When I was 19, I was still living in my home town, St. Louis, Missouri. My pastor sent me to a diocesan meeting to learn about a new program called “RCIA” that would soon be starting in all the parishes. I didn’t know anything about the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults at that time.
The “dissolution” of the North American Forum on the Catechumenate
For the neophytes, the Sundays of the Easter Season are the primary setting for mystagogy. One reason that is so is because it is during this time when the neophytes will first pray the Eucharistic Prayer with the rest of the baptized faithful. The Eucharistic Prayer is supposed to be a climactic moment in the
Six ways to actively involve the neophytes in the Eucharistic Prayer
Obviously, the Eucharistic Prayer is a prayer of thanksgiving. But what makes it so essential to our worship that the church teaches that it is the "center and summit of the entire celebration" of the Mass (General Instruction on the Roman Missal, 78)? Our first clue We cannot say for sure. We don’t know the
What is the Eucharistic Prayer? (A summary for RCIA catechists)
Why is the Eucharistic Prayer important? When I was a child, I thought it was because that’s the moment in the Mass when the bread and wine are turned into the Body and Blood of Jesus. And while that’s true, that is a very narrow understanding of the importance of the prayer. In fact, the
Is the Eucharistic Prayer a big deal for RCIA catechesis?
Am I really willing to help others? Just think of that. Think that this sign is Christ’s caress, because Jesus came just for this, to serve us, to help us. —Pope Francis, Holy Thursday Homily On Holy Thursday, Pope Francis showed us how to be master catechists. He knelt before 12 inmates of the Casal
How Pope Francis knelt in front of 12 teenage prisoners and taught us to be master RCIA catechists
Fiona and George were putting away the coffee pot and folding up the chairs after their mystagogical reflection session on the Easter Vigil. As they switched off the lights, Fiona said, “I wonder where Carmen was. She told me she would be here.” Carmen, one of the neophytes, didn’t come to that session or any
Why you should stop trying to solve the mystagogy problem
Louise, the RCIA coordinator, was leading a reflection on the third scrutiny with the elect after they had been dismissed. John, one of the elect, began to tear up. Haltingly, he spoke about how Lazarus coming out of the tomb was like when he fell in love with Linda, his wife. “My divorce,” said John,
Annulment do’s and don’ts in the RCIA
I follow Team RCIA on Twitter, and the other day I saw an interesting tweet entitled “10 key ideas for celebrating the Triduum.” It got me thinking about various tips I could share on celebrating the Triduum with children in the RCIA. So, here are four quick real-life tips. 1. Call and confirm Even though
Four quick real-life tips for celebrating the Triduum with children
In the last few posts, we have been exploring running as a metaphor for living the Christian life. We have been looking at the three levels of training that are necessary to “run” as a Christian: The General Directory for Catechesis identifies these levels as: In this post, we’re going to take a quick look
Six examples of catechesis that happen after RCIA is over
