isn’t deadly. So this will be the six deadly and one not-so-deadly sins committed during the Rite of Acceptance. These are not based on the standard seven that you’ll find in the Catechism. Rather, these come from the ancient Celtic book of Aelwais Dunethet Way.

1. Celebrating on the First Sunday of Advent

I’m told there are still lots of parishes that do this. I’ve asked and asked, and I can’t seem to find out why. Someone once told me they do it because then the catechumens can start their journey at the beginning of the “new year.” And then I asked if the catechumens are, in fact, spending a full year in the process in that parish. No. And so head scratching resumed.

Here are three criteria for picking a Sunday for the rite:

1. When the readings are appropriate (read ahead a little and find a good day; First Sunday of Advent is not)
2. When the parish is ready (meaning you don’t have a gazillion things to distract the focus from the catechumens like lighting and blessing wreaths, making announcements about the Giving Tree, and begging people to sign up for the Christmas choir)
3. When the inquires are ready (see Sin 2)

For more, read: When to schedule the Rite of Acceptance

2. Accepting people who haven’t completed the preflight checklist

The RCIA is very clear about the criteria for readiness. Marking time in the precatechumenate is not on the list. If you knew your pilot had been to flight school twice as long as any other pilot, would you feel good about getting on the plane? What if the reason he’d been in school so long was he just couldn’t figure out how to fly, but he’d been there so long they finally graduated him? It’s the same with inquirers. If someone has been an inquirer for six weeks or six years, they cannot move on to become catechumens until they show evidence of:

• first faith
• an initial conversion
• an intention to change their lives
• a desire to enter into a relationship with God in Christ (RCIA 42)

For more, read: RCIA Discernment: How do you know if they “know enough”?

3. Accepting people into the Order of “Catholichumens”

Many parishes celebrate a combined Rite of Acceptance and Rite of Welcome (of the baptized candidates). While the team members think they are making the distinction clear, they always fail Communications Theory 101. What you say isn’t necessarily what’s heard. To anyone who isn’t reading along in the ritual book, it looks like these are all the folks are the same—people who are going to become Catholic this year.

Train your RCIA team in just four sessions with this helpful reader's guide to the RCIA.


Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults: A Reader's Guide to the Introduction.

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by Nick Wagner

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There is one really, really easy way to solve this. Celebrate the two rites on different Sundays. And when you do celebrate a welcoming ritual for baptized candidates, don’t use the one in the RCIA (which is optional). Instead, use a modified version of the “Order for the Welcoming of New Parishioners” from the Book of Blessings.

Or, download this Alternative Rite of Welcome that I wrote.

If you simply must celebrate the two rites together, then begin with the baptized candidates inside the church, while the unbaptized are waiting outside the church. Call the baptized candidates forward, introduce them to the community, and then all process outside to celebrate the Rite of Acceptance with the unbaptized.

4. Knock, knock, who’s there?

Gosh, I was floored when I heard this one. Some parishes are making the inquirers bang on the church door at the beginning of the liturgy. My, what kind of symbol is that? Our doors are closed; you have to bang on them to get in. We are saying they have to come to us instead of us going out to them. Let’s knock off the knocking and stick to the flow of the rite.

5. Keeping warm and cozy

What’s the flow of the rite? It’s very simple. We, the insiders, go out to get them, the outsiders, and bring them in. The rite says some of the faithful gather with the unbaptized outside the church. When the priest goes out to meet them (from inside the church), the rest of the faithful can join him, singing a song of welcome or joy (see paragraph 48). This isn’t what happens in many places, however. What often happens is, every good Catholic is in their own pew that had been specially reserved for them by their guardian angel before they arrived. It would be a huge inconvenience to ask them to now get up and go outside. They just came from there. What’s the point of going back out now? So instead, we pare down the ritual a little (who will notice?) to cut down on the grumbling.

Well, it’s true no one will notice. And that’s what’s wrong. The point of this rite is to notice that something new is happening. These are not just people who are joining the parish. They are turning to Christ for the first time in their lives. It’s worth standing up and going outside for.

6. Sticking to the script

Okay, are we all outside now? Great! What’s next? First the seekers are introduced to the community, and then the presider asks them why they’ve come and what they want. The “deadly” part is, thousands of seekers across the country this year will say they have come for the same thing and want the same thing (faith and eternal life). How is that humanly possible? It’s not. They don’t really say what they want. They say what we tell them they want. They say the words exactly as written in the RCIA—which they have never even seen! People! Let’s make this real. The text given in the rite is only an example. How do I know? Read the little tiny print just before the dialogue in paragraph 50. It says so, right there in black and white. (Well, it’s red and white in my book, but you know what I mean.)

For more, read: Why catechumens shouldn’t ask for faith

7. Dismissing the children

This is the not-so-deadly-sin. Once, when I was visiting a parish in another diocese, the pastor dismissed the baptized children for their own liturgy of the word service before celebrating the Rite of Acceptance. It’s not deadly to the rite itself, but it sure doesn’t help the children much. What could possibly be going on in the little room over in the parish hall that would benefit the children more than witnessing new people being brought into the church? There’s lots of processing, and gestures, and singing, and other cool stuff kids love. So this year, let the children stay and participate in welcoming the newcomers.

