Practicing the Fundamentals

Quite regularly I try to deal with RCIA participants who have some desire to be associated with the Church but who struggle with the demands of RCIA - the meetings during the week and the Sundaydismissals. I recall one lady who complained, "why can't we do this with a few meetings in secret like they did when my mother joined the Church?" Most of the time people are more subtle than that; citing family or job commitments to explain their absences. The challenge for the RCIA leader is to be authentic in presenting the challenge of belonging to the Church and at the same time to (as much as possible) welcome all who seek the Lord with a sincere heart.

So why do we initiate adults into our Church the way we do? The first answer is that conversion is a complicated process and takes time. Deciding to join the Church is not like choosing a new pair of shoes for spring. So people need to take the time to have their questions answered and to experience the worship of the Church before making a final decision to be baptized or received into the community. Certainly, it would be possible to provide a basic catechesis regarding Baptism in just a few hours and then proceed to the sacrament. The question becomes how lasting this kind of conversion is. Granted, based on statistics from the USA and personal observations, the RCIA is not wildly successful at producing regular church attenders. So, back to our question: why should the RCIA be so long and complicated?

Another answer to this question came to me in the Gospel for last Sunday (Matthew 7: 21 - 27). Here Jesus tells us to build our spiritual houses on solid foundations. How do you do that? Well, one analogy is found in sports. Years ago I spent some time coaching basketball. One of the challenges was to teach the fundamental of (for example) shooting and then to promote the practice of that correct form over and over. Doing this would establish a sound base for taking a shot in the pressure of game situations. We know that successful professional players spend many hours in practice. It seems to me that the spiritual life is like this also. We need to learn the basics and to repeat them often so that when times of trial come we will be able to stick to the basics and come through the trial.

RCIA Sunday Dismissals

One of the traditions of the RCIA is that catechumens be dismissed from the Sunday assembly following the Liturgy of the Word. In my experience there has been a mixed response from the participants to these dismissals. Some people feel nourished by the Liturgy of the Eucharist (even though they do not receive the Eucharist). Other people feel isolated and excluded by the dismissals. In either case personal feelings run high and it is difficult to explain this adequately in such circumstances.

However, apart from the tradition, there are good reasons to continue these dismissals. At the end of their direct RCIA experience there remains a great need for these new Catholics to continue to grow and to reflect on their faith journey. The problem is that unfortunately there are few opportunities for adult faith formation. Consequently all members of the assembly (not just the new ones) need to be provided with better tools so that they can be nourished in their faith by the Liturgy of the Word - which is the primary place where faith formation is regularly offered in the life of the Church.

So how could RCIA dismissal provide these tools. Obviously we want to provide participants tools so that they can continue to find spiritual direction and growth in the Liturgy of the Word. Now, we are all supposed to find this in the Liturgy but it seems to me that our ability to do this is more or less assumed and as a result many of the faithful do not have a sense of being nourished or fed by the Word of God. Might this be one of the reasons why people have a tendency to abandon regular attendance at Mass?

Teaching RCIA participants the ancient practice of Lectio Divina might be one way of providing participants a way of being fed by the Word of God. Lectio has a number of steps, but these steps involve two basic movements. People first need to get into a mindset that they can (and should) read Scripture prayerfully - with a belief that the Word is speaking to each of them in a special way. Such a mindset is difficult to attain because we have been conditioned to read very differently than this. As well, people need to believe that the Word of God requires a response - our lives ought to be changed in some way or another by our Sunday encounter with the Word. People with these two attitudes toward the Word will have a better chance of finding the weekly Liturgy of the Word an occasion of blessing and growth.

Baptism and Conversion

The RCIA, as it existed in ancient times, was clearly about conversion. Baptism involved a radical turning around of ones life. First of all there was a history of persecution of Christians, so that until the fourth century becoming Christian might well entail risk of death. Secondly, because pagan culture was so pervasive the newly baptized Christian was restricted in the things he/she could do for a way of life. For example, Michael Himes, in his book Mystery of Faith lists architecture, painting, sculpting, teaching, and acting as just some of the professions that were "out of bounds" for Christians. Of course belonging to the military also was frowned on since soldiers were bound to make an oath to the emperor.
Fr. Himes points out that this is one reason why the theme of death figured so much in the liturgy of baptism. Paul wrote that when we were baptized we were baptized into the death of Jesus and when we came out from the water we rose with him. In fact the liturgy for funerals has many similarities with Baptism. The holy water, the white garment/pall, and the Christ candle are important symbols in both liturgies.
The problem is that in the modern RCIA (or at least in my experience) it is very difficult to help people understand that being baptized involves change. To be sure some people do come with a sense that they need to change their lives but most of the people I meet come with only a vague sense of unease, curiousity, or obligation (they have a Catholic spouse). The only good analogy for radical conversion is that of the alcoholic entering Alcoholics Anonymous. The problem is most people in RCIA have trouble relating to that. We also seem to have a problem with the notion of sin. Few people that I meet have a sense of personal sin and therefore have little sense of their need for conversion.
Some time ago I listened to an audio to talks given by Paula D'Arcy and Richard Rohr. In the first of this series of talks D'Arcy describes an experience of hers that caused her during the course of a week long retreat to change the way that she was viewing her companions on the retreat. It seems to me that conversion as a change in the way I look at the world is another way of trying to promote understanding of what it means to be baptized for the catechumens in our RCIA

A Life of Prayer

The reflection for our next RCIA session asks us about out prayer life, when we pray, and when we find prayer difficult. When I look back on my own prayer life I don't think that I had much of a prayer life for a long time. Like many Catholics my age I think that the experience of prayer that sticks in my mind is the family recitation of the rosary before bed time. The rosary then was an exercise in rote memory. I don't remember praying for anything during this and I'm not sure that I had much of a "connection" with God during this early prayer. I think that my first real experience (like those of many) of prayer was with the prayer of petition. So, in times of crisis I remember praying to God to help or to heal someone.

