Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
RCIA is bringing the "Good News" alive in the modern world ...
The letters "RCIA" stand for the "Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults",
the document flowing from Vatican II which guides the process by which adults
are initiated into our Roman Catholic community. The RCIA describes a process in
which men and women are guided and cared for as they awaken in faith and are
gradually introduced to the Catholic way of life.
The RCIA process is a series of carefully planned stages, marked by
liturgical rites in the presence of the whole community, in which new Catholics
embark on and join us in a continuing and deepening conversion into faith and
discipleship. The RCIA takes the distinctive history and spiritual needs of each
person into account, differentiating between the baptized and the unbaptized,
the catechized and the uncatechized. The needs of mature, practicing Christians
from other faith traditions are considered on an individual basis.
The RCIA draws its model from the "catechumenate" of the
ancient Church. Becoming Christian in the early days of the Church involved a
sharp break with the surrounding culture. New Christians entered into the joy of
new life and a life-sharing community of faith, but also entered into a way of
living which demanded deep commitment and entailed great risks. In the modern
world, our faith also demands deep commitment -- our beliefs and the beliefs of
our society are often in tension. The Church revived the catechumenate --
embodied in the RCIA -- because new believers in the modern world need careful
preparation and caring support as they enter into the mysteries of Christ and
the commitment of Christian living.
Conversion: a Journey of Mind, Heart and Spirit
Awakening to Christ and seeking out the Church through the RCIA comes about
in a variety of ways. The first step for some
is a sense that "something is missing" -- a sense, perhaps provoked by some
crisis, that there is more to life than what they now have or a better way to
live than how they now live. For many others, the journey begins because of a
relationship with a Catholic -- a close friend or a potential spouse. Still
others are drawn by seeing the example of a Catholic life well lived, or by
exposure to a Catholic writer like St. Augustine, Thomas Merton or Dorothy Day.
Whatever the reason for the awakening and decision to seek, the RCIA process is
the first step on a lifelong journey of intellectual, emotional and spiritual
conversion.
In her book Turning: Reflections on the Experience of Conversion, Emilie
Griffin reflected that "conversion" is the process of "turning over
one's life and energies to God." While we know that the concept
of "turning" is apt -- the root image of conversion is the proverbial
"one hundred eighty degree change" -- we also know from our own lives and
experience that conversion is an ongoing, lifelong process of personal spiritual
growth as well as a social process in which we strengthen and draw strength from
others. The RCIA recognizes both the ongoing quality and the communal nature of
conversion, providing an intellectual and spiritual framework and a faith
community in which an individual's conversion experience can be understood and
supported. Caring for people in the midst of this life-changing experience is
the goal of the RCIA ministry.
Preparation: Awakening, Growth and Formation
The full RCIA process consists of four periods of awakening, growth
and formation marked by celebration of three major rites involving the
whole St. Thomas community.
Inquiry
During the first period of the journey, the inquiry period, seekers
ask
hard questions about Christianity and receive truthful, life-sharing answers
from Catholic Christians. The informal discussions during the inquiry period
help the seekers link their personal life stories to the Good News as witnessed
and lived by the Roman Catholic community.
As each inquirer desires to continue the conversion journey within our faith
community, he or she is invited to experience the first major rite of the RCIA
process, the Rite of Acceptance. Several times each year at Sunday Mass,
inquirers enter the second period of the journey, the catechumenate, by being
marked with the sign of the cross on the ears, eyes, lips, heart, shoulders,
hands and feet -- a symbol of both the joys and the costs of Christian
discipleship.
Into the Catacombs
The word catechumenate means "time of serious study" and inquirers who
become catechumens -- those who have not been baptized -- or candidates --
baptized Christians who have not been confirmed as Roman Catholics -- join us at
Sunday Mass during the Liturgy of the Word, after which they move to the parish
house to continue reflecting on the Scriptures. The length of the catechumenate
varies according to individual need. The norm is a year or more.
Our catechumens and candidates do not travel alone during this period.
Sponsors are chosen from the parish community to act as spiritual
companions, providing personal support, sharing experience of Christian life and
helping make the catechumens and candidates feel "at home" with Catholic
religious practice.
The catechumenate period ends when a catechumen or candidate is ready
to begin the third period of the journey, the period of purification
and
enlightenment, which coincides with Lent each year. On the first Sunday of Lent,
catechumens travel to Holy Name Cathedral to celebrate the second major rite of
the RCIA process, the Rite of Election, while candidates receive the Call
to Continuing Conversion.
Purification and Enlightenment
The period of purification and enlightenment is a time of final
preparation for initiation. The period is one of prayer, fasting and reflection
for both catechumens, now known as the Elect, and candidates. During this
period, the Elect experience scrutinies and exorcisms, special rites which seal
their break with evil in preparation for baptism.
Easter Fire!
The candidates and the Elect are initiated through the third and
consummating rite of the RCIA process, the Sacraments of Initiation, at
the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. On that night, when light drives out
darkness, joyful sounds fill the silence, and we proclaim and renew our
resurrection hope, the Elect culminate their long journey to initiation in the
waters of Baptism -- then, with the candidates, the newly baptized are sealed
with the oil of Confirmation and share the bread and wine of the Eucharist as
full members of the Roman Catholic community.
Mystagogia
Initiation begins the fourth period of the RCIA journey, the mystagogia,
which means "leading into the mysteries". The newly initiated meet weekly
between Easter and Pentecost to explore and confirm the Easter experience. From
Pentecost until the following Easter, mystagogia continues with intermittent
meetings. Mystagogia is the final stage of the RCIA process, but it is in turn
the beginning of a pilgrimage of lifelong, continuous conversion in full
communion with the Roman Catholic community of Christians.