Now I have to come clean and admit I’ve been guilty of more than a few of these deadly sins. But never more than once. Okay, maybe twice. The point is not to be perfect. The point is to get a little better each time. A good challenge for your team would be to choose one thing about the Rite of Acceptance to improve the next time you celebrate it. And then another the next time. And so on. Once you’ve got it down perfectly, let me know. I’m still trying to get there.

If you are planning a Rite of Acceptance for the fall, consider scheduling it on September 13, 2009. That’s the 24^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B), and the readings are especially appropriate.

The first reading is Isaiah 50:5-9, which begins: “The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear.” The early church referred to the catechumens as “hearers,” because their job during their time in the catechumenate was to not just listen to, but to hear God’s word.

The gospel is Mark 8:27-35, in which Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” He also describes his suffering, death, and resurrection, which is the “gospel” the inquirers will be asked to accept before they are consecrated as catechumens (see RCIA 52).

At the conclusion of the gospel, Jesus says:

Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the gospel will save it.

Here is some hands-on help for planning and celebrating the RCIA rituals.


Celebrating the Rites of Adult Initiation: Pastoral Reflections
Victoria M. Tufano, ed.
Price: $7.95

Click here for details

A flexible presider can adapt Jesus’ words to become the text for the “Candidates’ First Acceptance of the Gospel.” Paragraph 52 allows for such adaptation.

So, for example, assume that in the dialogue at RCIA 50, the presider asks, “What do you ask of God and God’s church?”

Then assume one of the candidates replies, “I ask for peace and hope in my life.”

The presider might enfold his hands and the candidate’s around the processional cross and say:

This is true peace and hope: to deny yourself and take up the cross of Christ. Christ has been truly raised from the dead and called all people to himself. If you wish to have peace and hope in your life, you much lose your life for his sake. For Christ tells us, “Whoever loses his life for the sake of the gospel will save it.”

Are you ready, with God’s help, to follow the way of the Cross to eternal peace and hope?

And then proceed with the rest of the rite as given in the ritual text.

What do you think? Are there other Sundays this fall that have appropriate readings for the Rite of Acceptance? Click on the comments link and share your thoughts.

• How to tell your catechumens the gospel truth
• Why catechumens shouldn’t ask for faith
• Give your rites the mother test (part 1)

1. Rehearse on the Saturday before Palm Sunday (not on Holy Saturday)
2. Catechumens and candidates are not at rehearsal; their sponsors are and godparents are
3. The pastor and the Vigil presider (if it is not the pastor) do not need to lead the rehearsal, but they need to be there
4. Rehearse with the lectors—a lot
5. Create a retreat day on Holy Saturday for the elect
6. The elect do not choose a baptismal name and candidates do not choose a confirmation name
7. Keep the focus of the Vigil on baptism
8. Begin after complete darkness
9. Build a bonfire for the new fire. Ask a boy scout. Better, ask a fire fighter (because they’re not afraid of big fires)
10. Notify the neighbors ahead of time about the fire
11. Buy a real candle for the Paschal Candle, not a white tube filled with oil
12. Don’t give individual candles to the elect until after they are baptized
13. Buy or rent a portable sound system for the blessing of the fire and candle
14. Choose music the entire parish knows well and can sing in the dark
15. The Exsultet is sung by the best singer in the parish. It is only sung by the presider (or deacon) if he is the best singer in the parish
16. The Gloria is sung by all; it is never spoken
17. The Alleluia is sung by all; it is never spoken
18. Make the Gospel procession the biggest of the year, processing throughout the assembly
19. Proclaim more than the minimum required number of readings
20. Proclaim the Romans reading from memory, looking directly at the elect
21. Baptize by full immersion
22. Chant the blessing over the water
23. Pour more water into the font as the blessing is chanted
24. Invite the children present to come close enough to the font to see well
25. Chant the names of the elect instead of speaking them when you call them forward
26. Include the names of the elect in the Litany of Saints
27. The Litany of Saints is only sung if there are candidates for baptism
28. If you baptize someone, confirm them, including children
29. Use a handful of Chrism for each confirmation; rub it in, don’t wipe it off
30. Plan the ritual so the communion of the newly baptized is the climax of the liturgy
31. Just before saying, “This is the Lamb of God,” call the newly baptized forward, by name, and speak a short, poetic reminder “of the preeminence of the Eucharist, which is the climax of their initiation and the center of the whole Christian life” (RCIA 243).
32. Plan a reception for the newly initiated following the liturgy
33. (click on comments to add another best practice)
34. (click on comments to add another best practice)
35. (click on comments to add another best practice)
36. (click on comments to add another best practice)

For guidelines on how to celebrate the Easter Vigil, get a copy of The Three Days: Parish Prayer in the Paschal Triduum. Click here for more information.