We have a new pastor, and he told us that we are not supposed to be confirming adult Catholics at the Easter Vigil. If confirmation is an initiation sacrament, what’s wrong with celebrating it at the Vigil?

Your question raises a larger issue of who should be celebrating sacraments at the Easter Vigil. I’ve seen group weddings celebrated at the Vigil because the couples were being “initiated” into married life. Simply attaching the word “initiation” to a sacrament does not automatically mean is needs to be celebrated at the Vigil.

Primary purpose of the Easter Vigil

The Easter Vigil is primarily for the initiation of unbaptized adults. If you turn to RCIA 23, you’ll read, “The celebration of the sacraments of Christian initiation should take place at the Easter Vigil itself.” There are exceptions, but initiating unbaptized adults at the Vigil is the norm.

Children of catechetical age are considered “adults” for the purpose of the rite, but the Easter Vigil norm is a bit more flexible if they are under 14 years of age. Turn to paragraph 304 in the section on adaptations for children: “[C]elebration of the sacraments of initiation should preferably take place at the Easter Vigil or on a Sunday…” (emphasis added).

That’s really about it for the norm—the usual situation envisioned by the RCIA. Every other situation is some kind of an exception. Unfortunately, in some places, the exceptions are starting to become the norm. Let’s look at some of them.

Read the rest of this entry »

Becky added a comment to a previous post I wrote on the various types of baptized candidates we might encounter in an RCIA process. She suggested we might also encounter folks who were unbaptized and yet catechized.

That got me thinking about what we mean by “catechized.” Obviously, most of our unbaptized catechumens will reach a stage at which we consider them to be catechized. At that point, they are ready for initiation and have completed their catechumenate formation.

I wondered, though, if Becky might have been referring to unbaptized inquirers show up at our door with a great deal of knowledge about the Catholic faith from their own self-study. (Perhaps she’ll chime in on the comments and clarify!) While these folks might be further along in their formation than inquirers who know nothing about Catholicism, can we really consider them catechized?

If you flip open your RCIA to the section in which the bishop asks the sponsors if the catechumens are ready for election, you’ll see what I mean (see paragraph 131, b).

In order to be considered for the rite of election, the catechumens must have listened to God’s word proclaimed by the church (at Sunday liturgy), responded to that word and begun to walk in God’s presence, and shared in the company and prayer of other Christians.

If an unbaptized person has done a self-study of Catholic teaching, hurray for them! But that is only a part of their formation in faith. They still have a lot to do, and we probably wouldn’t consider them to be “catechized” until they had lived the Catholic life for a time in the midst of other Catholics.

What’s your experience? Have you encountered unbaptized, catechized candidates?

The news outlets are filled with speculation and commentary about Barack Obama’s transition team and his choice of cabinet members and White House staff. Yesterday the stock market rose 500 points simply because Obama announced who his Secretary of the Treasury would be. There are a lot of reasons that knowing who Obama plans to surround himself with are important, and I want to focus on one in particular. In both the primary and the general election campaigns, Obama was criticized for his lack of experience. Now the markets, the American people, and the world are watching to see if he chooses to place himself in the midst of a community of “elders”—people who have the experience he lacks.

What strikes me about this global anxiousness about who the neophyte president will associate himself with is that we might apply that same type of concern to the catechumens. Of the four markers of catechesis—word, community, worship, and service—I wonder if we pay enough attention to apprenticing the catechumens in what it means to live in community. What often happens is community is assumed. The catechumens are coming to church, they know the catechists, they have sponsors, and some of the parishioners are praying for them. From our point of view, they are already members of the community.

But if we think that through a little bit, they haven’t yet learned what it means to be among a band of disciples. Their fellow catechumens are not disciples—at least not experienced disciples, who, like Saint Paul, have run the good race and been tested over time. When the catechumens’ ship of faith is swamped by trials and temptations, who will they turn to for advice and support? Have they been sufficiently acquainted with the parish community so that they can identify a “transition team”? Do they have a “cabinet”—a core group of fellow believers, most more experienced than themselves, who they trust and who will give them honest feedback? Do they have a community that will challenge them to grow in faith and discipleship and hold them accountable to that growth? I think that if they do not yet have such a deep commitment to and understanding of Christian community, they may need more time to learn how to do this before they are initiated.

