Diana Macalintal is the cofounder and codirector of Team Initiation.
I don’t know if it’s just from celebrating so many Catholic liturgies over my lifetime, but I can’t look at fire—or the light and shadow cast by the sun, or an eclipse, or the full moon, or the candle on my dinner table—without thinking of the fire we light at the Easter Vigil. On the […]
Illuminating Christ: How to be a mystagogue
Q. We have a candidate who received all of her sacraments in the Eastern Orthodox Church and wants to become Roman Catholic. She has been attending our sessions so that she understands the nuances and differences. When is it best to have her do the Profession of Faith? (We celebrate reception and sacraments for our
Q&A: What is the process for receiving Eastern Rite Christians?
Q. I have a question about the minor rites. Because of COVID, should we skip all exorcisms, blessings, and anointings before the Rite of Election? Or should we try and include the anointing at the Rite of Election? Is the anointing in the minor rites the same thing as the prebaptismal anointing? A. I would not
Q&A: How to celebrate the Anointing of the Catechumens and other RCIA minor rites in pandemic
Q: During the pandemic, how should we handle the signing the senses in the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens? Is it permissible to sign without touching the person? In other words, to make the sign of the cross in front of the eyes, the mouth, etc. rather than actually on them? A:
Did you miss the April 21 TeamRCIA Community Chat on how to schedule the initiation rites outside of Easter? No worries! We’ve got you covered. Here’s the recording. Please share it with your colleagues in ministry. We had over 900 people signed up, and over 600 people from all around the world attended the one-hour
Community Chat – Scheduling initiation outside of Easter
A prayer when one’s baptism must be delayed in this year of the coronavirus I know it’s not a race or a test of will, Lord. Yet I feel a bit lost now that the Triduum has ended and the baptismal waters remain just out of reach. In this time of waiting, may I receive
A prayer when baptism must be delayed in time of Coronavirus
Our worship spaces have been closed and our public liturgies suspended. So what do we look for now when we seek sacred space? What are the necessary ingredients? How do we discover new ways (or rediscover old ways) of experiencing God’s presence? How do we practice eucharistic gratitude in the absence of sharing the Eucharist?
Creating Sacred Space: A Holy Week gathering with Terry Hershey
The TeamRCIA community had its first Community Chat on Thursday, March 26. We shared our fears and concerns, prayed, and then looked at many of the questions on your minds during these challenging days. Below is the recording. (A time-stamped summary outline will come soon.) For more information, check out the videos we’ve provided in
Community Chat – Our fears and concerns about the pandemic
On March 19, 2020, the Vatican issued guidelines and suggestions on the celebration of the Triduum for this year during this time of the Covid-19 Coronavirus. Here is the official text in English, Spanish, and French. UPDATE: The Vatican issued a slightly updated version of this decree on March 25, 2020. We summarize here the
Vatican guidelines on the Triduum in time of Coronavirus
Many communities might not be able to gather to celebrate the Triduum this year because of Coronavirus precautions. What does this mean for the RCIA rites of initiation that usually take place at the Easter Vigil? Here we look at some options that the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults gives us and explore some
RCIA, the Triduum, and Coronavirus