It is embarrassing to admit it but I think my prayer life only began to develop a few years ago. I first began a regular prayer life when the Catholic school where I was teaching finally got a chapel. I began to spend quiet time there before school began in the morning. That habit of setting aside time to pray in the morning has stayed with me through the last years of my teaching career and the first years of my retirement. During this time I also began the practice of praying the Liturgy of the Hours. This method of prayer had two advantages for me. First of all, it maintained for me the habit of praying at a particular time (In my parish we have a community celebration of Morning Prayer which I try to attend every day.). Secondly, the Liturgy of the Hours led me to examine more closely other kinds of prayer than the prayer of petition. The psalms which are the basis of the Liturgy of the Hours praise God, give thanks to God, and many other things in addition to asking God for blessings. I have to confess again that my use of the Liturgy of the Hours for other times of the day has not been as regular as for Morning prayer.
Another thing that has influenced my prayer life in the last few months has been my involvement in the hospital ministry of our parish. It has been quite natural for me to pray for those people I meet during these hospital visits and this intercessory prayer has helped my prayer life a lot. Here I have found that returning to my early experience of praying the Rosary has been a help.

Sometimes prayer is not easy. Quite often my mind does not want to dwell on God and instead I find myself think of any number of other things. I am not sure what causes this (short of attention deficit disorder). I take some consolation from the prayer of Thomas Merton that: "the desire to please you, does in fact please you.' So at these times of distraction I hope that the honest effort to pray does also please God.

God Speaks To Us

Our reflection question for the next RCIA session has to do with scripture. We are asked to reflect on the question: "what does the Bible mean to you right now"? Regarding this question it seems to me that my thinking has evolved over the years as I gained experience and exposure to scripture studies. I think that when I first found scripture compelling it was because of the question: did this really happen? So I was interested in the stories of Exodus and the questions of historicity. Did the Exodus really happen and what proof is there in the historical record of this event? I think that media like newspapers and television still devote a lot of attention to these kind of questions. The fuss over the Da Vinci Code and over the supposed tomb of the family of Jesus reflects such interest. Ultimately though, this question (while it might be interesting) has little to say to me regarding my relationship with God.

A more useful question then, became (and still is): Does this happen today? The importance of this question and its relevance to the spiritual life first came to me in connection with a passage from Exodus 16. In the passage the Israelites have only just passed from slavery in Egypt into the desert. Very soon the people complain to Moses and Aaron: "If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." (Ex 16:3) If you only ask if this incident happened in the past the verse is quite meaningless. If you ask if such a thing does happen there is a chance to gain insight into our relationship with God. This came to me after an incident in my own life. Someone very close to me had gone through a very bad marriage. He abused alcohol and drugs as well as his family. When she and her four children finally left him everyone thought that it was for the best. To my surprise a year or so later she told me that she was thinking of going back to him. After a discussion with her it became clear what was happening. She knew what he was like but the stress and challenges of going on her own seemed to be too much. She was on welfare and trying to train for the job market (after being a housewife for 15 years or so). One of her sons was having profound behavioral problems. So the stress and uncertainty of being free (like the Israelites) led her to think of the security that she had before; even though, like the Israelites, she existed then in a form of slavery. And so, when I began to look at Exodus, and all scripture, in this way I began to see the Bible as something that could speak to me and my condition here and now. I also think that in a simple way this addresses the question about the problem of literalism regarding the Bible. I no longer am interested in the question of could creation have happened exactly as described in Genesis. Instead I can pay more attention to the lessons that the stories of Genesis have for me today.

A Journey of Faith

For our next RCIA session we were asked to reflect on the question: How are you, here and now, on a journey of faith." As I reflect on this question I can see that I have been on this journey but I have not always been making progress on the journey. I am a "cradle Catholic" and so when I was younger I often took many aspects of my faith for granted. The first event that shook me was attending St. Anthony's College run by the Franciscan fathers. There I met some men who had a powerful influence on me and I made a decision to enter the Franciscan seminary in Detroit Michigan. This was a major step for a farm boy from northern Alberta. I spent two years at this seminary but while I had lots of new experiences I (looking back on it) did not grow much in my faith. The next year when I was most of the way through the novititate I came to this realization and decided that it would be best if I left the seminary.

The decision to leave was a very difficult one for me and I think that for many years after that my faith journey was not an important part of my life. I was kind of like the Hebrew people on their journey from slavery to the promised land who stopped at the oasis and wanted to stay there because it was easy and comfortable. Anyway, my searching for something to do eventually led me to the teaching profession and I spent many years as a high school teacher. I think that the demands of teaching were good for me. I especially recognized over time the importance of caring for other people and while I was not a great teacher I think that most of my students believed that I cared about them - and mostly I did.

I think that the next step in my journey came when I retired from teaching. People have this funny notion that retired people should be taken up with leisure and travel. One of the first things that I did though, was to complete a Masters degree in religious education. Following that I became more involved with RCIA and that involvement helped me to grow in my faith. Journeying with people who are trying to come to grips with their spiritual calling helped me to examine my own faith. More recently my involvement with the hospital ministry of my parish has been important to me. Meeting and bringing the Eucharist to so many people and praying for them afterward has been a great help for me. Even more recently taking a lead role in the RCIA program has been an important opportunity again for me to reflect on my own faith and on what is important in life.

I summary then, I can see how my faith journey has many characteristics with the journey of the Hebrew people told in the book of Exodus. I can see how God has been calling to me but I can also see how at times I have ignored God, or complained to God. Today, I hope that I am back on my journey trying to respond to God's call and trying to make progress on my journey.

RCIA and Alpha

Recently the director of the Alpha group in our parish suggested to me that we combine RCIA with Alpha during the time period before Christmas this coming year. Alpha is a movement dedicated to proclaiming the message of Jesus to people who have little or no connection to Jesus or to a faith community in their lives. Alpha has its origins in an evangelical offshoot of the Anglican Church and many Catholic communities (including our parish) have enthusiastically embraced the program. The Alpha program consists of a series of evenings where the group gathers for a meal followed by a video on the topic for the evening followed again by group discussion. The speaker on the videos is Nicky Gumbel who is a particularly effective presenter. The topics generally offer a "generic" and personalized version of what it means to be a Christian. I participated in Alpha a few years ago and found the message to be powerfully presented and the format of the evening to be enjoyable.

So, why not combine the RCIA group with Alpha? On the surface there are some good reasons why this would be a good idea. First of all we know that the first phase of RCIA is at least partly dedicated to evangelization (a first proclamation of the Gospel). So, this seems like a good fit with Alpha. Secondly, from a practical point of view, combining the groups (in our parish both groups have even been meeting on the same evening) would be an efficient use of staff and volunteer time.

