Saint Malachy Parish - Liturgical Guide Series
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
God calls us, the Church, to be life-giving andgenerative.
Our mission is to be midwives of new birth in two ways: first,by helping parents
who come to us seeking baptism for their children and,secondly, by helping adults
and older children to come to the waters oflife. In 1969 our Church issued the Rite
of Baptism for Children, the firstritual ever solely for infants. In 1972 our Church
issued the pastoral documentthe Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults [more often
known by the acronymRCIA] which restored ancient patterns of ritual, Catechesis
[instruction],community involvement and ministry.
At its heart adult initiation can best be understood through a few overlappingimages
and metaphors: welcome, journey, conversation, conversion and ritual.
Welcome
Welcome marks the entire process of adult initiation [viz. older children,too] from
beginning to end. The welcome of the community experienced inits liturgy, in its
faith sharing, in its community life, in its serviceto others draws the inquirer
to explore the mystery of God as it is experiencedin our Church. Welcoming, hospitable
people are better poised to find seekersin their midst who desire to learn more
about God, about Jesus, about theChurch and its teachings than parishes that are
aloof and cold. This joyfulresponsibility helps us create a climate where newcomers
feel at home, whereinquiry is met with respect, where the brokenness of human life
is offeredhealing. Welcome is neither a program nor a task relegated to a few suchas
greeters at mass. Welcome must be the virtue of the whole parish - onenurtured by
every parish member.
Journey
The Journey begins with welcome. It moves towards the table of the Lordand a life
of Christian service. There are several important stages alongthe way. The first
is a period of gradual instruction in the Christian faithknown as the catechumenate.
In the early centuries of the Church catechumens[a Greek term which refers to hearing
the echo of God's Word] were women,men and children who formally sought to learn
what life in God and Christwas all about.
The
unbaptized adult is welcomed into the Churchas a catechumen. This period of preparation
[the catechumenate] may lastanywhere from one to three years. Sometimes this is
met with initial resistancefrom contemporary Americans who are used to quick and
instant results. Likeany meaningful human relationship the journey of the catechumen
takes time.Just as the Lord gathered disciples around him and for three years instructedand
trained them the catechumenate is a school of discipleship. Rooted inattendance
at Sunday Eucharist catechumens weekly listen to the Word ofGod and, after the homily,
go forth with a catechist to reflect on the wordand its meaning in their lives.
This forms adults in the knowledge of Godand in the teachings of the Church. When
it is mutually discerned by catechumensand the Church that they are ready to be
initiated they are elected forthe sacraments in a special ritual celebrated at the
cathedral once a yearon the first Sunday of Lent. Elected i.e. chosen by the Church
the adultsenter into an intense period of preparation [the liturgical season of
Lent]for their initiation at the Easter Vigil through the sacraments of Baptism,Confirmation
and the Eucharist. Subsequent to the initiation at the EasterVigil the now neophytes
[another Greek term which means that the baptizedare newly planted ] continue their
reflection on the sacred mysteries byprayer and reflection throughout the Easter
season. This final part of thejourney known as Mystagogia [Greek for reflection
on the sacred mysteries]ends on Pentecost but it really continues for the rest of
the adults life.
Conversation
Conversation as a metaphor refers to adult experiences throughout thejourney of
faith. The foundational is the inherent conversation the adulthas with his/her own
life experience: Who am I? Where am I going? What aremy dreams and aspirations?
Where are my areas of weakness? Where does Godfactor into my life? Jesus? The Church?
This conversation is in the silenceof our hearts. We step back to reflect on our
lives. Conversation involvesother people such as friends, spouses, relatives, teachers,
etc. In theinteraction of dialogue,we become aware of how God is working in our
livesand where God is leading us. Such conversation is certainly at the heartof
the catechumenal process where we share our life's story with catechistswho help
us understand our life in the light of God's Word. In fact, everySunday we send
forth the catechumen with his/her catechist from the assemblyafter the homily to
reflect on the Word of God. This is the centerpieceof catechumenal instruction.
Still another layer of conversation involvesthe larger body of believers, the Church.
It is in and through meeting andtalking with other believers that the aspiring Christian
discerns the collectivefaith of the Church. When someone asks What should I do to
learn about thefaith? - the most basic response should be: Come to Church...meet
the Church.Discerning the faith of the Church is not done primarily through a bookor
in isolation. It is fundamentally a conversation with the Church, thebody of Christ.
Finally, the most sublime conversation is between the adultand God in moments of
prayer, meditation and reflection when they firstlisten and subsequently speak with
God. Again, it is our task through catechists,ministers and spiritual directors
to help the catechumen develop the habitof prayer which eventually will become a
personal virtue.
Conversion
Conversion comes from the Latin verb which means to turn or redirect.It refers to
our longing for a genuine refocusing and redirection of ourlives. Fundamentally
conversion turns us to God as the primary focus inour lives, to Jesus as the manifestation
of God, to the Spirit as the ongoingpresence of the divine in the world and to the
Church as the community ofpeople who welcome, support and sustain the life of believers.
Conversionhelps us assume a new set of priorities that are more focused on God's
reignthan on mere success and human ambition. Praying, discerning God's will,serving
the needs of others, bonding with other believers, committing tolifelong learning
in the faith - these goals come to the fore when we experienceconversion.
Ritual
Ritual is the final image that can help us understand adult initiation.Ritual, generically,
is a pattern of actions, words, symbolic activity andgroup interaction through which
humans express and deepen beliefs, feelings,attitudes and affections. A kiss, for
example, both expresses the love oftwo people and, at the same time, deepens the
love that is already present.In rituals of faith, personal and communal faith are
likewise both expressedand deepened. For example, when the Church celebrates Eucharist
we surelyexpress the unity and communion we have with the Lord and with one another.At
the same time we are allowing that unity, that communion, to grow anddeepen. Conversion
means becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. The very firstritual of initiation, the
Rite of Becoming a Catechumen, conveys the overwhelmingwelcome of the Church as
the inquirer becomes a formal catechumen by beingmarked with the sign of the cross.
Disciples must be ones who pick up thecross of Christ and who model their life on
that of the Master who servedothers even up to the point of giving up his life.
The Rite of Electioncelebrated in the local cathedral once a year expresses the
reality thatthe catechumen is part of a larger Church, not simply the parish, and
thatit is God's action which is drawing the catechumen to the Easter sacraments.The
celebration of the initiation sacraments [Baptism, Confirmation andEucharist] at
the Great Vigil both expresses the relation of the adult toGod and the Church while,
at the same time, deepening what is already there.So replete is this ritual language
that the Church's final stage of Catechesis,called Mystagogia, is a concerted reflection
on the sacramental experienceof Easter. The RCIA beckons all of us to new ways of
understanding Church,conversion, Catechesis and ministry. What we have tried in
these few briefparagraphs is to give a taste of what Christian initiation of adults
entails.
Postscript
A Postscript: From time to time adults who have been baptized in otherChristian
Churches or adults who were baptized as Catholics but never confirmedmay come to
the Church seeking to become members. Strictly speaking, theRCIA is not designed
for them but many of the dynamics outlined above canand should be invoked. For adults
and children who want to become RomanCatholic we will try to provide structures
for such a faith journey as needed.Similarly, for Catholics who were baptized but
never completed their initiationthrough receiving the sacraments of Confirmation
and Eucharist, we willtry to provide structures of liturgical Catechesis, prayer
and service whichwill help the adult prepare for the reception of these sacraments.