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
In a previous post, we looked at Joe’s baptism. Joe, a long-time choir member, had finally reached “the fullness of time” in his heart and moved out of his old life into new life in Christ through the waters of baptism. There are many things that brought Joe to that point in his life, but
What the scrutinies do to the elect in the RCIA process
I was once in a parish in which we baptized a choir member. Let’s call him Joe. Joe had been part of the Sunday music ministry for many years, and yet he was unbaptized. Then one year he decided it was time. I still remember his baptism. His godfather helped him kneel in our makeshift
How the rites move seekers from the old to the new
Years ago, I read a book called The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I don’t remember what all the habits are, but I do remember one of them: begin with the end in mind. Some of you have lived that habit your whole life. From the time you were little, you always knew what
How to effectively teach mystery to RCIA seekers
Some of the RCIA rituals can be complicated. The Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens, for example, takes place in several locations, requires at least one procession, includes multiple gestures, and has many different moments of ritual dialogue. Our first inclination might be to write out a script for the seekers so they
Should we provide ritual scripts for RCIA seekers?
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time Background: Once again words have power: over nature, as we saw last Sunday, and now over disease and death. But only if we have faith and trust in the power of God at work for us in Jesus. As the Book of Wisdom says, “death entered the world through sin,”
Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers: Year B – The 13th to 17th Sundays in Ordinary Time