But, of course, there are reasons why this is not a good idea. Most seriously, the Alpha talks do not give anything like a complete "picture" of what it means to be a Catholic Christian. Alpha pays little attention to sacraments specifically mentioning only Baptism and Eucharist. Alpha also pays little attention to what it means to be part of the Church. Finally, Alpha omits mention of anything that is distinctively Catholic (which is natural since its approach tries to be non - denominational). So, considering these shortcomings, Alpha does not seem to be an effective use of the limited amount of time available to the period of inquiry in the RCIA.

Next, the needs of the participants in RCIA in our parish during the period of inquiry generally have been more complicated than what is provided by Alpha. If all of our RCIA participants were coming from a basically "unchurched" and uncatechized background Alpha might be an effective way of providing this initial catechesis. The fact is however, that in my experience participants in our RCIA groups have tended to be mainly made up first of all of people who are married to a Catholic and who have been attending our Church. A second group has been people who have been active members of other Christian churches and who are seeking to join the Catholic church. Another group has been Catholics who have been baptized but who have not completed their sacraments of initiation. One of the things that this kind of group needs (particularly those people who have been catechized in another Christian church) in the period of inquiry in RCIA is an exposure to some of the distinctive feature of Catholicism. This gives them an opportunity to deal with any "issues" that they may have with the Church before proceeding to the next period of RCIA following the Rite of Acceptance and Welcome.

I am aware that our RCIA should ideally take up more time than it currently does. Right now, our plan is to begin in mid September and wrap up around the time of Pentecost. If we moved to a time period of one year or longer for RCIA we might then have time, for example, to use Alpha as part of the period of inquiry for those who might benefit and then begin the formal period of RCIA after Christmas with the Rite of Acceptance coming just before Easter. This would provide much more time for a greater variety of experiences. During the coming year I hope that we can explore how to make this change to our RCIA program.

The Smouldering Wick

The gospel for today, Saturday of the 15th week of ordinary time, has another passage that interests me here and now. In the passage (Matthew 12:14-21) the evangelist applies to Jesus the prophecy of Isaiah 42 including the words, "He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smouldering wick until he brings justice to victory." In the commentaries I have seen there seems to be a range of opinions about what this means and how it is to be applied but most say that it refers to the gentleness and meekness of Jesus. I liked the insight of St Jerome (quoted in the Catena Aurea): "He who despises a weak spark of faith in a little one, he quenches a smoking flax (wick)."

I think that this passage again illustrates one of the tensions facing the Church when it deals with adult faith formation, especially with regard to sacramental preparation. In our parish, for example, the RCIA director and the person in charge of marriage preparation have been troubled by the prevalence of young couples who have "irregular" living arrangements (they are as yet unmarried, but living together). When the pastor asked an outside expert about the seriousness of these "impediments" the expert answered that on the most basic level the answer depended on your point of view. If the pastor thinks that the Church should be smaller and more faithful to Church teachings he will act one way. If the pastor thinks that the Church should take care not to quench the smouldering wick he will act another way.

I like the point of view about taking care not to quench the smouldering wick. Sometimes people, for various reasons, are not capable of giving full expression to their faith in all that they do. In these cases these people need to be treated with the gentleness of Christ, welcomed, and invited to a fuller encounter with Christ and his Church. So, on the one hand, the Church must be welcoming; but on the other hand, the Church needs to be faithful to its message. This is clearly something that is done on a case by case basis and requires great understanding on the part of the Church representative dealing with this issue.

So, would I as someone involved with RCIA, ever send someone away from the group on the basis that they are not fit or ready for Baptism. I think that the answer has to be that I would not want to send them away but in certain circumstances (that I don't think I could outline right now) I would suggest that they delay Baptism until some future time. This is what has been done in the group I work with. A few years ago a man from a strong evangelical background came to us. During the Catechumenate he had great trouble with the doctrines surrounding Mary. When the time came for reception into the Church (at Easter Vigil) he was told that he needed to decide on his own if he could make the public promise that people being received into the Church make. He decided that at that time he could not, but a couple of years later was received into the Church. So, he was not excluded by the pastor or the RCIA director, but was invited to discern for himself the path he should follow. This, I think, made things work out for the best.

Touching the hem of the garment

One of the gospel passages that has fascinated me for a long time is the passage from today's Eucharist (Matt 9:18-26). The main focus of the passage seems to be the leader of the synagogue who summons Jesus to revive his daughter. While on the way Jesus encounters the women who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. Commentators note that this ailment would have made the women ritually "unclean" and she would therefore have been an outcast during all this time. Because of her shame the women can not bring herself to stand before Jesus to ask his help as the leader of the synagogue had done. Instead the best she can do is to reach out to touch the fringe of his cloak (hem of the garment) in the belief that by doing this she will be made well and her faith is rewarded. Her faith has made her well.

On one level both stories are of faith. Both the woman and the leader of the synagogue have great faith and their faith is rewarded by Jesus. On another level the story shows an important part of the mission of Jesus. These miracles are signs that the Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus is indeed at hand. Still, I am struck by the difference in status between the leader of the synagogue and the woman. He is a man of great status and we see this when Jesus encounters a great crowd at the leader's house. By contrast the woman is an outcast. Still, the results of their encounters with Jesus are the same. Jesus fulfills their deepest needs. So, an important message that I get from this passage is that we should be careful about judging the faith of people by externals or by status. We see something similar in the story of the Pharisee and the Publican. The faith of people is not something external and cannot necessarily be judged by the Church groups a person belongs to or even (perhaps) how often a person attends Mass. Of course eventually faith does have to manifest itself in works of some kind. I find this insight helpful when dealing with inquirers to RCIA. We want them to tell their stories but we want to be careful about judging their initial motives for signing up. We do of course, want them to experience growth as they go through the process that is part of the RCIA.

RCIA Planning

With a new director of RCIA in our parish for next year (the previous one moved away) we have the opportunity to reflect on the ideals and the practicalities of planning for the coming year. The most obvious issue for planning is the length of the process. In this parish for many years the model used has been based on starting in mid September and finishing around the beginning of June. This model has some positive aspects. The planning is fairly simple and the demands on staff and volunteers, although extensive, are not excessive.

There are, of course, some drawbacks to this model for RCIA. The length of the program is an obvious problem. If the catechumens and candidates are to have a "full" catechesis as called for by the rite there is simply not enough time provided by this model. Secondly, as Thomas Morris points out in THE RCIA TRANSFORMING THE CHURCH, this model imposes itself over the individual needs of the prospective members of the Church. If someone inquires about joining the Church in December should you require them to wait almost a year to begin RCIA? So the ideal seems to be to have a program that is longer than the one we have and, again ideally, to have a way for inquirers to join at any time.

