Nick Wagner is the cofounder and codirector of Team Initiation.
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
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
An old African proverb says: Every morning, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a lion or gazelle — when
Do your RCIA catechumens wake up running?
The RCIA is a training process. If we look at other training processes, we begin to see how the RCIA is perfectly designed to train seekers in the Christian life (see RCIA 75 and Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity, 14). Three levels of training Let’s take running for example. If you are a running
RCIA training level one: evangelization
The first time I heard about the RCIA, it was like a “should’a had a V8” moment. I got it. I understood the pontential power of this collection of progressive rites to transform not only seekers, but entire parishes. Or at least I thought I did. In those early days, my insight was focused almost
How I discovered the RCIA is the Grand Prix of catechesis
To fully understand the purpose of the scrutinies, it helps to have a little history. The three scrutinies that we celebrate within the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults are derived, in part, from the fourth century church’s practice of exorcism. The word “exorcism” sets many of us on edge. Most of us know the
RCIA vs. Hollywood—the true meaning of “exorcism”