What do you think? How do you discern a catechumen’s readiness in the area of community? Click on the comment link below and share your thoughts.

I was inspired to write about this through Liz Strauss’ blog, Successful and Outstanding Bloggers. Earlier this month, she posted “6 Ways to Build Your Own Personal Developmental Network.” Another prominent blogger, Juliann Grant, commented on the post: “It is very helpful to have a core group of people to trust and get continual feedback on our personal and professional development.” I read that after having listened to the morning news dominated by speculation and commentary on the president-elect’s cabinet and staff choices and wondering why that would be more newsworthy than, say, the seizure of two more banks, which also happened yesterday.

• 5 questions for every RCIA team
• Add 5,000 families to your RCIA team
• The parish is the RCIA catechetical plan

Recently, I was at a liturgy with what appeared to be some unsponsored catechumens. Perhaps they had sponsors, and the sponsors were just absent that day. Still, I wondered how that happened. In sponsor training sessions, it is important to emphasize the crucial role sponsors play on Sundays. Here are nine tasks for sponsors to attend to when caring for their catechumens on the Lord’s Day.

1. Pick up your catechumen for Mass or meet him or her at the entrance to the church. The catechumen shouldn’t have to walk into church alone.
2. If your catechumen misses Mass, make a follow up call on Sunday afternoon.
3. If you have to miss Mass, find a substitute to be with your catechumen.
4. Show your catechumen how to bless him or herself with holy water from the font.
5. Introduce your catechumen to at least one new parishioner each Sunday.
6. Show your catechumen how to genuflect and bow. If the tabernacle is in the sanctuary, behind the altar, you would genuflect before entering your pew. If the tabernacle is off to the side or in a separate space, you would bow to the altar before entering your pew.
7. Show your catechumen how to use the parish worship aid or hymnal.
8. Always sing and respond to the ritual dialogue to provide a good example for the catechumen.
9. After Mass, join your catechumen for the catechetical gathering. If there is no catechetical gathering, touch base and say goodbye before going home.

What’s missing? Can you think of other tasks for RCIA sponsors? Add to the list by clicking on the comments link below.

See also these related articles:

• Listening skills for RCIA sponsors
• How do you train sponsors for the RCIA?
• 20 ideas for finding sponsors
• Sponsors: Nine must-know facts

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal says the homily should be “an exposition of some aspect of the readings from Sacred Scripture or of another text from the Ordinary or from the Proper of the Mass and should take into account both the mystery being celebrated and the particular needs of the listeners” (65, emphasis added).

The same can be said of your extended catechesis. You can base your process on a liturgical text other than the readings, taking the needs of the catechumens into account. If you intend to base your catechesis on this prayer, be sure to alert the presider to use it on Sunday.

Alternate opening prayer

Let us pray
[that through us others may find the way to life in Christ]

Father,
we come, reborn in the Spirit,
to celebrate our sonship in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Touch our hearts,
help them grow toward the life you have promised.
Touch our lives,
make them signs of your love for all men.

Grant this through Christ our Lord.

The way of faith

• Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ. It is granted us through Baptism. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who justifies us. It has for its goal the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal life. It is the most excellent work of God’s mercy. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2020)
• We acknowledge one Lord, confess one faith, are born of one Baptism, form only one Body, are given life by the one Spirit, for the sake of one hope, at whose fulfillment all divisions will be overcome. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 866)
• The title “Son of God” signifies the unique and eternal relationship of Jesus Christ to God his Father: he is the only Son of the Father; he is God himself. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 454)

To see how you might use one of these three points in your catechesis, see “How to lead a 90-minute catechetical session.”

• Teaching secrets from the ancient church
• The Four Essential Doctrines the Liturgy Teaches

I commented in an earlier post that if you are having difficulty moving from an abbreviated RCIA program to a complete catechumenate process, one roadblock may be the lack of volunteer catechists needed for 52-weeks of catechetical sessions. I then suggested you take the number of sessions you currently have scheduled and spread them out throughout the liturgical year. So you are doing the same amount of catechesis, but it is now taking place about once a month instead of once a week.