Despite the obvious desirability of trying a different model for RCIA for the coming year I think that I am in favor of maintaining our current model. One reason is simply because in addition to a new director of RCIA we will also likely have a new pastor. Secondly, a more expansive model requires significantly more involvement from volunteers in order to succeed. In the past few years we have had problems recruiting sponsors (despite significant efforts) and our RCIA team remains relatively small. The danger is that expanding the demands on these people, however desireable that is, might simply lead to volunteer burnout. What needs to be done in the coming year is to do some things to educate the parish about the role that RCIA could play in the faith life of the community. If we could simply reinforce the basic understanding that adult initiation is the work of the entire community we might have the sponsors and the volunteers that we need to make more basic changes in the future.

Spiritual Healing

Our next RCIA topic is reconciliation. As preparation for the topic we are asked to reflect on a past experience of healing. Well, I readily admit to being a sinner in need of forgiveness but I'm pretty sure that I don't want to publicly share my sins with the rest of the group (and I hope the rest of the group feels the same way). I can share my experience of seeing healing and forgiveness in other people though.

Alcoholics Anonymous with its twelve steps is a program that has enabled people who have been stuck in a pattern of sin to leave their sin behind and embrace a new way of life. Some years ago J. Keith Miller in his book A Hunger For Healing: the Twelve Steps as a Classic Model for Christian Spiritual Growth provided valuable insights into the potential of the twelve steps as a model for spiritual healing. In his book Miller give his Twelve Steps of Sinners Anonymous:

1. We admitted we were powerless over our Sin - that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

These twelve steps provide a good snapshot of the process of spiritual repentance and reconciliation. I note that it recognizes the importance of Divine grace in steps two, three, five, six, and seven. I also note the importance of "confessing" to another person (step five).

I know many people who have struggled with alcoholism. I think of one friend who struggled with booze since his teen years. We often drank together and I recognize that I easily could have fallen into the same pattern that he did. The point is that he did go to AA meetings for some time and remains friends with his sponsor - but he has not stopped drinking. I do know of another person who went through the same pattern. At some point though she entered AA and has been working her twelve steps since then. This has left her free to become a different person. As far as I know she has not had another drink. She was raised in the Anglican church and felt drawn back to church. She is now a candidate in RCIA for entrance to the Catholic church at Easter. In her career life she has become a caregiver for challenged people. She is the adoptive guardian of a 40 something lady who was left mentally handicapped by a drug overdose. She devotes her spare time to coaching in the special Olympic movement. I have to say that working the twelve steps has been an occasion of considerable spiritual healing for this person.

Scripture and Tradition

Chapter II of the Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum) explains the teaching of the Church regarding the role of both Scripture and Tradition in the handing on of the faith. Following are some points mainly from scripture that point to the role of tradition in Divine Revelation.

First of all we have the question of scripture itself. How do we know what books are in the canon of scripture and what books are left out? We cannot find an answer to this question in scripture itself. The answer has to be found in the tradition of the Church eventually given written form by a council of the Church. Regarding Hebrew Scriptures; why does the canon here differ between Protestant churches and the Catholic Church. The answer again is found in tradition. The Catholic Church accepted into the canon of scripture all those books included by the Alexandrian tradition (the Septuagint translation) while during the Reformation Protestant churches instead accepted the later canon of the Palestinian tradition.

Secondly, we find this testimony at the end of John’s gospel: (John 21:25)

25But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

If Jesus is the complete revelation of God and only some of what he said and did was eventually written down it makes sense to me that some of what he taught could also be part of the tradition of the early Church. Also, if we accept the verdict of scripture scholars that the Gospels were written down some time after the life of Christ we must accept that originally the stories of Jesus were handed on by the tradition of the early Church before the scriptures were even put into written form.

We can see evidence of this early tradition in the letters of Paul. For example in 1Corinthian 11:2 we find:

2 I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I handed them on to you.

Here Paul seems to be saying that the normal way of passing on the teachings of Christ was through oral tradition. Again in 2Thessalonians 2:14-15 we find:

14For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news,* so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15So then, brothers and sisters,* stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.

Here Paul says that the traditions were passed on both by written letters and by word of mouth. In the second letter to Timothy Paul makes references to tradition as well as to scripture

14For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news,* so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15So then, brothers and sisters,* stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter. (2Timothy 1:13-14) Note the virtual repetition from 2 Thessalonians.

2You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; 2and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well (2Timothy 2:1-2). Note that Timothy hears the message rather than reading it.

Finally, in the second letter of John we find a passage indicating the desire of the teacher to talk face to face with the people rather than communicating through written letter. (A sentiment found also in 1Thessalonians 3:10).

12 Although I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink; instead I hope to come to you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete. (2John 12)

Additionally, in Acts 8: 30-31 we see demonstrated a need for people to have help interpreting the scripture. This help comes from tradition.

Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over to this chariot and join it.’ 30So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ 31He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.

So, it seems to me that there are verses in the scripture that point to a role for tradition as well as for written scripture in passing on the Word of God. We must of course have a proper understanding of what tradition is (it is not the whim of the Magisterium) and we must understand that Tradition and Scripture go together. (All quotes are taken from the NRSV translation of Scripture)

Prayer, the Saints, and RCIA

Inquirers in RCIA sometimes have questions about the role of saints in Catholic prayer. The first thing to note is that Catholics do not pray to the saints in the sense that they (the saints) have any power of their own. We ask them to pray with us to God, just as I can ask people in my family or community to pray with me to God. We do assume that they can hear us because they are with God, and lived very good holy lives. We feel their prayers joined to ours will be powerful. However, we do not think that it is necessary or essential to pray to saints. The one mediator (intercessor) is Jesus who is the bridge between God and us. Jesus is really the essential conduit. However, we do venerate the saints, which is not to say that we give them adoration and honor due to God alone. It means that we honor them as people who cooperated with God’s grace in this life and are among the great cloud of witnesses in heaven as the Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

2683 The witnesses who have preceded us into the kingdom,
especially those whom the Church recognizes as saints, share
in the living tradition of prayer by the example of their lives, the
transmission of their writings, and their prayer today. They
contemplate God, praise him and constantly care for those whom they
have left on earth. When they entered into the joy of their Master,
they were "put in charge of many things."42 Their intercession is
their most exalted service to God's plan. We can and should ask
them to intercede for us and for the whole world.

