Introduction for 18th to 22nd Sundays: We have finished reading Matthew’s Sermon on Parables and move now to a crucial narrative section dealing with the Church as First-fruits of God’s Kingdom/Reign. Repeatedly we will see how the crucial step to enter that Kingdom/Reign is a deep faith in Jesus, a faith that rejects all other …
Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers — 18th-22nd Sundays in Ordinary Time, Year A
14th Sunday in ordinary time Background : This Sunday’s selection is the first from Matthew’s exploration of the meaning of the Kingdom/Reign of God. The evangelist often refers to the Kingdom/Reign of Heaven, but that is a pious Jewish euphemism. A Jewish perspective is also needed to appreciate the references to the “learned,” which refers …
Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers — 14th – 17th Sundays in Ordinary Time, Year A
Trinity Sunday Background: Grace, love, fellowship—these words from the end of this Sunday’s selection from 2 Corinthians provide the common threads that runs throughout all the readings. Today’s focus is not on the inner relationships among the Persons of the Trinity but upon their relationships with us in both Old and New Testaments. As the …
Preparing seekers during summer Ordinary Time, Cycle A – part one
1: Catechumens have a job to do The reason catechumens are dismissed for the Mass after the homily is not because they cannot yet share in Communion. It is because they have a specific role in the worshipping assembly. As soon as a person enters the order of catechumens, they have two important liturgical responsibilities. …
There are two dismissals in the Sunday liturgy. The one Catholics are most familiar with is the second one, the dismissal of the faithful at the end of Mass. The other is becoming better known. That is the dismissal of the catechumens at the end of the Liturgy of the word. Both dismissals are sometimes …
Your catechumens had been participating in the Liturgy of the Word for months, maybe even for years, and they pretty much know the routine. But now that they’re neophytes and are no longer dismissed from the Mass after the homily, some of them might be feeling a little lost in their new experience of the …
The basics of leading a dismissal session are not too difficult. There are three things to pay attention to: The room When you leave, you need to go somewhere. Make sure the room is prepared ahead of time. The faith sharing after dismissal is not catechesis. It is an extension of the liturgy. So, if …
