Q&A: “Implementing a Year-Round Catechumenate”
Posted on March 21st, 2012
Question: I am thrilled that I found this website. Thank you very much! We are currently trying to begin a year round process for RCIA. I understand and love the way you explained the Inquiry time, but I am very confused on the Rites, not that of Acceptance, but of Sending and Election. There is also the question of delegation which in our diocese is given once a year before the Rite of Election. If you help me understand this part of a year round RCIA, I would be very grateful! Also what if a person comes to us say, in January, they would begin with the Inquiry. This person is not baptized and does not know anything about the Catholic Faith. He would continue with the inquiry sessions then enter the catechumenate in the fall, is that correct? Thank you again!
Answer: You ask a great question. To have a year-round (“continuous” also seems to convey the idea well), we welcome new inquirers when they call. The simple answer to your question is that the Rites of Sending and Election are only done once a year: the 1st Sunday of Lent, and all the un-baptized wait for that day. Some spend [Click here to read the rest of this entry… » ]
Tags: normative guidelines
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Question and Answer About Meeting During Lent
Posted on April 15th, 2010
Q. This year, our pastor has announced that the RCIA will not meet during Lent. Is this something new? Have we been doing something wrong in the past?
A. Pastors are given authority over the Christian initiation process for the people he shepherds in a given parish. However, that authority exists within the context of higher authorities, that of his bishop and the Magisterium.
Regarding the Magisterium, its main voice in regard to Christian initiation is the Rite of Christian Initiation itself, and its accompanying guidelines. In those authoritative guidelines (see paragraphs 138-139), which were mandated for the United States as normative in 1988, there is a clear assumption that gatherings of those preparing for initiation are still ongoing during Lent (termed the Period of Purification and Enlightenment in the text). These guidelines specify that the formation of elect and candidates in this period takes on a more spiritual than catechetical bent. This is expressive of the fact that, as the guidelines state, “the catechumenal formation of the elect is completed” (paragraph 147), in terms of them having received the total necessary instruction on the Deposit of Faith, and therefore is about “more intense spiritual preparation, consisting more in interior reflection than in catechetical instruction” (paragraph 139).
The delivery of the full doctrine of the Church is indeed supposed to be completed before Lent, hence allowing them to make a decision to enter the Church, which is expressed and confirmed at the Rite of Election and the Call to Continuing Conversion. During Lent, the Church is clearly still forming them spiritually and in readiness for the sacraments. The possibility of gatherings for reflection and formation are also assumed in the option ‘B’ forms of the dismissals at the end of each of the Presentation Rites in Lent and at the end of the Scrutiny Rites (see paragraphs 155, 162, 169, 183).
Confirming this are the directives added by our U.S. bishops, normally published in the third appendix of the Vatican’s RCIA text. It states: “…beginning at acceptance into the order of catechumens and including both the catechumenate proper and the period of purification and enlightenment after election or enrollment of names should extend for at least one year of formation, instruction, and probation.” (National Statutes, paragraph 6).
Finally, you may wish to ask your diocesan office for a copy of its sacramental norms for the Christian initiation process, which may provide further support for your understanding of the Rite.
There has been no recent change that would modify these normative guidelines, and although the form of the gatherings certainly should be different from the doctrinal catechesis that precedes Lent, there is nothing to in any way prohibit or discourage gathering the RCIA group during the weeks of that period.
Tags: normative guidelines
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Why Should a Spouse Not Serve as a Sponsor?
Posted on July 31st, 2009
Q. I would like to know why it is not recommended to use fiancées or spouses as sponsors.
A. Inquirers sometimes suggest a Catholic spouse, fiancé(e), or “significant other” to serve as godparent or sponsor. It is not prohibited by the code of Canon Law or the ritual book, but it also is not advisable, even if they meet the canonical requirements.
The close emotional tie makes it difficult for the inquirer to freely choose to become a Catholic. It also is difficult for the godparent or sponsor to remain objective if problems arise that threaten the conversion, such as doubts about a certain doctrine on the part of the person who is trying to decide whether to become Catholic. There can be a temptation for the godparent or sponsor to not allow such a crisis to run its proper course, since he or she has so much stake in the person’s “successful” completion of the process. The participant then is deprived of the disinterested advice and loving, but non-pressuring support that a godparent or sponsor should be providing.
A pastoral solution for inquirers is appointing a parish sponsor and inviting the spouse, fiancé(e), or “significant other” to accompany the inquirer to the catechetical sessions and liturgies. Should a participant, however, then choose the spouse/fiancé(e)/”significant other” as a godparent before the Rite of Election (which cannot be prohibited), the leader might suggest that the participant choose the parish sponsor as another godparent, canonically permissible so long as both godparents are not of the same sex.
Tags: Sponsors
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How many go through RCIA in the US?
Posted on February 9th, 2009
Q. Each year, how many adults go through the RCIA process and are baptized in the United States?
A. In March of 2008, ZENIT News Agency published a great article titled “Thousands in US to Join Church” that answers this question. Approximately 65,000 adults are baptized in the Catholic Church each year. With approximately 240 million individuals aged 18 and above in the United States, sixty-five thousand is approximately 00.027% (a little over a fiftieth of one percent) of the adult population.
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The Role of the Mystagogue
Posted on December 16th, 2008
Q. What is the role of the mystagogue in the mystagogy process?
A.The term mystagogue can be defined as “a person who initiates into mysteries” and comes from two Greek words: mystes “one initiated into the mysteries” and agogos “leading, a leader.”