The saints are fully human and they give us an example and the hope that we too can succeed if we persevere in doing God’s will. Again, the Catechism says:

956 The intercession of the saints. "Being more closely united to
Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more
firmly in holiness. . . .[T]hey do not cease to intercede with the
Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on
earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ
Jesus. . . . So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly
helped." (1Tim 2:1-5)

Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death
and I shall help you then more effectively than during my
life. (St. Dominic on his deathbed to his brothers)

I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth. (St Theresa of Lisieux)

Note the pattern of prayer when the Church remembers saints:

“Father, you endowed Anthony Claret with the strength of love and patience to preach the Gospel to many nations. By the help of his prayers may we work generously for your kingdom and gain our brothers and sisters for Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.” (Liturgy of Hours, Oct 24)

Notice that the prayer is addressed to the Father. The example of the saint (in this case, Anthony Claret) is mentioned and the prayer is summarized through Jesus who is the intercessor. Again, the Catechism has this to say about the prayer of intercession:

2634 Intercession is a prayer of petition which leads us to pray
as Jesus did. He is the one intercessor with the Father on behalf of
all men, especially sinners.112 He is "able for all time to save those
who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make
intercession for them."113 The Holy Spirit "himself intercedes for
us . . . and intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."(Romans 8:26-27)

2635 Since Abraham, intercession - asking on behalf of another
- has been characteristic of a heart attuned to God's mercy. In the age
of the Church, Christian intercession participates in Christ's, as an
expression of the communion of saints. In intercession, he who prays
looks "not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others,"
even to the point of praying for those who do him harm..(Phil 2:4)
2577
2636 The first Christian communities lived this form of fellowship
intensely.116 Thus the Apostle Paul gives them a share in his
ministry of preaching the Gospel117 but also intercedes for them.(Phil 1:3-4)
The intercession of Christians recognizes no boundaries: "for all
men, for kings and all who are in high positions," for persecutors,
for the salvation of those who reject the Gospel.( 2Tim: 2:1)

So, to summarize:
1. Intercessory prayer (praying for the needs of another) is a basic form of prayer.
2. Our belief in the communion of saints means that we remain in community (communion) with those people who have gone before us and are now in heaven.
3. When we remember the saints in our prayers we do not pray for them (that would be pointless) and we do not pray to them (that honor is due to God alone). Rather we remember their example and dare to hope that their prayers might help us on our own journey. Note that occasionally Mary will be addressed in a manner than is different from all other saints. This reflects her unique relationship with Jesus but still does not change the basic pattern of our prayer.

RCIA and Church

At the end of RCIA last week I was impressed with the amount of intelligent participation from most of the inquirers in our group. When I think of the coming session tomorrow I worry a little. I hope and I pray that we can keep the positive atmosphere and good participation going. I know that when good things happen in RCIA that it is the work of the Holy Spirit but I hope that the participants and the team can keep co-operating with the Spirit. Most especially I know that in RCIA a lot is expected of everyone. I hope that I don't say or do anything that would make this experience into a burden for anyone.
The notion of burden is an important one. Many of the blogs that I read on the subject of RCIA deliver the impression that the writer definitely felt that RCIA was a burden and that the Rite was simply a hoop to jump through. From the viewpoint of the Church sacramental preparation (like preparation for adult initiation) is a key opportunity for catechesis. So for the participant (and in the RCIA) the whole process is an opportunity for grace. It is an opportunity obviously to grow in relationship with God.
Another thing that bothers me (or worries me) is the notion that members of the RCIA team are somehow "gatekeepers" of the sacraments of initiation. In other words that we will evaluate participants and decide if they are "worthy" of admittance to the Church. There is no question that this idea was part of the RCIA in historical times and I recently read a blog where the writer bragged that he had excluded a number of the people that he had sponsored from admittance. In this parish I know of no case where that has happened. We regularly have people who withdraw on their own from RCIA at some point after speaking with the Father but nobody has ever been excluded by the team. Such a thing could happen I suppose if the participant was giving some kind of public scandal but it has not happened so far.
The most interesting question from the session last week was one that I had not heard from an inquirer before. She asked about spiritual dryness. She, or her friend, was getting discouraged in prayer and found it difficult to continue. Off the top of my head I recalled the fuss that surrounded the Time magazine article about Mother Theresa's "dark night" in her own prayers and used that to assure the lady that such "dryness" could be perfectly normal. Thinking about it since then I realize that for beginners (if that is what the inquirer here is) the answer is probably simpler than the "dark night" one. Firstly, someone might begin praying or meditating with great enthusiasm but with a preconceived notion of what ought to be the result of this prayer. When the preconceived result does not come the person might become disillusioned. Of course prayer is an encounter with God and it does not automatically follow that we can determine the result on our own. God has something to say here. Secondly, it is possible that we might begin to pray with motives that are tainted in some way. We might hope for example that becoming a leader in prayer will establish some kind of status in the Church. In such circumstances people might become disillusioned with prayer as well. So beginners can experience their own sort of "dark night of the soul" but that does not need to place them in the same category as John of the Cross or Mother Theresa.

Finally, in preparation for the session tomorrow, we are asked to reflect on our initial reactions to the word "Church". For me, this word brings me back to the Church of my early childhood. I remember the old church at St. Emerence parish. I remember the pews, and the Latin (especially Father singing the preface) and the incense and the bells. I'm not sure what feelings I connect with this. I suppose that it was a feeling of mystery and comfort at the same time.

RCIA journey

This year's rcia for our parish shows a lot of promise. We have an interesting group (9 people so far, I think) So far the group is all female and composed mainly of teachers from our Catholic school system. We are using the Growing in Faith Project by Bill Huebsch from Twenty Third Publications for the first time in RCIA. This is based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church and was intended to be for Adult study groups. One of the good things about this resource is that it provides solid doctrinal content and asks questions in a mature way. One problem is that the program has 48 booklets while we don't have nearly that many weeks available to us in this years RCIA (especially considering the early date for Easter this year). So, I would have to say that as we begin this year I am eager to see how some of the changes we have made work and I am hopeful that together the group for this year can grow in their faith journey.

