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.

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.

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.

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.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: Liturgical catechesis aims to initiate people into the mystery of Christ (It is “mystagogy.”) by proceeding from the visible to the invisible, from the sign to the thing signified, from the “sacraments” to the “mysteries.” (#1075)

These bishops in the early Church – also known as the Early Church Fathers – gave incredible post-baptismal homilies that described the power of the sacraments by means of elaborating upon the symbolic or sign aspect of the sacrament.  They would do this using the Bible.

Let’s remember what a sacrament is: an outward sign instituted by Christ that gives grace.  Each sacramental sign is wholly Biblical and has deep roots in the Old Testament.  Each sacramental sign speaks volumes about the grace that is given through its performance.

The famous mystagogue mentioned above, St. Ambrose, led his neophytes (the newly baptized) to see the power of their baptism by a form of Biblical catechesis that showed how water is both a sign of life and death in the Old Testament.  Baptism, through the use of water, destroys sin and grants the new life of grace.  To see this for yourself, see Chapter 3 of On the Mysteries.

St. Ambrose and the other bishops waited to give this liturgical catechesis until after baptism because baptism enabled the baptized person to understand the sacraments in a way unlike an unbaptized person.

“The neophytes are, as the term ‘mystagogy’ suggests, introduced into a fuller and more effective understanding of the mysteries through the Gospel message they have learned and above all through their experience of the sacraments they have received.  For they have truly been renewed in mind, tasted more deeply the sweetness of God’s word, received the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and grown to know the goodness of the Lord.  Out of this experience, which belongs to Christians and increases as it is lived, they derive a new perception of the faith, of the Church, and of the world.” (RCIA, n. 245)

This postbaptismal catechesis known as mystagogy in the early Church would happen during the Sunday Masses with the bishop during the Easter Season, following the Easter Vigil.  So, the RCIA says:

“Since the distinctive spirit and power of the period of postbaptismal catechesis or mystagogy derive from the new, personal experience of the sacraments and of the community, its main setting is the so-called Masses for neophytes, that is, the Sunday Masses of the Easter season.” (RCIA, n. 247)

The RCIA envisions mystagogy’s main setting to be a Sunday Mass celebrated specifically with the neophytes in mind.

“All the neophytes and their godparents should make an effort to take part in the Masses for the neophytes and the entire local community should be invited to participate with them.  Special places in the congregation are to be reserved for the neophytes and their godparents.  The homily and, as circumstances suggest, the general intercessions should take into account the presence and needs of the neophytes.” (RCIA, n. 248)

This brings us full circle to the question at hand: What is the role of the mystagogue in the mystagogy process?

The mystagogue is primarily the priest or deacon who gives the homilies during the Masses for the neophytes.  The role of the mystagogue is to explain the power and reality behind the signs of the sacraments by giving a Biblical catechesis using the readings just read in the Liturgy of the Word.

“[T]hese celebrations include particularly suitable readings from the Lectionary, especially the readings for Year A.  Even when Chrsitian initiation has been celebrated outside the usual times, the texts for these Sunday Masses of the Easter season may be used.” (RCIA, n. 247)

These readings for Year A for the Easter Season were handpicked for mystagogy.

In the United States, the National Statutes for the Catechumenate state:

“After the completion of their Christian initiation in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and eucharist, the meophytes should begin the period of mystagogy by participating in the principal Sunday eucharist of the community throughout the Easter season, which ends on Pentecost Sunday.  They should do this as a body in company with their godparents and those who have assisted in their Christian formation.” (RCIA, Ap. III, n. 22)

This helps us to see that the Masses for neophytes are not scheduled at some new time apart from the normal Sunday Masses celebrated at the parish church.  Rather, the parish should pick one of the regular Sunday Masses and appoint that particular Mass during the Easter season to be focused upon the neophytes.

Apart from the principal mystagogue, other catechists can and should help the newly baptized neophytes through a deeper Scripture study of the sacraments.  This study should “embrace a deepened understanding of the mysteries of baptism, confirmation, and the eucharist, and especially of the eucharist as the continuing celebration of faith and conversion.” (RCIA, Ap. III, n. 23)

Here are two good resources for catechists:

	The Sacraments in Scripture: Salvation History Made Present by Tim Gray.
	Living the Mysteries: A Guide for Unfinished Christians by Scott Hahn and Mike Aquilina

Finally, part of leading the neophytes includes “thoughtful and friendly help” given to the neophytes as well as “doing the works of charity” (RCIA, n. 244).  This can be done through personal one-on-one encounters and through participation in the apostolic endeavors of parish life.

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?“

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.

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.

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.

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).

A. Yes. It is in some cases encouraged (see RCIA 409 and National Statutes 20-21, 31-34).

A. Five documents of the Council address the issue: the Constitution on Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium), the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), the Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops (Christus Dominus), the Decree on Ministry of Priests (Presbyterorum Ordinis), and the Decree on Mission Activity of the Church (Ad Gentes).