Franciscan at Home

This page on Christian initiation is offered in each issue of The Sower as an on-going way to address specific questions that do not necessarily get addressed in more general articles and training resources. The questions all come straight from the field, and have two sources: 1) from readers like you; 2) from issues raised during seminars conducted by the Association for Catechumenal Ministry (ACM) over the past ten years in various dioceses.

The following questions will be addressed in this issue.

Q. What is mystagogy? How long is it? What is a mystagogy session?

Q. What are the principles to keep in mind when addressing questions regarding any policy conflicts that may arise between the priest/pastor and the RCIA director?

Q. Are there reasons why a nine-month RCIA program is problematic? What are some suggestions for a parish planning to move to a year-round RCIA process?

This page on Christian initiation is offered in each issue of The Sower as an on-going way to address specific questions that do not necessarily get addressed in more general articles and training resources. The questions all come straight from the field, and have two sources: 1) from readers like you; 2) from issues raised during seminars conducted by the Association for Catechumenal Ministry (ACM) over the past ten years in various dioceses.

The following questions are addressed in this issue.

Q A sponsor has proven to be problematic during RCIA sessions. In her small group the sponsor tries to smooth over or minimize issues and situations having to do with the Church that seem to present difficulties for her candidate. You learn that outside the sessions this sponsor tries to put her own ‘spin’ on some of the points taught by the RCIA catechist. Her candidate rarely asks questions during small group and never during the general teaching. What can the sponsor coordinator or RCIA leader do about this?

Q. To whom is the term ‘convert’ appropriately applied?

Q. Who may read the Gospel in a Celebration of the Word during a catechetical session?

Q A pastor of a 90-family rural parish wants to implement the RCIA process, but he is the only one with any theological or catechetical training in the parish, and he can’t afford a DRE or an RCIA director. What is the Church asking of him?

This page on Christian initiation is offered in each issue of The Sower as an on-going way to address specific questions that do not necessarily get addressed in more general articles and training resources. The questions all come straight from the field, and have two sources: 1) from readers like you; 2) from issues raised during seminars conducted by the Association for Catechumenal Ministry (ACM) over the past ten years in various dioceses.

In this issue we address the following questions:

Q. Why does a Catholic have to pay so much money to get an annulment?
Q. What ceremonies normally make up the Preparation Rites? When would they normally take place?
Q. What cycle (A, B, or C) is intended for use with the Scrutinies and the Penitential Rite.
Q. You have an inquirer who is known to be living with his girlfriend. How and when should this issue be handled in the RCIA process, and by whom? How should the RCIA team be told to relate to this pastoral situation? Are there any directives/guidelines for this situation?

Esta página sobre la iniciación cristiana se ofrece en cada número de The Sower como medio continuo para tratar temas específicos que no necesariamente reciben atención en artículos más generalizados o en recursos de formación. Todas las preguntas provienen del campo y tienen dos fuentes: 1) los lectores como usted mismo; 2) asuntos que se han ido suscitando durante los talleres dirigidos por la Association for Catechumenal Ministry [Asociación para el Ministerio del Catecumenado] (ACM) a lo largo de los últimos diez años en varias diócesis.

Q. ¿Cuál es la diferencia entre ser ‘candidato a la comunión plena’ y ‘candidato a la Confirmación y Eucaristía’?

Q. ¿Qué tanto se permite adaptar a los Ritos para conformar con ciertas situaciones? Por ejemplo, un director de RICA y un sacerdote, ¿pueden ellos redactar bendiciones adicionales para los candidatos de acuerdo con la abundancia de bendiciones que se dan en el manual RICA para catecúmenos? ¿Cuáles son los principios rectores para tales asuntos que le señalarías a un director de RICA?

Q. ¿Para qué son las aclamaciones desde las Escrituras en el Apéndice II del manual RICA?

Q. Si un catecúmeno se muere antes de recibir los sacramentos Pascuales, ¿cuál se supone sea su condición bautismal? ¿En qué tradición religiosa es que se debe de enterrar una persona así?

Q. ¿Por qué fomentan las normas de los Ritos y los mismos Ritos una clara distinción litúrgica entre los bautizados y los no bautizados?

Q. ¿Por qué es problemático el uso del Leccionario Dominical como fundamento para las sesiones catequéticas en los períodos de pre-catecumenado y catecumenado?

Q. ¿Qué le dirías a un director de RICA quien se preocupa que su equipo sea demasiado ignorante de la Escritura y doctrina católica como para encargarles con confianza con la dirección de grupos pequeños o ‘Abriendo la Palabra’ / ‘Reflexión sobre la Palabra’? ¿Qué tanto se les puede exigir y cuánto deben de saber?

This page on Christian initiation is offered in each issue of The Sower as an on-going way to address specific questions that do not necessarily get addressed in more general articles and training resources. The questions all come straight from the field, and have two sources: 1) from readers like you; 2) from issues raised during seminars conducted by the Association for Catechumenal Ministry (ACM) over the past ten years in various dioceses.

This issue's questions answered:

Q. What was the primary document of Vatican II that actually directed the restoration of the catechumenate? Why is it significant that this document contained the primary directive?

Q. My pastor is new in my parish, and he asked me to help him form an RCIA team, but I’m not sure how to go about finding people because I’m not even sure what the roles of an RCIA team would be. If someone’s not a catechist, what other roles are there?

Q. What is the purpose of having RCIA team members give their personal testimonies to the group during the sessions?

This page on Christian initiation is offered in each issue of The Sower as an on-going way to address specific questions that do not necessarily get addressed in more general articles and training resources. The questions all come straight from the field, and have two sources: 1) from readers like you; 2) from issues raised during seminars conducted by the Association for Catechumenal Ministry (ACM) over the past nine years in various dioceses.