One of the things about RCIA that is important is the notion that everyone in the whole faith community is on a journey (not just those who are candidates or catechumens). Religious conversion is not a single event deal. Yes, we celebrate Baptism as a sacrament of initiation into the Church. But Baptism (especially for persons baptized as adults) only comes after a process of initial interest in the Gospel and growth toward acceptance of the Baptismal commitment (which is to continue to progress in our faith journey until we finally meet God face to face.

So, my faith journey began when I was baptized a few days after I was born (you could also say that my journey began even earlier than that since I was created by God with the ultimate destiny of union with Him). When I look back on my personal faith journey I can see similarities with the journey of the Israelites in the book of Exodus. My journey has had (as the journey of anyone could) times of :

• intense interest in and awareness of the journey.
• a lack of interest and a lack of progress on the journey.
• doubt about how to proceed on the journey.
• doubting God and even anger with God.

I know that some of the steps that I have taken on my journey have been the correct ones. I still worry that sometimes I have missed or might still miss an important step on my journey. I also have hope that I will be able to leave behind some of the things that still keep me from Christ and eventually "meet God face to face".

Sponsors and the RCIA

Someone blogging about his start in the RCIA recently wrote of his concern over being judged by the members of the RCIA team. They would, he wrote, discern whether he was discerning and the result could be him being discerned right out of the RCIA. Now on a RCIA team we know what the director does and we know what the catechist(s) does but what is the role of the sponsor (who presumably does some of the discerning in this writers eyes)?

The text for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults has this to say about sponsors:

"A sponsor accompanies any candidate seeking admission as a catechumen. Sponsors are persons who have known and assisted the candidates and stand as witnesses to the candidates' moral character, faith, and intention. It may happen that it is not the sponsor for the rite of acceptance and the period of the catechumenate but another person who serves as godparent for the periods of purification and enlightenment and of mystagogy."

So according to this document a sponsor can have the role of "standing as witnesses" with regard to a catechumen's readiness for the sacraments. We evidence for this role as early as in the writings of Origen (c. 185 - 253). Remember though that in the situations that Origen faced the Church was still a persecuted minority. As a result of this reality great care was needed to make sure that those presenting themselves for Baptism actually understood all that was involved and were prepared to live their lives accordingly. So, presumably if a sponsor in RCIA knows that a candidate for Baptism is living a public life that is obviously in conflict with their Baptismal vocation it would be appropriate for them to communicate this as part of a discernment process. It is unfortunate that this might convey an image of the RCIA team being in judgement however because the most basic ministry of the sponsors and the entire faith community in the RCIA is one of demonstrating hospitality and living the reality of their own faith. As the RCIA document puts it: "They (the community) should therefore show themselves ready to give the candidates evidence of the spirit of the Christian community and to welcome them into their homes, into personal conversation, and into community gatherings." This suggests that the most basic role of a sponsor is that of companion. A good way of coming to some understanding of this role is to look at the role of a sponsor in a 12 step program. We can see from this that the most basic requirement of a sponsor is that they be aware of their own spiritual journey and be able to talk informally with their candidate about their experiences. By offering welcome into the community the sponsor begins the process of providing their candidate with connections in the community that will enable their faith journey to continue and to flourish following their Baptism. In this context it is probably good that the RCIA document envisions the possibility of two sponsors. One at the beginning of the journey who can act as a companion and another near the time of the sacraments who can act as witness.

There are some things that might make a prospective sponsor less than ideal. Most basically, someone who has not been practicing their faith or who has serious issues with Church teaching might not make a good sponsor. We need to remember that RCIA focuses on the person seeking admission to the Church and personal issues should not compete with this central objective.

RCIA sessions

As we get toward the end of another year of RCIA it seems appropriate to reflect on what has happened in the past and also to reflect on what the sources have to tell us about what we are doing. As I read blogs on the topic of the RCIA (about 400 postings in a typical week according to Google) I notice a variety of opinions about what form RCIA sessions ought to take. Some critics of the RCIA complain that sessions consist only in participants talking about their feelings and consequently that these types of sessions are a waste of time. Others place strong emphasis on the knowledge content of the sessions. These people seem happy with a traditional question and answer catechism format for RCIA sessions. Each of these visions of catechesis are partly correct but incomplete in some way.
Jane Regan writing in Toward an Adult Church[i] gives a thoughtful summary of the various roles of catechesis. First of all catechesis informs. That is it presents the information needed to be an active member of the church. Secondly, catechesis forms. That is it introduces people to the way of life of the community of believers. Thirdly, catechesis transforms. That is, it provides people with a call to conversion. Regan maintains that effective catechesis needs to attend to all three of these dimensions and that, for example, a catechetical program that focused purely on informing its students would not necessarily produce desirable long term results.
Linda Vogel in Teaching and Learning in Communities of Faith[ii] gives us additional insight into what form adult religious education sessions (like RCIA) ought to take. She writes that the people who come to us have a great want and need.
· They have experienced some kind of disruption in their lives that needs attention.
· They need to reflect on their own experiences. (Their own journey or their own story.)
· They bring with them a new readiness to hear the words of the Christian story.
· They bring new eyes for seeing the connections between their stories and the story of the Christian community. (They are ready to see how they fit into the Church).
· They bring a readiness to celebrate all this through remembering and ritual. (This is an interesting observation in light of the fact that Vogel is a professor in an Evangelical college and was not writing about the RCIA at the time.)
· They bring a readiness to act on their new experiences and understandings.
Finally, Margaret Brillinger writing in Adult Religious Education[iii] gives us five basic principles of adult learning.
· Since adult learners are more in control of their own learning than children the role of the adult educator is more of a coach, supporter or facilitator and less of a knower or imparter of information. This for me is always a temptation. When time is short it is very easy for me to lapse into the lecture or even (heaven forbid) the preaching mode of subject delivery.
· Adults bring with them a variety of experiences and insecurities. They need to be treated with respect and to be able to collaborate with each other in the project of learning.
· Adults learn best when they have some input (or stake in) into the planning of a learning session. They need to have a sense of responsibility for what, why and how they learn.
· Adults need to be able to make a connection between their own experiences and what is being presented in the learning session.
· All people (including adults) have a variety of learning styles. Learning is enhanced by a variety of activities and structures that appeal to a range of learning styles.
So, what does this tell us about the general “shape” of an ideal RCIA session? First of all, it indicates that lecture is not an ideal format for an RCIA session. Secondly, I should point out that the specific focus of a session is going to differ depending on what stage of the RCIA we are in (sessions at the inquiry phase have a different focus than later sessions in the journey). I should also point out that some authors like Thomas Morris[iv]strongly suggest that lectionary catechesis is the ideal for RCIA. I would only point out that such a method makes huge demands regarding preparation of sessions on an RCIA team that is largely made up of volunteers.
Finally, it seems to me that generally a session should begin with prayer. Next, a topic should be introduced in such a way as to invite the participation of the group as well as an encounter with the teachings of the Church regarding this topic. Next should follow activities that engage the participants in some way. I think that it is important here that the conversations that take place here do not just focus on the feelings of the participants. These are important but the story of the Christian community has to be included in the conversation as well. Then should follow some kind of wrap-up where participants review what has been experienced as well as the teaching of Scripture and of the Church. Lastly, each session should conclude with a prayer.
This general picture of an RCIA session has some important implications. For me, the most important one is that of time. If we are to provide a fairly comprehensive catechesis (as the Rite requires) and if we are to follow a general format like that suggested above time appears to be at a premium. How many minutes are needed for an effective topic session? How do we get all of the needed topics into the limited number of evenings available? Additionally the catechist needs time to prepare for these sessions. I think that the most important skill for these sessions is the skill of preparing and asking appropriate questions. The leader can not simply direct the sessions (remember adults learn best when they are in charge of their own learning) but needs to anticipate the directions that the group might go in their discussions. The role of the lectionary is also important. We have been devoting the first quarter of our sessions to the lectionary. If we put more emphasis on dismissal catechesis would that be a sufficient emphasis on the lectionary? Lastly comes the question of print resources for RCIA sessions. There are many available. In our Parish we currently use the package prepared by Liguori publications. We use the handouts mainly for the participants to read following the evening session. Is there a better way to use these resources? Do participants actually read them? Is there a better set of resources that we could use?


