I can’t help but smile as I read—and teach—that Lent is like a 40-day retreat, a time of reflection, quiet, prayer, and fasting. Sometimes it seems that even the spirit of “fasting and feasting” takes a back seat to the activities of initiation ministries during Lent. The invitation to silence and reflection is welcome but […]
The Parish Community in the Easter Season
You can reflect questions for every Sunday of the year by clicking here.Fifth Sunday of LentBackground: For the second Sunday in a row, we are presented with a story about a sinner and the self-righteous—who are also sinners but don’t want to admit it. Yet, as Paul says today, all this judgment of others and
Q. Hello! I am the director of our initiation ministry in my parish. We do not have a deacon, and my pastor does not get involved, so it’s just me and my team. My pastor does not like to do the scrutinies at this time of year. He usually encourages me to do a simplified
Q&A: What do we do if the pastor won’t celebrate the scrutinies?
The last Easter Sunday Mass that St. Augustine celebrated was in 430 AD, when he was 75 years old. In those days, 75 was more like 100 is today. Augustine must have been very tired from having concluded the long Easter Vigil just a few hours before. After his brief homily, the catechumens were dismissed
Why the participation of the elect in the Easter Vigil is so important
Q. One of our catechumens informed us that her godparent will not be able to be present for the three lenten scrutinies, and now she needs to look for a “proxy.” I have three questions: Who selects the proxy? Does the proxy need to fulfill all of the canonical qualifications of a godparent? Does the
Q&A: Proxies for the scrutinies
You can reflect questions for every Sunday of the year by clicking here.First Sunday of LentBackground: To understand this Sunday’s gospel, we need to realize that we are jumping back over the unfolding of Jesus’s ministry in Galilee that we have been reading in the early Sundays of Ordinary Time and returning to his baptism in
Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers: Year C – The First through Fourth Sundays in Lent
The first time I traveled to a foreign country (France and Italy) was in the 1990s. This was, of course, before cell phones were ubiquitous and before Google Translate and Google Maps were a thing. I had my Lonely Planet tour books and French and Italian phrase books to get me through. The “foreignness” of
Catechumenate ministry on the digital continent
In a recent Community Chat, TeamRCIA discussed the many ways the baptismal priesthood is the primary agent of formation for the inquirers, catechumens, elect, and baptized candidates. There were a lot of questions about where to find resources to help parishioners “do Lent” in such a way that they also accompany the seekers on their
Initiation team resources for Lent, Triduum and the Easter Season
Because I was just a baby when I was baptized, I am more than ever intrigued by the experience of being present at the celebration of baptism now. And with ministry in Christian Initiation there is so much more! A few years ago our parish celebrated an Easter Vigil that became truly memorable, not because
Reconnecting with the experience of baptism: the neophytes and the community
In the Rite (Order) of Christian Initiation of Adults, we have several celebrations for the catechumens: the Rite of Election, the three scrutinies, the Presentations of the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer (or Rites of Handing On), and the preparation rites on Holy Saturday. But what do we have in Lent for the baptized candidates?
What does Lent have to offer the baptized candidates?