In this post, I’m going to show you how to significantly increase the level of catechesis the parish provides, without adding any more volunteers to your process and barely any more work to your to do list.
Read the rest of this entry »

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal says the homily should be “an exposition of some aspect of the readings from Sacred Scripture or of another text from the Ordinary or from the Proper of the Mass and should take into account both the mystery being celebrated and the particular needs of the listeners” (65, emphasis added).

The same can be said of your extended catechesis. You can base your process on a liturgical text other than the readings, taking the needs of the catechumens into account. If you intend to base your catechesis on this prayer, be sure to alert the presider to use it on Sunday.

First opening prayer

Let us pray
[for the gift of God's forgiveness and love]

Father of everlasting goodness,
our origin and guide,
be close to us
and hear the prayers of all who praise you.
Forgive our sins and restore us to life.
Keep us safe in your love.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

The way of faith

• In the creation of the world, God gave the first and universal witness to God’s almighty love and wisdom…, which finds its goal in the new creation in Christ. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 315)
• Like conversion, justification has two aspects. Moved by grace, we turn toward God and away from sin, and so accept forgiveness and righteousness from on high. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2018)
• Faith in God leads us to turn to him alone as our first origin and our ultimate goal, and neither to prefer anything to him nor to substitute anything for him. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 229)

To see how you might use one of these three points in your catechesis, see “How to lead a 90-minute catechetical session.”

• Teaching secrets from the ancient church
• The Four Essential Doctrines the Liturgy Teaches

One of the disadvantages of running this Web site becomes apparent when I have a question. If I submit it to the “Ask a question” link, it will just come back to me to answer. So I’m submitting it to you.

When do you introduce the catechumens to the stewardship efforts of the parish? More specifically, when do you speak to them about supporting the mission of the parish financially? I’ve never liked waiting until after initiation: “Here’s your baptism and your envelopes.” In parishes that are doing a complete catechumenate, the catechumens will no doubt hear at least a couple of “stewardship homilies.” Is that time to talk with them about contributing time, talent, and treasure to the mission? What are your thoughts?

?

As we draw closer to the presidential elections, our RCIA teams will have plenty of opportunities to catechize about Catholic social teaching. The U.S. bishops, as they do every election season, have provided lots of resources for parishes to help us be responsible citizens and faithful Catholics. As catechists, we might not think to look at the Homily Suggestions page, but the suggestions there apply to catechesis as much as to preaching.

1. Highlight Catholic tradition

Don’t save up your “big talk” about the elections for the week before voting day. Weave the teaching of the church throughout the Sundays between now and November. As citizens and as Catholics, we are called not only to provide for the needy but to actively support policies that will make the world a more just place. Do the catechumens understand the moral connection between social policy and the Gospel?

2. Promote participation in public life

As Catholics, we have a responsibility to bring our faith into dialogue with the issues raised by the political parties and candidates. How will we encourage the catechumens to scrutinize political candidates and issues through the lens of faith?

3. Ask questions rather than providing answers

The best way to help catechumens make the connection between faith and political choices is to ask thought-provoking questions.

4. Avoid partisanship

The bishops do not support one political party over another, and neither should our RCIA teams. We cannot hand out political material or take a position that implies a Catholic or parish endorsement of or opposition to a party or a candidate. As the U.S. bishops say in their document, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, it often seems that “no party and too few candidates fully share the church’s comprehensive commitment to the life and dignity of every human being from conception to natural death” (No. 16).

5. Tell people to vote, not how to vote

Encourage faith-based questions that arise from the Sunday liturgy, but do not give answers that imply how catechumens should vote. Teach them how to use their faith to shape their politics.

6. Promote prayer for all politicians

Catholics are obligated to pray for all civil authorities, even if we don’t agree with their political positions. The catechumens share in that obligation.

I was just asked to review a book proposal that is meant to be a teaching resource for the catechumenate. The syllabus covers ecclesiology, Christology, the Trinity, each of the sacraments, and a bit of eschatology. I think those are all good things to know, but is that what the RCIA asks us to provide? Read the rest of this entry »