How long does it take?
"The Rite of Christian Initiation is not a program.
It is the church's way of ministering sensitively to those who seek
membership.
"The Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ."
Four Steps to Becoming a Fully
Initiated Catholic
The Big
Picture
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
(commonly known as the R.C.I.A) is the normal way in which adults become full,
active, participating members of the Catholic Church. The R.C.I.A. is not just a
"convert class" with a new name. It looks different too. Special rites are
celebrated during the Sunday liturgies at various times throughout the year.
Adults involved in the R.C.I.A. are dismissed with their faith sharer each week
after the homily to reflect and apply the scriptures they have just heard to
their own lives. The R.C.I.A. involves the whole parish - in prayer as the rites
are celebrated, in witness to our faith, in hospitality as new members are
welcomed, and in specific ministries like sponsor, team member, or dismissal
leader.
The most important thing to keep in mind about
the R.C.I.A. is this: it is not merely a new way to prepare adults for baptism;
baptism is only one step. The goal of the process is full communion which means
"full, conscious, and active participation"* in the eucharist and in the whole
life of the Catholic faith community.
The R.C.I.A. helps adults to grow in their
relationship with God, become familiar with Catholic teachings and practices,
get acquainted with people in the parish, and get involved in service within the
parish or the wider community.
Many persons who want to join the Catholic
Church have already been baptized in another Christian Church. They will not be
rebaptized. These candidates for full communion in the Catholic Church will
follow these four steps of conversion.
First
Step
Period of Inquiry
How someone comes to consider joining the
Catholic Church is unique to each individual. Years of marriage to a Catholic
spouse, conversations with a Catholic friend or coworker, or even something
written or viewed in the media can move an adult toward membership in the
Catholic Church. Informally, this can go on for years!
At some point, the person may contact a Catholic
parish and begin to meet with other adults who are also inquiring about the
Catholic faith. These adults, with members of the R.C.I.A. team, will take time
to tell their own stories and connect them with the faith stories found in
scripture.
Second
Step
Rite of Acceptance into the
Order of Catechumens and the Period of the Catechumenate
Some of the inquirers become firm in their
desire for initiation and decide that they would like to begin more formal study
of the teachings and practices of the Catholic Church. They are admitted into
the next step through a special ceremony called the Rite of Acceptance/Welcome
into the Order of Catechumens. In this ritual the Church symbolically claims
these men and women for Christ by signing them with the cross.
This is the first time that the inquirers
publicly declare their faith before the parish community. Because no one likes
to do something like that on their own, each inquirer is accompanied by a
sponsor. Sponsors may be chosen by the individual or provided by the parish.
Sponsors provide support and companionship for the rest of the R.C.I.A. process.
After this rite, the inquirers are called
catechumens, and the initial conversion is deepened. This name indicates that
they are learning the teachings of the Church and beginning to accept Catholic
tradition and practices. Even though they are not yet permitted to receive the
sacraments, the catechumens do enjoy other important rights. They have a right
to assistance as they grow in faith by learning about the teachings of the
Church and participating in works of service in the parish. They also have a
right to be married in the Church and to receive Christian burial.
Third Step
Rite of Election and the Period
of Purification and Enlightenment
The period of the catechumenate ends when the
catechumens discern, with the help of their sponsors and the parish R.C.I.A.
team, that God is calling them to receive the sacraments of initiation (Baptism,
Confirmation, and First Eucharist) at the next Easter Vigil. Before they can be
initiated, they must be officially called to the sacraments by the bishop or
someone designated by him.
This Rite of Election is celebrated on weekend
of the First Sunday of Lent presided by the Bishop. The Rite of Election marks
the end of formal study of the teachings and practices of the Church. The
catechumens are now called the elect. The weeks of Lent are a time of intense
prayer and conversion as the elect prepare themselves to celebrate the
resurrection of the Lord at Easter and to receive the sacraments of initiation.
On the Sundays of Lent, special prayers are
offered at the Eucharist for the elect, called Scrutinies. These prayers are for
strengthening in grace and virtue, and help them prepare more fully for the
sacraments. The sponsors continue to accompany the elect in church and support
them in their Lenten preparations.
Fourth
Step
Initiation and Mystagoia
On Holy Saturday, the parish assembles for the
Easter Vigil. The Church has always recognized that in baptism we die to sin in
Christ's death so that we may rise to new life with him. The Easter Vigil is the
primary celebration of the Lord's resurrection and is, therefore, the most
appropriate occasion for the elect to celebrate their baptism, confirmation, and
first eucharist.
For the newly initiated, now called neophytes,
the time between Easter and Pentecost is a special opportunity to reflect on the
commitment which they have made to the Lord, to the Church, and to the local
parish community. This time of unfolding the meaning of the initiation
sacraments is called mystagogia. The Sunday scripture readings, which explain
the meaning of the resurrection and of baptism, have special meaning for these
new Catholics. During this season the bishop may gather the neophytes for a
special eucharistic celebration called the Mass of the Neophytes.
The journey of faith lasts a lifetime. The weeks
after Easter are a time for new Catholics to seek out their place in the parish
community. Other parishioners can reach out to welcome them, helping them to get
involved and feel at home.
If you
know someone who might like to begin journeying with us in faith, invite them to
call the
parish office.
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