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!

[UPDATE: The survey is now closed. To see a summary of the responses, click here.]

Please answer the following questions as best you can, because TeamRCIA.com is developing new resources for your team. (If you scroll back up after you click on “submit,” you will be able to see a summary of all the responses so far.)

Thanks for all your insights and contributions to initiation ministry.

For Christmas, a friend gave me The Complete Robuchon, which is 800 recipes for “French home cooking for the way we live now.” My friend and I both love to cook, although she is much more serious about it than I am. She takes classes from important chefs, stocks her pantry with sea salts from around the world, and has more All-Clad pans than some women have shoes. Still, she gave me this very serious cookbook as “re-gift” because, she said, I’m more of an artist than she is in the kitchen. And this is a book about art.

The art of eating

You’ll have to come over for dinner some night to determine which of us is more the artist. I thought her comment was odd, though, because I’m what folks call a “recipe cook.” Because she is better trained than I am, my friend can whip up wonderful meals without a cookbook in sight. I’m constantly double-checking myself against the “experts” as I cook. Whether you wing it or cook by the book, however, Joel Robuchon says something important about “the art of eating”:

Proper nourishment calls for a certain balance, within each meal and from one to the next. To be healthy, then, as well as engaged by the singular pleasure of eating, we must all find ways of varying what we eat. We may think of meat or fish as the center of a meal, but fruit, vegetables, dairy products, and grains should find their way to the table whenever we sit down to eat. The proportions may vary according to individual tastes and nutritional requirements, but no single food alone makes a satisfying meal.

He then goes on to explain the intangibles that go into the art of, not eating, but feeding others:

• You must first of all avoid overwhelming them, especially with heavy dishes served from beginning to end.
• At the same time, try to find something that will tie the whole meal together such as a common flavor note struck in several courses.
• You must also take into consideration your guests’ tastes, inevitable allergies, and religious requirements.
• Don’t forget that you will want to spend some time with your friends or family, away from the kitchen.
• The finest meals are planned with the season in mind….

A recipe for formation

I know you won’t be shocked when I tell you I think this is very similar to how we should think of our formation efforts. If we think of formation as meal-sharing, we can learn a lot. You can be a “recipe cook” when it comes to formation and still be an artist. The key is balance—and keeping the needs of your guests at the forefront of your planning. There is no one form of catechesis that is going to be satisfying. You need to vary what you are feeding the catechumens. Specifically:

• You don’t want to overwhelm them with heavy doctrines from beginning to end.
• Inquirers need a lot of appetizers—small but enticing bites of the best of our faith.
• Along with the main doctrinal courses, catechumens need plenty of side dishes of customs and practices along with well-matched wines of sparkling community and enlivening friendships.
• The elect need to be taught how to harmonize their faith the way the French balance a chorus of cheeses between the main course and dessert.
• And the neophytes are to be indulged in the eternal sweetness of God’s saving grace—much like a kid in a candy store.

Cook for whose coming to dinner

The thing that moves this method of formation beyond recipe and into art is knowing when to put down the book and take up the relationship. An artist doesn’t put a meal on the table just because some French chef said this tastes good with that. An artist starts with the question—what would my friends like to eat? What would delight them? What would feed not just their stomachs, but their spirits as well? What would make them leave the table completely satisfied and at the same time longing for so much more?

If we can serve up that kind of dish for the catechumens, we’ll all be artists of faith.

I’m writing a guidebook for catechumens and candidates. My hope is to give them some ideas about how to look at the world through Catholic eyes. The book is not intended to be a “catechism” that gives them an outline of the faith. I figure you’re already doing that in your catechetical sessions with them. It’s more of an attempt to describe Catholic culture and spirituality to them.

How you can help

If you’d be willing, I’d like to get your help with two things.

