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
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Background: Back to Mark after several weeks of John’s “bread of life discourse,” which explored the relationship between Jesus and the individual believer. Up until this interruption we had been seeing Jesus and his disciples proclaiming in Galilee the arrival of God’s promised kingdom/reign. Galilee was predominantly Jewish but surrounded
Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers: Year B – The 22nd to 26th Sundays in Ordinary Time
The first official role of the sponsor happens in the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens. After the seekers have said what they are looking for from the church and have promised to follow the gospel way of faith, the presider turns to the sponsors and asks: Sponsors, you now present these candidates
Why the role of “sponsor” is so important in the RCIA
Over the last several posts, we have been exploring how, in celebrating the rites of the catechumenate, we have to begin with the end in mind. The “end” we are striving for is fullness in the life of Christ (see RCIA 206). We looked at the major rites in reverse order to clearly show how
Teaching the RCIA seekers how to live the paschal mystery
Earlier in this series on the rites of the catechumenate process, we discussed liminality. To live in a liminal state is the live betwixt and between, neither here nor there. The Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens is the first and clearest rite that puts seekers into a liminal life. There are two
The Rite of Acceptance — the beginning of a paschal journey for the RCIA seekers
Joe, a long-time member of the choir in our parish, stood in his pew at the cathedral, facing the bishop along with all the other catechumens of the diocese. His godfather, not sure which of them was more nervous, stood next to Joe with his hand on Joe’s shoulder. The bishop then asked all the
The Rite of Election — a journey into the divine mystery
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time Background: This Sunday’s selection does not follow directly upon last Sunday’s since the crossing of the lake by Jesus has been omitted; that is why the crowd has to get into boats to see if he is on the other side. He had had to escape from them because they
Reflection Questions for Seekers: Year B – The 18th to 21st Sundays in Ordinary Time