In the early Church, this concept was used to describe the bishop who gave what are known as “Mystagogical Homilies” – exhortations given to the newly baptized regarding the sacraments they had received at the Easter Vigil. One of the most famous of these mystagogical works is On the Mysteries by St. Ambrose of Milan. [Click here to read the rest of this entry… » ]
Tags: Mystagogue
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What about the Eastern Rites?
Posted on August 5th, 2008
Q. How often do RCIA programs include information on the other Churches in the Catholic fold (Maronites, Byzantines, etc.)? I know from my wife’s RCIA experience and from those of my friends (former catechumens and leaders alike) that they are rarely discussed if ever?
A. The frequency of mentioning the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church depends upon the RCIA leader and catechists in a given RCIA team. These rites should at least be introduced in a summary fashion during the catechumenate. In the RCIA Participant’s Book (part of the On the Journey Series of RCIA materials), we recommend giving the participants the handout under Special Topics that is titled: “What Is a Rite?“
Tags: Eastern Rites
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The Acclamations from Scripture
Posted on July 29th, 2008
Q. What are the acclamations from Scripture for in Appendix II of the RCIA manual?
A. The acclamations are found in the RCIA text (see RCIA 595). They are provided for RCIA leaders to make use of in Celebrations of the Word (Liturgies of the Word, see RCIA 81-89), normally following the “Alleluia” in preparation for the proclamation of the Gospel reading.
Tags: Acclamations
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9-Month vs. Year-Round
Posted on July 25th, 2008
Q. What are several reasons that a nine-month RCIA program is problematic? What are some suggestions for a parish planning to move to a year-round RCIA process?
A. Nine-months (i.e., the school-year model) is often too brief, especially for catechumens (see RCIA 76-77, National Statutes 6) to accomplish a thoroughly comprehensive formation envision by the Church. As well, because of the lack of time, the period of purification and enlightenment often gets appropriated as time to continue to try to unfold the Deposit of Faith (largely indistinguishable from the preceding catechumenate period), which is not what is envisioned by the RCIA text (see RCIA 139). This short period of time also fosters the temptation to try to get participants to all “finish up” by Easter, and to go through the Rites always as a group, rather than allowing individuals to freely discern their own readiness without the pressure of a calendar. Finally, a nine-month program is often not open, welcoming, or well-suited to inquirers who approach the parish at “inconvenient” times of the year. Most parishes that have developed the year-round process implied in the RCIA text have done so incrementally, after some years of living with the nine-month model while they worked to develop a team capable of offering a year-round catechumenate. Once implemented, a year-round process usually features a precatechumenate team (which may be as simple as a married couple who offers a Bible study, suited to inquirers, that is always open to newcomers, or as complex as a multiple-member team that provides much more diverse pastoral attention). Once an inquirer decides to go through the Rite of Acceptance or the Rite of Welcoming, then that he or she would transition to a new team – the catechumenate team, which would shepherd the person all the way through mystagogy. Some parishes develop a neophyte team as well, which, again, might be as simple as an in-home weekly or bi-weekly Bible study, a couple of people from the catechumenate team who meet once a month with neophytes, or more complex full-team experience. One of the basic challenges is to ensure that at least something, even if it is not ideal, is available over the summer, and that in some way inquirers can be helped at whatever point in the year God sends them to the parish. The call is to be willing to move incrementally in the right direction, step by step, always depending prayerfully on the provision of the Lord for your parish situation.
Tags: 9-Month vs. Year-Round
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What About Annulments?
Posted on July 25th, 2008
Q. When should an RCIA director seek to learn if any participants have potential annulment issues? What are the first couple steps that must taken regarding an annulment?
A. Annulment issues need to be identified as early as possible, for the sake of beginning the annulment process for those whose living situations might call for pastoral scrutiny, and for the sake of allowing a participant to move forward to sacramental initiation, if possible, in a timely fashion commensurate with their readiness and desire to become a Catholic.
The first steps are to conduct a private interview to determine the need for an annulment, and the nature of the case. The pastor, if not conducting the initial interview personally, should be involved as soon as a case comes to light. While taking the time to ensure a participant understands the Catholic Church’s teachings regarding annulments, the initial interview should in no way impart a false hope or make any promises about the outcome of a case, however well intentioned. Beyond this, a pastor should assist the participant in assembling a package for the diocesan tribunal, and encourage the RCIA team to be attentive to the pastoral needs and sensitivities inherent in annulment cases that impact a participant’s likelihood of sacramental participation.
Tags: Annulments
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Dismissal of Candidates?
Posted on July 25th, 2008
Q. Is it acceptable and/or desirable to dismiss candidates along with the catechumens for “Breaking Open the Word”?
A. There is a certain value of liturgical purity that is validly argued by those who advocate only dismissing the unbaptized catechumens. This recognizes that catechumens, lacking Baptism, are not yet joined to Christ sacramentally, and would greatly benefit from the additional spiritual nourishment that the Church can offer at the table of the Word of God, as they prepare to join the community at the Eucharistic table. The other side of this issue notes that, although baptized, the candidates cannot partake of the Eucharist either, and so would also benefit from deepening their experience of the Sunday readings in this special way. The RCIA text allows for this discernment of pastoral need, without directly calling for candidates to join the catechumens in the dismissal Rite (see RCIA 83 and 406).
Tags: Breaking Open the Word
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