NA Forum shares ideas, support for RCIA process

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The Catechumenate process was born in a time when it was dangerous to practice one’s faith. One could be imprisoned, so one had to be convicted in one’s faith.

In the early days, not just anyone could be baptized, which is much the same as today. One must go through an initiation process into the faith first as a catechumenate to hear the Word.

In the early church, his or her state of life was scrutinized to determine if he or she had lived devoutly, helped widows, visited the sick, and practiced all other good works. Then those who introduced these individuals had to bear witness these people were ready to hear the gospel. It was not about knowledge of the church, but rather one’s lifestyle.

Today it is a sponsor’s responsibility to care for the formation of a catechumenant. The most important thing a sponsor or someone from the Catholic community can do for someone who is inquiring about the faith is to listen well.

The lions one faces today, because many come from the LDS religion, include being disavowed by one’s family. Religion is also viewed as an economic consequence, and as a commodity. The Catholic religion compared to the LDS religion is very ritualistic.

Being a catechumen requires one to die to oneself and to some of the old ways one used to live. It requires reconciling with broken relationships. Some face pressure from a spouse or an in-law to change their religion.

All of the issues are really about conversion, and giving your heart to God and to a new way of life, or changing the way one looks at life for the first time. Christian initiation is really about falling in love with Jesus Christ and sustaining a relationship with him.

The precatechumenate phase is a free and open phase. It is a time of inquiry and a gradual process that takes place within the community of faithful. The faithful provide an example that will help the catechumens to obey the Holy Spirit more generously. The rite of initiation is suited to a spiritual journey of adults that varies according to the many forms of God’s grace, free cooperation of the individuals, the action of the church, and the circumstances of time and place.

Through evangelization with the help of God, come the faith and initial conversion that cause a person to feel called away from sin and drawn to the mystery of God’s love.

The prerequisite for making the first step is that the beginnings of the spiritual life and the fundamentals of Christian teaching have taken root in the candidates. They have an intention to change their lives, and enter into a relationship with God in Christ. They start to call upon God in prayer and have a sense of the Church.

This is the time when the sponsor, deacon, or priest asks if the catechumenate has been married before, or ever been baptized. They also ask what were the moments he or she encountered God, and what is he or she looking for?

This is a time to convey that being a catechumenate is a journey of faith and then aim for the Easter Vigil for baptism. The catechumenate and the sponsor as well as the lay minister or deacon and priest develop a sense of trust.

At this point the precatechumenates are initiated into the Rite of Acceptance. This rite is of utmost importance because they are assembling publicly for the first time to declare their intention to the Church and the Church in turn, accepts them as persons who intend to become its members. They show evidence of initial conversion, an intention to change their lives, and develop a relationship with God.

The catechumenate is an extended period during which the catechumens are given suitable pastoral formation and guidance, aimed at training them in the Christian life. A suitable catechesis is provided by priests, deacons, or lay ministers. The catechumens become familiar with the Christian way of life and are helped by the example and support of sponsors, godparents, and the Christian community; they learn to turn more readily to God in prayer, to bear witness to the faith, in all things to keep their hopes set on Christ, to follow supernatural inspiration in their deeds, and to practice love of neighbor. The Church helps the catechumens on their journey by means of suitable liturgical rites, which purify the catechumens little by little and strengthen them with God’s blessing.

The aim of the catechumenate is training, and how we assemble on Sundays. During the catechuemnate period, the catechumens attend Mass just like the rest of us. They are greeted by parishioners (mentors) and are met by their sponsors who have begun to be their companions on this journey of apprenticeship. A sponsor’s work is to make sure nothing gets in the way of God’s work. This needs to be intentional on the sponsor’s part, and it is the sponsor’s ministry to talk to the catechumen about how God’s work is or is not being accomplished.

The Liturgy of the Word is celebrated. God’s Word is proclaimed, and the homily takes that word, already alive, and makes it even more alive by connecting it to life. Then the catechumens are sent forth from the assembly with one of its members. The lay minister takes God’s word, just proclaimed, and helps that word come alive again, this time more deeply for the catechumen. The catechumens are given a chance to chew on God’s living word and to digest it into their very lives. This is the mentoring community’s greatest work.

Then either the lay minister or a deacon or priest will teach the catechumens doctrine in a catechetical session. This pattern occurs week after week.

The next period is Purification and Enlightenment, the rite of election begins, which customarily coincides with Lent. The Rite of Election is held on the first Sunday of Lent. The elect enroll their names with the Bishop of the diocese to be received into full communion with the Church at the Easter Vigil. They are witnessed to have found strength in God’s grace and support through the community’s prayers and example.

The elect prepare for baptism and the local community are reminded of the baptism they already received. Therefore, the Lenten season is a time for spiritual recollection in preparation for the celebration of the paschal mystery. This is a period of more intense spiritual preparation, consisting more in interior reflection than in catechetical instruction, and is intended to purify the minds and hearts of the elect as they search their own consciences and do penance.

The scrutinies, which are solemnly celebrated on three Sundays in Lent, are rites for self-searching and repentance and have above all, a spiritual purpose. The scrutinies are meant to uncover, then heal all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the hearts of the elect; to bring out, then strengthen all that is upright, strong, and good. The scrutinies also remind the community of their own commitment to baptism.

On Holy Saturday, the elect and the candidates are received into the full communion of the Catholic Church through Baptism, Confirmation, and First Holy Communion.

Mystagogy is the period of postbaptismal catechesis. To achieve its intent, one has to situate it in the context of the entire context of the initiation process.

One has to look to see if the parish community itself was integral in the entire process. The inquirers and catechumens have to feel welcome and integrated from the beginning of their process. Throughout the process of the rites, they have to feel they were accepted by the presence of the whole community. Lastly, the catechumens must be involved in ministry and the mission of the Church throughout their catechumenate period.

Mystagogy is still a time of processing and engaging the Catholic faith and the community. This is a time you can ask the newly baptized what it is like for them, and listen to their answers and their concerns. Be reflective in your feedback to them. They will correct you if you are wrong. Ask them if there are storms they are going through and if you can be of help, or help them find someone else to whom they can talk. They may still have issues with their past religion they need to process. Be someone they can trust.

A godparent or sponsor should keep the newly baptized talking about their baptism and what an amazing experience it has been.