Sometimes we can feel overwhelmed by all there is to do in initiation ministry. At times, I’ve been the only person on the catechumenate “team.” Even parishes blessed with larger teams can feel like there is always more to do than people to help. How in the world are we going to manage it all? …
We’ve all seen images of sailboats racing through the water, tipped way over to one side, looking like they are about to capsize. I don’t know how the sailors keep their boats afloat like that. To me, it looks like magic. But I do know how to tip liturgies into the wind. Just as a …
Three principles for adapting the rites of the catechumenate
Even if you’re not the music coordinator or liturgist for your community, you can still engage your parish community in this significant and important first ritual for your seekers on their journey of faith. The role of the assembly is what will bring this ritual alive! Free download: The parish is the RCIA catechetical plan
There is a story about an old fish that swims near a couple of teenage fish. As he passes by, he says, “Hey guys, how’s the water?” And then, as the older fish swims away, one of the young fish says to the other, “What’s water?” Trying to describe water to a fish is a …
As we prepare for the new translation of the initiation rites, every parish is going to be challenged with developing a catechumenal culture. We have already looked at why that is important and what the church means by a catechumenal culture. In this article, we’ll look at how a catechumenal culture is created in a …
A catechumenal culture is created by four modes of missionary discipleship
In a previous post, we talked about the worldwide process Pope Francis has inaugurated to dream about the future of the church. I think all catechumenate teams should take this seriously. The church that we are initiating the seekers into today will not be what the church looks like in the future. The pope and …
Why dreaming together about the future is important for RCIA teams
A couple of weeks ago, we hosted an online Community Chat on the topic of sponsors in the catechumenate process. We had a terrific conversation and covered a lot of ground. Several questions kept coming up that seemed to me to be the same question being asked in different ways. I want to write about …
The first official role of the sponsor happens in the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens. After the seekers have said what they are looking for from the church and have promised to follow the gospel way of faith, the presider turns to the sponsors and asks: Sponsors, you now present these candidates …
Some of the RCIA rituals can be complicated. The Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens, for example, takes place in several locations, requires at least one procession, includes multiple gestures, and has many different moments of ritual dialogue. Our first inclination might be to write out a script for the seekers so they …
When parishes that use an academic, school calendar model for evangelizing and catechizing seekers, it can be difficult to imagine any other way of doing things. Some common objections for expanding to an ongoing process include: We have limited resources The rest of the world is organized around a school-year schedule It’s just easier The …
