Nick Wagner is the cofounder and codirector of Team Initiation.
The preparation rites on Holy Saturday include an optional ritual for choosing a baptismal name (turn to paragraph 200 in your RCIA text to follow along). In the United States, we do not ask the elect to do this. (Keep a finger in the book to mark your place and flip back to paragraph 33.4.) […]
Should the elect choose a baptismal name?
I’m headed south for the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress on Thursday. If you’ve never been, it is an experience like no other. The Congress draws more than 40,000 participants who come to hear speakers from all over the world. Despite the name, the Congress is not limited to religious education themes. There are many
Looking for RCIA at the LA Religious Ed Congress
QHow ought a Russian Orthodox person be received into the Catholic Church? The convert has undergone RCIA and been elected in the cathedral. Our pastor seems to be unfamiliar with the status of Russian Orthodox sacraments. For example, is confirmation is necessary? Presumably the bishop would ultimately decide? AIf you open your RCIA text to
Walter Burghardt, SJ, died Saturday at the age of 95. Though he wouldn’t have remembered, I met Burghardt more than 30 years ago, when I was 19, at a liturgy conference at the University of Notre Dame. As many of you know, and as I was ignorant of at the time, Burghardt was the model
Rehearsal outline: Scrutiny RCIA 150-156, 164-170, 171-177 6:30 Before everyone arrives Turn on lights and put out microphones. Put the lectionary on the ambo. Put the presider’s script or ritual book on his chair. Put the catechumenate director’s script on her chair or pew. Place name tags in the pews where you want the elect
How to rehearse the scrutinies
The adaptation of the scrutiny rites for child catechumens is confusing (RCIA 291). Instead of clearly labeling the rites as scrutinies, they are called “Penitential Rites (Scutinies).” And even though the title is plural, only one text is given with an instruction to write your own for a second, using the given text as a
We all know that we always use the readings from the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays of Lent, Year A, for the scrutinies, right? But do you know which Mass prayers to use? They are not the Mass prayers from those Sundays. Instead, whenever the scrutinies are celebrated, we use the Mass prayers for “Christian
What are the proper prayers for the scrutinies?
I need your help. I’m currently writing a comprehensive guide to the catechumenate for parish RCIA teams. And I’m stuck trying to think of a name for it. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far. Do any of the titles strike you? Or do you have another suggestion? I’d love to know what you
A new RCIA resource for your parish
There is a fine post on Walking the Rite Way that gives some insight about why moving toward a mystagogical process and away from an information delivery process is so difficult. This passage in particular names the fear that keeps many of us from taking the leap: It’s quite challenging, is this. It leaves the
Was your liturgy memorable today? Chances are, there was someone in the assembly who was visiting your parish for the first time. If not this week, then next week or the week after, for sure. When they get home, will they remember your parish? Will they return? It’s not difficult to create a lasting memory
Is your RCIA team creating a memorable first impression?
