Jay Landry is married to Deb with two adult daughters. He is the Director of Evangelization &
Faith Formation at the Catholic Community of St. Francis of Assisi in Raleigh, North Carolina.
He has served in evangelization, initiation, retreats, adult formation, and justice ministries for 27
years in parishes.
The catechumenate concisely describes the Period of Evangelization and Precatechumenate: “This is a time, of no fixed duration or structure, for inquiry and introduction to Gospel values, an opportunity for the beginnings of faith.”
Over the years of initiation ministry, I have led catechumenate teams that created a syllabus of topics and set a date for The Rites of Acceptance and Welcome without having met the inquirers. We then gave presentations (more like lectures), inviting the inquirers to ask questions and discussion. Then, we celebrated these rites on the same date for all the inquirers, as if they were all in lockstep on the same spiritual journey. Sadly, this initiation path bore little fruit in terms of making disciples. Rather, it was closer to making “RCIA graduates,” many of whom fell away from the life and mission of the church in the next few years.
Reimagining the period of evangelization and precatechumenate
Have you ever wanted to meet someone and get to know them better? I get nervous yet drawn to people like this who strike me as “out of my league.” Yet, my heart encourages me to meet them, and hopefully, begin a relationship with them. This is how I met and gradually got to know my spouse of 28 years. I was nervous, yet attracted to her. I kept coming up with all these reasons why it wouldn’t work. Yet, we met, hung out, dated, and this relationship is wonderfully fruitful.
In John 1:35-39, two potential disciples hear John the Baptist proclaim, as Jesus walks by, “Behold the Lamb of God.” These two disciples then follow Jesus who asks them, “What are you looking for?” Nervously perhaps, they ask, “Rabbi…where are you staying?” Jesus responds, “Come and you will see.” These two disciples then spend the afternoon with Jesus. What did they do? We don’t know, but my sense is that Jesus did not formally teach. Rather, they probably hung out and started to get to know one another.
The Period of Evangelization and Precatechumenate has no fixed duration or structure, because the entire period is focused on evangelization: to introduce the inquirers to Jesus Christ, to begin to get to know him, and grow in the desire to follow him.
Learning from Jesus: A time of welcome and relationship
The Period of Evangelization and Precatechumenate has no fixed duration or structure, because the entire period is focused on evangelization: to introduce the inquirers to Jesus Christ, to begin to get to know him, and grow in the desire to follow him. That’s it! There is no other goal.
This is not a time of teaching; rather, it is an introduction to gospel values, through sharing our stories as a part of God’s story, and gradually getting to know and growing in relationship with Jesus. As this relationship grows, the inquirers grow in faith, which, as St. John Henry Newman suggests, “Faith is not taught; rather, faith is caught.” We gradually catch faith by observing and getting to know other disciples of Jesus who are still growing in faith on this lifetime journey.
This is a time of welcome, hospitality, and an introduction to a God who longs for a relationship with us.