[i] Regan, Jane E. Toward an Adult Church: A Vision of Faith Formation, Loyola Press, 2002.
[ii] Vogel, Linda J. Teaching and Learning in Communities of Faith, Jossey Bass, 1991.
[iii] Brillinger, Margaret Fisher. Adult Learning in a Religious Context. Adult Religious Education: A Journey of Faith Development, Gillen and Taylor ed. Paulist Press, 1995.
[iv] Morris, Thomas H. The RCIA: Transforming the Church, Paulist Press, 1997.

Sacramental Catechesis

Confirmation denied

A local paper in the USA tells the story of an adult who was apparently told, just before the ceremony, by her Bishop that she could not receive the sacrament of Confirmation until she had been properly catechized:

Belleville Bishop Edward K. Braxton set off a flurry of e-mail messages among priests and diocesan insiders when he told a 20-year-old Catholic woman she had not studied enough to allow him to confer the sacrament of confirmation.
The ensuing controversy regarding the woman's unsuccessful attempt on April 10 to be confirmed at St. Michael's Church in Paderborn raised questions about Braxton's ministerial style among some Catholics, criticism that was offset by a statement from the diocesan chancellor's office citing community praise for the bishop's interaction with parishioners.
The controversy also resulted in a statement from Braxton to St. Michael's pastor, the Rev. James Voelker, and by inference to all diocesan pastors, that they need to ensure that those who seek confirmation, whether adults or young people, should first receive the necessary educational and spiritual preparation.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, confirmation is "a sacrament in which the Holy Ghost is given to those already baptized in order to make them strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Christ." It is usually conferred at ages 12-13 by a bishop.
Nicole Schilling, of New Athens, where she attends church at a different parish, and nine of her relatives heard the bishop's decision moments before the ceremony and angrily left the event, said Voelker. Schilling, an employee of King's House in Belleville, a religious retreat run by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, did not bring a required baptismal certificate and was not known to the pastor of her home parish, Braxton said in a statement.
Schilling declined to comment.
Braxton told the woman she would need at least 10, one-hour education sessions and "some time for prayer and reflection," Voelker said.
"He has no capability of seeing anything other than his own views," Voelker said of Braxton.
While a diocesan spokesman said the bishop does not publicly discuss his private messages to priests, Braxton, in a written response to questions from the News-Democrat, stated, "The case in question involves a candidate who was presented to me moments before the celebration of the sacrament with no catechesis (religious instruction) of any kind, stating that she had been told, quite incorrectly, that as an adult she needed no preparation. ... This is simply not true and contrary to everything the Church intends in the sacraments."
Voelker said he was confident of the woman's sincerity. He said she had completed some earlier reading about Catholicism and he thought that was enough for confirmation.
"How many of us perform marriages when we know that people have very little understanding of the sacrament and all they really want is a nice setting? Do we stop doing them?" Voelker asked.

Much has already been written in the blogs about this story. First of all, it is true that baptized Catholics have a right to the sacraments of the Church. It is also true that in times past the Church taught that sacraments were effective means of grace in and of themselves (irrespective of the merits of the minister or the recipient of the sacrament). It is also true that since in the eastern Churches confirmation is given to infants – obviously without prior catechesis. I confess I was upset some years ago when the chaplain at the home where my mother lived informed me that she could no longer receive the Eucharist since her dementia seemed to have deprived her of an understanding of what the Eucharist was. My feeling was that she should continue to receive the Eucharist as long as this could be done without risk of some kind of desecration of the Host.

