Every day when I was a kid, I put on my white, short-sleeve shirt, clipped on my Catholic-plaid tie, and went to school. The sisters marched us single file into church for Mass, and we knelt in silent prayer until the priest rang the sanctuary bell and began the liturgy. The Mass was in English, […]
How your catechumenate team can build the future of the church
In previous posts, we’ve looked at the upcoming dreaming together process that Pope Francis has called for. But what exactly is the process? Officially the process is called a synod, which literally means walking together or dreaming together. They church has always had “synods,” even if they weren’t called by that name. The first synodal
What is Pope Francis’s plan for dreaming together about the future?
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
Pope Francis wants to know what your dreams are for the church of the future. Seriously. He wants to know what you, personally, have to say. He has put into motion all the energy of the Vatican and called upon the worldwide bishops to set up listening sessions to hear from the People of God.
Dreaming together about the church of the future
27th Sunday in Ordinary TimeBackground: Although a less prominent theme than in Luke, Jesus’s final journey to Jerusalem serves in Mark as the framework for his final teachings about what life in the kingdom/reign of God is like. If we are to “follow” him on the way to cross and resurrection, what road must we
Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers: Year B – The 27th to 31st Sundays in Ordinary Time
Perhaps the most frequent question we get here at TeamRCIA is some version of: “How do I convince [INSERT NAME/TITLE] that they should do [INSERT ACTION]? For example: “How do I convince the pastor we should be dismissing the catechumens from Mass?” Other versions of the question involve trying to convince the deacon, the parishioners,
Six ways to convince others that the dismissal of catechumens is a good idea
Isn’t it inhospitable to dismiss catechumens from Mass? Everyone is dismissed from Mass. When we are dismissed depends upon which order of the church we belong to.In the early church, there were several orders of participants in the liturgy who were dismissed, all at different times: catechumens, energoumens (those possessed by demons), penitents, and the
Frequently asked questions about the RCIA dismissal of catechumens
One of the most misunderstood elements of the catechumenate process is the ritual dismissal of the catechumens from the Mass after the homily. Many catechumenate team members resist dismissing the catechumens because, to the team, it seems inhospitable. In other parishes, there is a tendency to go overboard, dismissing everyone including baptized candidates and even
Why is the dismissal of the RCIA catechumens important?
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
Be sure your sponsors have what it takes
Diana and I had two experiences recently that made us think more deeply about the way we invite and welcome seekers into our communities. We were driving to Chicago, and we stopped to see the Cahokia Mounds. The Cahokia Mounds is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city that existed 1050–1350 AD. At its
Tell the one story that RCIA seekers will remember for the rest of their lives