• First, I’m looking for stories about catechumens. If you have a story about a catechumen you’d like to share, please post it in the comments or e-mail it to me at nick@teamrcia.com.
• And I’d like know what you think of the first draft of my book outline. What looks good to you? What is missing? What suggestions would you make?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Scarcity and abundance
3. Consolation
4. Religious imagination
5. Catholic eyes
6. Seeing God everywhere
7. Word
8. Community
9. Worship
10. Service
11. What’s expected of you?
12. Preparing for baptism
13. Baptized Candidates
14. Reflecting on your baptism
15. Appendices

• Postures for prayer
• Catholic customs
• Annulments

On this All Saints Day, I have a proposal. Let’s not rename the catechumens with saint names. Many of them come to us with saint names already, but not all of them do. As I said in The Way of Faith, I once had a child catechumen named “Pebbles.” Let’s just say the topic of renaming came up.

The reason the giving of a baptismal name is even an issue stems from the 1917 Code of Canon Law. Well, it probably goes back farther than that, but most of us don’t date back that far ourselves, so it will do for an arcane reference. The old code says:

Pastors should see to it that the person to be baptized is given a Christian name; but if they are unable to fulfill this, they should add to the name given by the parents the name of some saint, and they should inscribe each name in the baptismal register.

Long before the 20th century, the practice of the pastor insuring the child had a saint name morphed into the giving of a new name even if the child was already named after a saint. So, in fact, many of us have two saint names. And it goes on. When confirmation was split off from baptism as a separate sacrament, the tradition of adding a saint name went with it. The end result: Most baby boomer Catholics have three saint names.

The 1983 Code of Canon Law changed the rules. Now the only requirement is that pastors make sure the child’s name is not “foreign to a Christian mentality.” In other words, if you don’t name your child something like “Son-of-Satan,” you’re good to go. So we baptized Pebbles as “Pebbles.”

The post-Vatican II sensibility of the 1983 code is reflected in both the Rite of Baptism for Children and the Rite of Confirmation, neither of which include an option for giving an additional name. And the United States bishops specifically rejects the notion of giving the catechumens a new name (see RCIA 33.4).

Even so, I have to tell you, I was having a little trouble with “Pebbles” when I first realized this could possibly be the name of a future saint. Then I read this paragraph in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

God calls each one by name. Everyone’s name is sacred. The name is the icon of the person. It demands respect as a sign of the dignity of the one who bears it. (2158)

Pebbles loved her name, and she loved Jesus. In the end, it was a great joy to see her become one with the Lord, named for Christ with the name she had known all her life. That’s when I resolved to never rename a catechumen.

Here are some previous posts from TeamRCIA that have to do with naming:

• Choosing a confirmation name
• Should the elect choose a baptismal name?

What is the church’s position on baptizing adults that are traveling often and do not have time for a formal RCIA program? They are aware of all Catholic precepts but lack the formal baptism and confirmation but faithfully seek these sacraments. Any help would be appreciated.

This is a great question that sends us back to the ritual text, The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, to seek guidance for a real, practical, pastoral situation of someone seeking sacramental initiation. This traveling catechumen is not alone! Many parish communities include those whose work takes the away from home on a regular basis.

The obvious answer is that the “church’s position on baptizing adults” is the full implementation of the RCIA. Other than in the exceptional circumstances addressed in Part II of the Rite, the norm always includes a period of evangelization (or pre-catechumenate), the catechumenate, a time of purification and enlightenment, all leading to full sacramental initiation at the Easter Vigil. Nowhere does the rite call for a “formal program.”

To answer this question adequately and with fidelity to the rite, we must turn to the intent of each period of formation and make application to the situation of the individual who travels often and may not be able to gather with a home parish group on a regular basis.

Essential elements of formation

Paragraph 42 of the RCIA asks us to look far beyond Catholic precepts (with which the individual you describe is familiar) to issues of true conversion: evidence of faith, intention to change her or his life, a strong living, loving relationship with God, a sense of sin and repentance, a prayer life, and a sense of the church. If these qualities are “alive and well” in your inquirer, then he or she is ready for the catechumenate. The Rite of Acceptance should be celebrated in the home parish at a time when this catechumen can participate fully.

