Q. At my parish we are planning to have a rehearsal for the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday morning. Our master catechist helps with the catechumenate, and she is suggesting that the elect and candidates not be at the rehearsal. She thinks only the sponsors should be there. She mentioned that this way the sponsors are …
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 makes that fact clear as it describes how early in that journey Jesus …
Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers: Year C – The 13th-17th Sundays in Ordinary Time
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 point is that the Spirit is sent not upon individuals but upon the …
Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers: Year C – Pentecost through the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
This past Easter Vigil, I was visiting a parish I had never been to before. I was truly uplifted by the beauty and quality of the entire liturgy. It was one of the best Easter Vigil liturgies I have celebrated. The key factor that made the liturgy so good was the effort the planners and …
Should baptized candidates celebrate their sacraments at the Easter Vigil?
For reflection questions for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year A, click 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
I can’t help but smile as I read—and teach—that Lent is like a 40-day retreat, a time of reflection, quiet, prayer, and fasting. Sometimes it seems that even the spirit of “fasting and feasting” takes a back seat to the activities of initiation ministries during Lent. The invitation to silence and reflection is welcome but …
The last Easter Sunday Mass that St. Augustine celebrated was in 430 AD, when he was 75 years old. In those days, 75 was more like 100 is today. Augustine must have been very tired from having concluded the long Easter Vigil just a few hours before. After his brief homily, the catechumens were dismissed …
Why the participation of the elect in the Easter Vigil is so important
Someone recently asked on Facebook, “What is the Easter Vigil for?” The person asking is from a Christian tradition that does not usually celebrate baptisms at the Vigil. If you’re old enough, you will remember when that was true for Roman Catholics. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults was issued shortly after Vatican II, …
What does baptism do? A mystagogy on the sacramental act of washing
1. Don’t rehearse the Easter Vigil Almost everywhere, parishes are planning to rehearse the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. I know this is going to be hard to hear, but we have to stop making Holy Saturday a work day. It is a day of prayer, reflection, and fasting (see RCIA 185). In the Eastern …