In this issue we cover the following questions:

Q: Under what circumstances may a lay RCIA leader/catechist give a blessing or minor exorcism to a catechumen or candidate?

Q: An RCIA director is frustrated in her attempts to get a particular inquirer to come out of his shell. He is marrying a parishioner in ten months, and wants to become a Catholic to have peace in the marriage. What are some suggestions that might help her to get him to relate to the process and begin to foster conversion?

Q: What if a previous marriage of one of our RCIA candidates is determined to be valid, and a decree of nullity is not possible?

Q: An RCIA team is somewhat at a loss for how to handle, pastorally and catechetically, a participant who has a mentally disability. What would you suggest?

Esta página sobre la iniciación cristiana se ofrece en cada edición de The Sower como herramienta continua para enfrentar preguntas concretas que quizás no reciben respuesta en los artículos o demás recursos de capacitación más generales. Todas las preguntas provienen directamente del campo, y tienen dos fuentes: 1) de lectores como tú; 2) de asuntos que se suscitan durante los seminarios dirigidos por la Association for Catechumenal Ministry (ACM) [Asociación para el Ministerio Catecumenal] a lo largo de los últimos ocho años en varios diócesis.

P: ¿Qué es ‘Abriendo la palabra’? o ¿‘Reflexión sobre la palabra’? ¿En qué parte se habla de esto en la guía a los Ritos?

P: ¿Se puede utilizar el Aceite de Catecúmenos para ungir a los candidatos para bendiciones y exorcismos menores?

P: ¿Se puede recibir a los cristianos bautizados en la Iglesia fuera de la Vigilia Pascual?

P: ¿Para qué se utiliza el acrónimo RCIT [RICT: T denota teenagers o adolescentes]?

P: ¿Cuáles son los pros y las contras al permitir que un participante con una anulación [de matrimonio] pendiente pase por los Ritos de Aceptación / Bienvenida? ¿Qué hay de los Ritos de Elección /Llamada a la Conversión Continua? ¿Existen algunas directrices para esto?

Esta página sobre la iniciación cristiana se ofrece en cada número de The Sower como medio continuo para tratar temas específicos que no necesariamente reciben atención en artículos más generalizados o en otros recursos de formación. Todas las preguntas provienen del campo y tienen dos fuentes: 1) los lectores como usted mismo; 2) asuntos que se han ido suscitando durante los talleres dirigidos por la Association for Catechumenal Ministry [Asociación para el Ministerio del Catecumenado] (ACM) a lo largo de los últimos diez años en varias diócesis.

P: Una patrocinadora se ha mostrado problemática durante las sesiones de RICA. En el grupo pequeño, la patrocinadora intenta ‘ponerle parches’ o minimizar ciertos temas y situaciones que tienen que ver con la Iglesia que parecen presentar dificultades para su candidato. Te enteras que fuera de las sesiones esta patrocinadora intenta dar su propia interpretación de algunos de los puntos enseñados por el catequista del RICA. Su candidato rara vez hace preguntas durante las sesiones de grupo pequeño y nunca durante la enseñanza general. ¿Qué puede hacer acerca de esto el coordinador de patrocinadores o el dirigente del RICA?
P: ¿A quién se aplica correctamente el término ‘converso’?
P: ¿Quién puede leer el Evangelio en una Celebración de la Palabra durante una sesión catequética?
P: El párroco de una parroquia rural de 90 familias desea implementar el proceso del RICA, pero él es el único que tiene formación teológica o catequética en la parroquia, y no tiene los recursos económicos para un director de educación religiosa o un director del RICA. ¿Qué le está pidiendo la Iglesia?

In this issue Bill Keimig answers the following questions:
Q. Is it liturgically appropriate to formally allow catechumens to choose a baptismal name earlier than the Holy Saturday Preparation Rites?

Q. The Code of Canon Law (CIC 865) says that adults to be baptized should be exhorted to have sorrow for personal sin. My pastor has the unbaptized elect and the baptized candidates both go to Confession prior to the Easter Vigil. His reasoning is that as adults even those not yet baptized would benefit from participating in this sacrament and would better understand how life-giving and freeing it is. Is there any problem with this?

Q. What would you recommend in terms of ensuring that a baptized participant has gone to Confession prior to making a profession of faith and receiving Confirmation and Eucharist?

Q. Where can the provision be found for Christian initiation of a person in danger of death?

Q. A person who is a strong, lifelong Christian meets with you about becoming a Catholic. He is absolutely positive that he wants to be a Catholic; he tells you that he has studied many books and listened to many tapes and is totally convinced that he wants to join the Church. He doesn’t have any close Catholic friends. He is upset by the idea that it might be many months before he is allowed to enter the Church and receive the sacraments. He asks if he really has to go through the entire RCIA process and all the rites.

This page on Christian initiation is offered in each issue of The Sower as an on-going way to address specific questions that do not necessarily get addressed in more general articles and training resources. The questions all come straight from the field, and have two sources: 1) from readers like you; 2) from issues raised during seminars conducted by the Association for Catechumenal Ministry (ACM) over the past eight years in various dioceses.

This issue's questions are:
Q. What is ‘Breaking Open the Word’ or ‘Reflection on the Word’? Where is this discussed in the guidelines to the Rites?
Q. Can the Oil of Catechumens be used to anoint candidates for blessings and minor exorcisms?
Q. Can baptized Christians be received into the Church outside of the Easter Vigil?
Q. What is the acronym RCIT used to refer to?
Q. What are the pros and cons of allowing a participant with a pending annulment case to go through the Rites of Acceptance/Welcoming. What about the Rites of Election/Call to Continuing Conversion? Are there any directives for this?