However, it is also true that the Church has an obligation to provide catechesis, including sacramental catechesis, as a way of inviting adult Catholics to continue their growth in faith. The General Directory for Catechesis (175) identifies the following general tasks of adult catechesis:
– to promote formation and development of life in the Risen Christ by adequate means: pedagogy of the sacraments, retreats, spiritual direction. . .
– to educate toward a correct evaluation of the socio-cultural changes of our societies in the light of faith: thus the Christian community is assisted in discerning true values in our civilization, as well as its dangers, and in adopting appropriate attitudes;
– to clarify current religious and moral questions, that is, those questions which are encountered by the men and women of our time: for example, public and private morality with regard to social questions and the education of future generations;
– to clarify the relationship between temporal actions and ecclesial action, by demonstrating mutual distinctions and implications and thus due interaction; to this end, the social doctrine of the Church is an integral part of adult catechesis;
– to develop the rational foundations of the faith: that the right understanding of the faith and of the truths to be believed are in conformity with the demands of reason and the Gospel is always relevant; it is therefore necessary to promote effectively the pastoral aim of Christian thought and culture: this helps to overcome certain forms of fundamentalism as well as subjective and arbitrary interpretations;
– to encourage adults to assume responsibility for the Church's mission and to be able to give Christian witness in society:
The adult is assisted to discover, evaluate and activate what he has received by nature and grace, both in the Christian community and by living in human society; in this way, he will be able to overcome the dangers of standardization and of anonymity which are particularly dominant in some societies of today and which lead to loss of identity and lack of appreciation for the resources and qualities of the individual.
So, it seems to me that catechesis, particularly sacramental catechesis, is important to the Church and should be important in the faith life of the people. The GDC also tells us that because adults are the most able to give full assent to faith the catechesis of adults as in the RCIA should provide the template for all forms of catechesis. It seems to me therefore in our news story above, that despite the fact that sacraments like confirmation might be administered without prior catechesis there is a strong case to be made that such catechesis is needed most of the time. So I think that the Bishop in this case was correct in what he did although he may have handled the matter more diplomatically. It seems to me that the issue here is more between the Bishop and the Pastor than anything else.
Should previously baptized Christians always go through RCIA when preparing for reception into the Church? As I have said above I think the answer is mostly yes. Generally the people I have encountered in my time as catechist in RCIA have not had a good knowledge of Christianity. There have been some notable exceptions to this but even here we have to be careful. I have read for example in some blog comments complaints by some who considered themselves well advanced in their faith and knowledge who felt indignant at being “lumped” together with uncatechized people in RCIA. While it is true that some people who come from other Christian faiths might have a strong knowledge of Christianity it seems to me that such comments demonstrate a lack of formation in the notion of Church. The Church is always composed of a variety of faith experience and backgrounds. One of the things that RCIA can do, if we do it well, is to give participants an experience of formation in community. As someone once pointed out: Catechesis seeks to provide not only information (religious literacy), but also formation, and transformation (ongoing conversion).

Easter Vigil

The Easter Vigil liturgy is of course the high point of the journey for participants in the RCIA. In our parish we had four catechumens baptized (one other catechumen had to be out of town and will be baptized later). We also had adults and children being received into the church as well as one young girl who was present for confirmation. This is one of the smallest groups in our parish for quite a while. Before the service some people were quite nervous. One young lady (a first year teacher in our Catholic school system) told me that if she fainted she would never come back to church again. I reminded her that as a first year teacher she had already survived the first week of school, unruly students, parent meetings, and administrators and so she would most likely survive this (she did). Still, some people do feel uncomfortable in front of a large group (Our church was about three quarters full, so 350 people or so).

The liturgy itself went well. We had gone over the liturgy so the candidates and the catechumens knew what to expect. The liturgy began outside just as the sun was setting so the entrance into the church was not in complete darkness. The exsultet was partly sung and partly proclaimed by the deacon and the presider. We had four priests and a deacon present (not a common blessing in most parts of this diocese). The proclaiming part of the exsultet was because since the previous pastor left (he has an amazing singing voice and is the archbishop now) people feel inadequate as singers in comparison. The liturgy of the readings went as expected. We had already reflected on the readings in a retreat context so it was possible to just listen to the proclamation (You could not follow in the missal since the church by now was completely dark). There was a small light at the ambo, another for the cantor, and a clip-on light on the sacramentary for the presider. I noticed that there were also lights on the step leading down from the ambo. This because of a history of lectors tripping in the dark while leaving the ambo. The readings were well proclaimed. The congregational refrain during the responsorial psalms was the same throughout. I thought that was a good idea. A number of cantors sung the responsorial psalms but it was difficult to make out the words to some of the psalms. This is a problems because the congregation can't just look at their missal since it is dark. The explosion of light and bells at the conclusion of the readings is always effective. The young girl in front of me was momentarily startled when the lights came on.

The actual liturgy of baptism, confirmation, and reception went well. People looked very serious and there were no mistakes. I was struck during the litany of saints how much support the church tries to provide to everyone, but especially to the neophytes, on their journey of faith. We had rehearsed the reception of the Eucharist ahead of time. I still am surprised by how much we "cradle Catholics" take for granted about the rituals and prayers of the Church. New people need to be reminded and assured about some very basic things. Sometimes its hard to remember this when you are concerned about "covering" a certain amount of knowledge as well.

So, we have had our sacramental experience. The challenge of course is to continue living that experience. How do we continue to journey in our spiritual lives? How do we continue to be open to the meaning of the Paschal mystery in our lives? This is the challenge of Mystagogia not just for the neophytes but for all the Church.

Candidates and Catechumens in the RCIA

I have read a number of blogs and articles about RCIA that cast a lot of doubt regarding the structure of the program and its value. Most recently a blogger implied that candidates deserved individual treatment regarding their initiation into the Church and should not be forced to associate with the unbaptized and the uncatechized. Regarding this I would like to offer a few observations of my own.

First of all; the RCIA is not a theology course. It is an experience that involves awareness of Catholic teachings but it also involves a degree of formation in Catholicism as well as providing for prayerful discernment regarding the call to Baptism or to full membership in the Catholic Church. This means that RCIA sessions should not be "just" about theology or "just" about the religious feelings and experiences of the group. All participants need to be exposed to enough of the Catholic vision of faith in order that they can draw from these riches on their own faith journey. They also need to be able to understand how their own faith journey relates to the story of the entire Church. So, I cringe when I read about catechists dealing with Aquinas and the Summa just as much as I cringe when I read that many groups learn nothing at all about Catholic doctrine.

Regarding the catechized and the uncatechized; I have certainly been part of groups where a candidate had a wealth of knowledge about Christianity (especially about scripture). Despite this most of the people (including sponsors) that I have met during my years of participation in RCIA groups have been seriously lacking in knowledge of their faith. My own hope when I encounter one of these well catechized candidates is not that they proceed to full membership in the Church ahead of the rest of the group (as was suggested by the blogger I mentioned earlier). What I would hope to happen is that these people are able to use their gifts and their knowledge to enhance the growth and the experience of other members of the group. Remember, that is what the Church is all about.

I also accept that there needs to be a process of discernment for people making such a momentous decision regarding their faith. Discernment, despite the impatience of the candidate or the catechumen takes time. In our parish a few years back one candidate who did not have the time or the patience for RCIA was given private instruction and baptized in a short period of time. A year later in a different diocese this same individual had already left the Church and was heavily involved in some new-age group. In our Parish people are normally in RCIA for about one year. In many ways, this is not enough time to do all that is asked of us yet it does provide some time for the element of discernment that is proper to religious initiation.