Five things to know about dismissals

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7 thoughts on “Five things to know about dismissals”

  1. More about question than a comment.

    How do you have a dismissal if your catchmens don’t all attend the same mass?
    Do we insist that they all attend the same mass and sit together as a group?

    We have not had dismissal before trying to figure out how to make it work.

    Hoping to begin after the rite of Acceptance!

    1. The solution at our parish is to offer dismissal at one of the Saturday Masses and one of the Sunday Masses. We ask that they choose one of those times to attend and we tell them why- so they can reflect and share on the Word.

      In most cases it is not an issue- our catechumen seem very willing to make adjustments to their routine. Once regular Mass attendance is cemented, they and their families will normally gravitate to either a Sat or Sun Mass.

      We also have a larger team, so scheduling someone to Break Open the Word is not a big deal.
      The catechumen do not sit together, they sit with their families. And they meet up again after Mass at Coffee& Donuts. –

  2. Cecilia Sepulveda St. Joseph Barstow

    It really makes a difference when we share with the catechumens the reason and responsibilities, when we do dismissal thank you Nick and Diana

  3. I’ve only been at my current parish for a little over a year. Previously, dismissal of the catechumens was not a practice here (I’m not sure why). I will say that, in the past month, I have had four (unbaptized) inquirers contact me, and they all attend the Mass where we do dismissal. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. The rituals of rhe RCIA have an impact on the community who witness them, as well as on the subjects of the rite.

  4. We have catechumens and candidates(baptized) together at dismissals because we have our classes on Sundays after the dismissals. We do share the Word of God with all of them together. Then we have catechizes in the second hour. It is most convenient for us to do it like this. Is it wrong for us to not do it according to the Rite.

  5. I’m going to disagree with you about the dismissal of the candidates. I’m well aware that the rite itself does not call for the dismissal of candidates in the Rite of Welcoming stand alone rite. However, all my formation priests Fr. Steve Coffee dioceses of Monterrey and Fr Ron Oakem of the former North American Forum. Have all said something like this: Yes, by their baptism they are entitled to participate in the Eucharist; however, our Catholic Church won’t let them receive. So, until the rules in the Catholic Church change on validly baptized non-Catholic persons being allowed to receive the Eucharist, it would be very insulting to require them to stay for the liturgy of the Eucharist.

    I would also say the breaking open of the Word of God especially the Gospel using the method of Echoing God’s Word or any other format does constitute catechesis. Also because of our rural community we connect the extended related Church teaching to the same gathering. Sponsors and spouses join us after the second dismissal and we segway into the chosen teaching. None of this catechesis is in lecture format; an interactive apprentice form is always used.

    Thank you for listening to my rebuttal.

  6. Dismissal has been one of the great successes of our RCIA Program for several years now. I fully understand, and agree, that it is not the time or place for catechesis, but catechesis inevitably occurs. When a catechumen advocates a point that is not consistent with Church teaching a correction, gently and inoffensively, must be made. When the written text is vague, complex or seemingly inconsistent with the person Jesus is and questions are asked to clarify or explain, one must respond. One question I was asked is why doesn’t Jesus like rich people since they cannot go through the eye of a needle, isn’t he saying they will never go to heaven? The “catechesis” done in these situations improves the understanding of the catechumen and helps them, if not immediately, in future sessions with their faith sharing.

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