The catechumenate is designed to train catechumens to become lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. However, it’s easy to get caught up in delivering the curriculum and lose sight of the ultimate goal—the conversion of the catechumens. What we do matters, and if we are doing something that matters, that means we are creating change. So, …
Do you remember the Third Sunday of Lent in 2020? Most of us celebrated Mass that day, and many of us celebrated the first scrutiny with the elect. And for most of the parishes in the United States, that was the last time we would be in church together for a very long time. The …
Q. We have both child and adult catechumens who are asking if they can just be baptized and then continue on with their formation to celebrate confirmation and eucharist when they are ready. Is that possible? A. For both unbaptized adults and children who have reached the age of reason, when they are ready to …
Q&A: Can a catechumen be baptized and then wait on confirmation and eucharist?
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle may be the father of the New Year’s resolution. Legend has it that he made a resolution to become more virtuous and then kept a daily journal to track his progress. The legend doesn’t say if he reached his goal, but we do know that it is difficult for most …
Q. We have three adults in our formation process. One is from the Baptist tradition and the other two are active Catholic members of our parish who need only confirmation. Because they are all baptized, I understand they do not need the formal catechumenate process nor do they have to wait until the Easter Vigil. …
Q&A: How do we help our candidates develop a relationship with Jesus?
There is a story about an old fish that swims near a couple of teenage fish. As he passes by, he says, “Hey guys, how’s the water?” And then, as the older fish swims away, one of the young fish says to the other, “What’s water?” Trying to describe water to a fish is a …
This is a question we often get from parish teams. They’ve just read a blog post, a book, or participated in a workshop on the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and are excited about the principles they’ve learned. But they wonder why their priests don’t seem to follow them or even know about them. …
How do priests learn about the principles of the catechumenate?
In the Rite (Order) of Christian Initiation of Adults, we have several celebrations for the catechumens: the Rite of Election, the three scrutinies, the Presentations of the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer (or Rites of Handing On), and the preparation rites on Holy Saturday. But what do we have in Lent for the baptized candidates? …
The other day, I saw some young children playing T-Ball. We didn’t have T-Ball when I was a kid, and I didn’t really know what it was. I discovered T-ball is a simplified version of baseball, designed to introduce children as young as four to the game. I started out playing Little League, which requires …
Why is it important that the baptized candidates participate in the liturgy?
For a few weeks now, we have been exploring the ministry of catechist and specifically what the Directory for Catechesis calls for in the formation of catechists. If you have read the entire series—and especially if you read the sections of the Directory upon which I based the articles in the series—you may wonder who …