Remembering that the purpose of the catechumenate is apprenticeship into a life of discipleship, we turn then to paragraph 75 of the RCIA, which outlines the essential elements of formation for a catechumen:

• formation in the Word and solid catechesis based on the Word
• participation in the community
• active participation in the liturgy
• and apostolic witness and service

Think outside the “classroom”

None of these is time or place bound! Therefore, some out-of-the-box or, more appropriately, “out-of-the-classroom” thinking needs to happen so that some creative solutions for this situation may be discovered.

Some important considerations for the traveling catechumen include:

• Does she or he have a well-formed sponsor with whom there is a strong, consistent relationship and communication?
• Does the catechumen participate in the liturgy of the Word (and dismissal rite if available) on a regular basis regardless of what town or city she or he is in?
• Is there a catechist, team member, or sponsor who maintains regular online communication with the traveling catechumen to share reflections on the Word, discuss questions or concerns, share insights?
• In what ways is the traveling catechumen serving the community of the church and the world as a Christian disciple?
• When the catechumen is in her or his home parish, how is she or he involved in the life of the community? How and when are her or his stories of living the life of discipleship with its challenges and opportunities being heard and received by the home community? What support can she or he expect from the home community?
• With whom does the catechumen reflect on and discern her or his journey of discipleship and call to full sacramental initiation?
• When the catechumen enters into the period of purification and enlightenment as one of the elect, does the home parish make arrangements for her or him to celebrate the scrutinies in the parish to which travel takes her or him?
• Does the catechumen have a commitment to celebrating the Rite of Election in the home diocese and sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil in the home parish?

Focus on relationship

I wonder if the traveling catechumen isn’t somehow a sort of prophet in our midst calling us to look again at what we do and why we do it. Are we so used to or comfortable with the organization of parish programs that we miss the very essence and purpose of the catechumenate, the formation of faithful disciples? Jesus met his disciples where they were—in a tree, at the taxation bureau, by a well, near a lake, or in the dark of night—and began an intimate relationship with them in their particular time and circumstances, gradually drawing them into a share in his own mission. In his name, this is our task, too, whatever it takes.

Pope Benedict XVI’s newest encyclical, Caritas in Verite, has all the elements of a guide for living the Christian life that would be beneficial to catechuemens. All the elements, except one. It is not an easy read. Simply giving the document to those who are new to the faith could be overwhelming.

Fortunately, Sam Lucero has written a brief article: “How we can live out Caritas in Verite“ in the August 5 issue of The Compass. It is not comprehensive, and it is not a substitute for reading the document itself. But it is a terrific starting point for beginning Catholics.

In fact, if catechumens and all the the regular Catholics took just this one suggestion from Lucero’s article and tried to live it out, we’d be a lot closer to fulfilling Christ’s mission:

Make changes in consumer buying habits. This suggestion has been around for more than a decade, but continues to make a solid impact. It includes purchasing fair trade goods such as coffee and boycotting companies whose workers are subject to sweatshop conditions. It’s one of the easiest ways to promote fair wages and human dignity.

Visit Catholic Relief Services’ fair trade Web site to learn about the latest fair trade issues. You can also sign up to receive the CRS Fair Trader e-newsletter.

Lucero has four other direct ways we can live out Caritas in Verite. Check out the suggestions and perhaps make a commitment along with your catechumens to focus on one of them this month.

• Free reader’s guide to Charity in Truth (Caritas in Veritate)
• An RCIA lesson from Barack Obama—community
• The parish is the RCIA catechetical plan

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.

Baptized, uncatechized adults

In many parishes, the baptized candidates make up the bulk of the catechumenate. It is not unusual in some places to have one or two catechumens and a couple dozen baptized candidates at the Easter Vigil. So should the baptized candidates celebrate confirmation and Eucharist at the Easter Vigil?

