The mystagogical period, when the newly initiated deepen their understanding through reflection on their lived experiences of ritual, is a profound and rewarding aspect of Christian initiation ministry. This process of mystagogy is especially powerful when working with children and youth. Young people seem to possess an innate openness and sensitivity to spiritual mysteries that
Children, initiation, and mystagogy
Q. For children in catechumenate, is it not preferred to have parents present participating with the children and using parish sponsors only when the parents are not able to be present? I am getting a lot of “we always did it that way,” but I want to do things the preferred way. A. Thanks so
Parents should be front and center in children’s faith journey
Among the legends of Christmastime, stories of St. Nicholas stand out and are popular especially among our Germanic and Italian communities. With the sense of his knowing the needs of persons and doing secret things to help them, delightful customs arise. In our family home back in the Midwest, two favorites stay in my memory.
Advent, St. Nicholas, and the Christ child
A young man in his junior year of high school phoned the parish office, inquiring about becoming Catholic. He had been baptized Methodist. Several of his friends from high school were Catholic, and he would soon be with them at the university. These friends talked about their faith, Mass, and sacraments, sparking his curiosity. However,
The evolution of faith: one family’s journey
Preparing children for confirmation and Eucharist can sometimes feel like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle. Age-based guidelines don’t always fit perfectly, especially when you’ve got kids who missed out on either some catechesis or one of the sacraments along the way. Let’s see if we can figure out the best approach. Free download: Five ways
Sacramental pathways: Navigating initiation for children
As our dioceses and parishes implement more fully the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults for all those who have reached the age of discretion (aka the age of reason), parents sometimes have difficulty understanding why their child would be confirmed at age seven or eight. It is important for all of us to understand
How to think about Confirmation in the initiation of children
We all know the saying about not being able to fit square pegs into round holes. When we accompany others on the journey of faith, we are almost always in the business of getting squares to fit into rounds. In some sense, that is what we mean be conversion. People are living “square” lives and
How to fit in square pegs when our formation process is a round hole
Q: How do we “see” the signs of readiness with children and youth for celebrating the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens? A. This is a great question. Thinking through the process of discernment for children and youth really challenges us to understand why discernment is important in the first place. In the
Q&A: How do RCIA teams discern the readiness of children for becoming catechumens?
On February 11, 2019, Bishop James S. Wall of the diocese of Gallup, New Mexico, announced that the diocese will restore the order of the sacraments of initiation for children who are baptized in infancy. That brings the number of dioceses in the United States who have restored the order if the initiation sacraments to
RCIA shifts and corrects our understanding of confirmation
If you go to any parish website in North America, you will get the very strong impression that children’s faith is formed in a classroom. Parish websites list expectations describing what children are to have learned by the time they reach each grade level. If you were to actually visit one of these parishes, you
Why children in the RCIA need a community, not a classroom
