You’ve celebrated the rites well and your parishioners have gotten to know your catechumens and candidates. Everyone’s happy. But deep in your gut, you know something is still missing. Your parishioners haven’t yet felt the same fire that you have about these rites. They haven’t got it yet that these rites matter and make a difference, not just
The one thing that will make your parishioners evangelists
In the Catholic tradition, we call the Eucharist “food for the journey.” But there is another food that feeds us just as powerfully and richly. At the beginning of a catechumen’s journey of faith, we are reminded that the Word of God is a rich fare upon which we all feast. Hearing the Word is how we
Food for the journey of catechumens
If the first time your parishioners meet a seeker is at the celebration of the Rite for Entrance into the Catechumenate, you’ve missed an important opportunity! But if you spend time in the months and weeks before the rite to give your seekers an “experience of the company and spirit of Christians” (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults 42), that will
Preparing the parish for the Rite for Entrance into the Catechumenate
The journey of faith is a transformative experience for both unbaptized seekers and the Christian community. Along the way, seekers learn how to be disciples and missionaries of the gospel. The primary way that they learn this is through the rituals of the church. The rites for the unbaptized are not just add-ons to the
Embracing ritual: Why the rites for the unbaptized are essential
You’ve been given the date for the next celebration of the Rite of Acceptance (what the new translation calls the Rite for Entrance into the Catechumenate). Now what? So much of the preparation for an effective celebration of a catechumenate rite involves preparing people, liturgically and spiritually, from the seeker to the presider and all
A checklist for preparing to celebrate the Rite of Acceptance (Entrance into the Catechumenate)
There’s an optional part of the Rite of Acceptance that we often automatically include without much thought. But there are some good reasons to think more deeply about this simple Presentation of a Bible that will help shape and catechize both your catechumen and your entire assembly. Can you help me out? I’d love to
Should you do a presentation of a Bible in the Rite of Acceptance?
There is one thing you can do right now to make your Rite of Acceptance come alive! It happens at the beginning of the rite and embodies and summarizes so much of the meaning of this important ritual in the life of a seeker and of the community. That one thing is to make the
The one thing that will make your Rite of Acceptance come alive
Embarking on a journey of faith and seeking a deeper relationship with Christ is a profound and life-changing experience. The Rite of Acceptance plays a vital role in this conversion process. When we celebrate this rite with inquirers, they are changed from outsiders to insiders as the community embraces them as their own. But this
From seekers to disciples: Unpacking the conversion journey within the Rite of Acceptance
Today we’ll examine three places we can adapt from where the norm is given, three places where we can and should make adaptations, three places where you must adapt the text, and three places where you cannot adapt or divert from the norm provided. How does this sound like what happens in your parish? Share
What you can and cannot adapt in the Rite of Acceptance
Even if you’re not the music coordinator or liturgist for your community, you can still engage your parish community in this significant and important first ritual for your seekers on their journey of faith. The role of the assembly is what will bring this ritual alive! Free download: The parish is the RCIA catechetical plan
Music for the Rite of Acceptance