There are conflicting guidelines on this question. RCIA 409 says yes, the Easter Vigil would normally be the time when the baptized candidates would celebrate confirmation and Eucharist. The National Statutes for the Catechumenate, on the other hand, say no, it is not generally recommended that the baptized candidates celebrate confirmation and Eucharist at the Vigil (see NS 26 and 33).

Baptized Catholics

There is one more complicating factor with this group. Usually there are both Catholics and those baptized in another tradition. The National Statutes seem to suggest that, while it is not recommended, the Catholics might celebrate confirmation and Eucharist at the Vigil because they are, in fact, completing their initiation.

Baptized Protestants

The National Statutes state more strongly, however, that those baptized in another tradition not celebrate their sacraments at the Vigil. The reason for this is they are not “completing their initiation”; they are being received into full communion. The reason those from other traditions would not normally be received into full communion at the Vigil is to scrupulously avoid any “possible misunderstanding of or even reflection upon the sacrament of baptism celebrated in another Church…or any perceived triumphalism in the liturgical welcome…” (NS 33). Exceptions are allowed, but reception at the Vigil is clearly not the norm.

So celebrating sacraments at the Easter Vigil with baptized candidates is a gray area, with Protestant candidates being a little grayer than Catholic candidates.

Baptized, catechized adults

Okay, right off the bat, let’s just be clear that if a Catholic, who has not been confirmed, is partaking in Communion every Sunday, or even only once a month, he is not completing his initiation in the way the RCIA speaks about initiation. The goal of initiation is sharing in the Eucharist. Those who are already at the table are already initiated. The DRE might cringe when you say it, but these folks are catechized. It doesn’t mean they are model Catholics, but if someone had decided they “knew enough” to bring them to Eucharist—no matter how long ago—that is all the RCIA requires to determine if someone is catechized. If they have forgotten how or refused to live the Christian life, that is a matter for reconciliation, not initiation.

Likewise with those baptized in another tradition. If they were active enough in their own tradition to have celebrated their version of the Lord’s Supper, they can be considered catechized. That does not mean they need zero preparation before they are received. It only means they should not be treated like catechumens. Their preparation should be accommodated to their needs, and they should be received into full communion as soon as possible (see NS 31).

The only place for baptized, catechized candidates at the Vigil is in the worshiping assembly, praying for those who are to be baptized.

“Restored order” children

I’m not crazy about the term “restored order,” but that’s what most folks call it. As you know, the traditional order of the initiation sacraments is baptism, confirmation, Eucharist. Early in the 20th century, for pastoral, not theological reasons, that order got disrupted. So most of us who were baptized as infants celebrated first Communion around age seven and were confirmed five to ten years later. Now some parishes are returning to the original practice of initiating children in the traditional order. That means there are a lot of seven-year-old Catholics who are celebrating confirmation and first Communion in the same liturgy.

Because this is a completion of their initiation, some parishes have begun to bring these children to the Easter Vigil also. I think that is a mistake. While it is true these children are completing their initiation, they are not catechumens and are in no way like catechumens. For example, these children were never “inquirers,” and they are typically members of practicing Catholic families. (I know there are exceptions, but exceptions should not establish the rule.) Also, the numbers of them tend to be large. So even a small parish might have 100-plus children “completing” their initiation at the Vigil. That would surely shift the focus of the liturgy away from the initiation of the catechumens.

Managing the exceptions

As I see it, the only folks who should absolutely celebrate initiation sacraments at the Vigil are catechumens over the age of 14 and possibly younger catechumens. Remember, however, the rite indicates that Sunday liturgy can be just as appropriate for the young ones.

Baptized, uncatechized Catholic adults who are completing their initiation might also celebrate their sacraments at the Vigil, but this is a gray area.
Everyone else should usually be celebrating their sacraments at some other time and place.

Usually. There are always going to be exceptions. These are the norms to strive for. The question I always ask myself is not did I do everything perfectly, by the book. Rather, I ask what plans I will put in place for next year so our parish can move a little closer to the ideal. If we can continually work just a little closer toward the vision of the rite, we won’t be in danger of letting the exceptions become the norm.

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
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