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?
You can reflect questions for every Sunday of the year by clicking here. Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time Background: Although much of the Old Testament tradition proclaims God’s love and care for the poor and the vulnerable, another strand in the tradition presupposes that wealth is a sign of God’s favor. On the road up
Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers: Year C – The 26th-31st Sundays in Ordinary Time
You can reflect questions for every Sunday of the year by clicking here. Twenty Second Sunday of Ordinary Time Background: Jesus is still on his journey to Jerusalem and continues to teach us what we need to do to make the journey with him. In this Sunday’s gospel selection, he is warning us to take
Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers: Year C – The 22nd-25th Sundays in Ordinary Time
Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time Background: In contemporary America this Sunday’s set of readings is profoundly countercultural since only two decades ago we had a head of the Federal Reserve consistently assuring us that “Greed is good!” At this stage in his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus is once again calling our attention to the need to
Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers: Year C – The 18th-21st Sundays in Ordinary Time
You can reflect questions for every Sunday of the year by clicking here. Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time Background:The journey to Jerusalem has begun; and, in Luke’s vision, it will not end until faithful believers have brought the good news of the kingdom/reign of God to the ends of the earth. This Sunday’s gospel selection
Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers: Year C – The 14th through 17th Sundays in Ordinary Time
You can reflect questions for every Sunday of the year by clicking here. Pentecost – 2nd Reading alternate, Gospel Selection A . Background: In Luke’s chronology Jesus sends the Spirit on the fiftieth day after the resurrection. In John he sends the Spirit on the evening of Easter Day itself. Whatever the chronology, the crucial
Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers: Year C – Pentecost through the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
You can reflect questions for every Sunday of the year by clicking here. Third Sunday of Easter Background: Each year this Sunday has as its Gospel selection a description of a meal that the risen Jesus shares with his disciples, reminding us that the repeatable sacrament of initiation is the Eucharist. In this year’s passage Jesus
Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers: Year C – The Third Sunday of Easter through Ascension Sunday
You can reflect questions for every Sunday of the year by clicking here. Fifth Sunday of Lent Background: For the second Sunday in a row, we are presented with a story about a sinner and the self-righteous—who are also sinners but don’t want to admit it. Yet, as Paul says today, all this judgment of
You can reflect questions for every Sunday of the year by clicking here. First Sunday of Lent Background: To understand this Sunday’s gospel, we need to realize that we are jumping back over the unfolding of Jesus’s ministry in Galilee that we have been reading in the early Sundays of Ordinary Time and returning to his
Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers: Year C – The First through Fourth Sundays in Lent
