Here’s the scenario:
You’ve just finished a long but wonderful Easter Vigil. After months of weekly meetings, leading dismissal sessions, and doing discernment interviews, all the Elect have been baptized, and you’re looking forward to the last few gatherings of the RCIA post-Triduum before you take a well-deserved summer break.
As you’re gathering up all the wet towels from the baptisms and getting ready to head home, a young woman shyly walks up to you.
“Hi. I came here tonight because a friend of mine sings in the choir. I really liked the service. Um, I’m not Catholic or anything, but I think I want to be.”
The towels are cold against your arms, but your spirit is warmed by her inquiry about becoming Catholic.
“Hey, that’s great! We’ll start up the RCIA again in September. You can come and join us then!”
She doesn’t look as excited as you thought she’d be.
“RCIA? Uh, okay. Thanks. I’ll come back then.” She walks away and out the door.
How much will you bet she’ll come back in September?
You and I know that really isn’t the issue. Rather, why does she have to wait until September to continue what the Holy Spirit has begun in her?
Catechumenate directors who have experienced this very scenario tell me that when they said, “Come back in September,” they knew it didn’t feel right. For some of them, it was the moment they decided to change the way their parish did the RCIA.
This Triduum and throughout the Easter season, with its weddings, First Communions, and Confirmations, you will have many visitors like the woman above. Will you tell them to come back in the fall? Or will you have a way for them to connect right away with the parish and the way of life of a Christian?
You don’t necessarily need to give up your vacation. You don’t even have to have RCIA meetings every week of the year. But you do need to make use of the parish’s everpresent resources: its weekly gatherings, especially on Sundays, and its parishioners. These resources can immediately help a person begin the initiation process.
If your formal initiation gatherings don’t begin until the fall, don’t beat yourself up or try to do more than is reasonable. Instead, connect your inquirer with a faithful parishioner. Ask this person to just be a friend for this inquirer, someone who’ll sit with them at Mass, have coffee or a meal with them once in a while, and just be someone the inquirer can talk to about their questions. Then when your formal gatherings begin again four or five months from now, your inquirer can participate in those sessions, continuing the process of initiation that had begun on that Easter Vigil night.
Here’s the story of an actual inquirer who experienced this very thing last Palm Sunday. Kudos to this parish for being ready to respond even in the midst of Holy Week!
And click here for more ideas on doing inquiry any time of year.
It has taken many years but our parish RCIA has evolved into more or less a year round Catechumenate. We do start regular Tuesday night meetings from 7:30 to 9:15 in September, but we welcome people 12 months of the year. We continue meeting on Tuesdays until Pentecost Sunday. At Pentecost we decorate the church – particularly the entrance and the large hall to celebrate the Birthday of the Church. We ask for volunteers every year from the parish to bake cupcakes and in a parish where we have 6 masses every weekend and the church is packed for each and every mass – we have enough cupcakes for everyone in attendance to take a cupcake home. The decorations include posters with the words “Come Holy Spirit, Fill the Hearts of your Faithful” written in 27 languages – all of which are spoken within our parish family. There are also large wrapped “Gift Boxes” labelled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit and a Tree in the entrance foyer that has the “Fruits of the Spirit” hanging on it. The Neophytes, on going catechumens and inquirers act as hosts and hostesses after every mass.
When we receive an inquiry from someone during July and August or even around the time of Holy Week – one of the team meet with them either at the church or for coffee somewhere. Then we arrange for them to begin attending mass and someone meets them at church to answer questions and make them feel welcome. Then our RCIA director usually has at least one Friendly gathering at her home in July and one in August in which new inquirers are invited along with any of our RCIA members who are either Neophytes, Catechumens, or Candidates.
Most inquirers whether they come to us in July, September, February or after spend approximately one full year and a half with us unless they are well catechized and so every person’s situation is looked at individually and discerned on a case by case basis.
We were worried the first year we began telling people who came in September that they would not likely be ready for Baptism until the Easter after next that we would discourage people. This has not been the case. It does mean that your sponsors have to make a very long time commitment, but it works. Our door is never closed until the next September whenever anyone knocks.