How do we get the whole parish to be involved in the RCIA? That is a burning question for many parishes. If I had an easy answer, I promise I would have given it to you by now, and everything would be solved. However, just because there is no easy answer does not mean there […]
Is it really possible to involve the whole parish in RCIA?
The answer might seem obvious. But if you think so, ask a few people and note their answers. A catechist has a vocation. We tend to use that word in the context of ordination or profession to a religious orders. When we are asked to “pray for vocations,” the clear intent is that we pray
Why are artists and RCIA catechists important?
Sacramental reconciliation has a complicated history. Understanding a little history can sometimes help with understanding current practice. Baptism—the original sacrament of reconciliation The first thing to know is that the early church didn’t have any kind of ritual celebration that we would recognize as reconciliation. Baptism washed away all sin, and that was at first
A simple history of reconciliation for RCIA catechists
When I was a kid, confession was easy to understand. I did something wrong. I went to confession. End of story. Today, it’s more complex than that. Pope John Paul II even said so. “The term and the very concept of penance are very complex,” he said. So if even the pope thinks it’s complex,
Teach catechumens the real meaning of penance
A year or two after I realized that Santa was really my mom, I also realized she didn’t go out to buy and wrap gifts on Christmas eve. The gifts had to have been acquired well before and therefore had to be hidden somewhere in our house! One day I went snooping to find them.
What stealing from my cousin taught me about sin
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
