RCIA
Each year hundreds of people ask to join the Catholic Church. The Melbourne Archdiocese is a leader in Australia in promoting the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).
The work of AOFE in this area is informed by a Forum Committee of priests and lay people experienced in the implementation of the rite in the parish. Fr Elio Capra SDB is consultant to the office for the RCIA.
Formation of parish teams is a key element of the work of promoting RCIA. AOFE staff are able to assist parishes in beginning RCIA or in forming and developing their team.
What is RCIA?
The character of the church is to welcome all people, especially people who are searching for a deeper connection in their lives. Often people are not sure whether it is even God they desire to know. It can be a vague yet distinguishable yearning for something beyond one's self. At other times it is a more articulate desire to relate to, to know about and to investigate God and the people who believe.
The Church welcomes all people who genuinely search for God. The Catechumenate community is an ancient tradition in the church that companions and supports people who enquire. There is never any pressure to join but only a respectful relationship that allows each person the freedom to experience their own spiritual journey.
This ancient way of guidance is more recently termed the RCIA, an acronym for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.
Preparing a RCIA Session on Advent and Christmas for Catechumens and Candidates
"Another end of year break-up party? Let me check my diary." It's so good to catch up with friends. The year is winding down; a small vacation; a fresh start next year. Many RCIA teams are going into recess in December and January. People are busy. They go away. Against this mindset we have the short liturgical seasons of Advent and Christmas – a time of spiritual expectation, preparation and conversion, and a time that calls for patience. But sometimes there is little opportunity for RCIA groups to meet with Catechumens and Candidates during Advent and Christmas to explore and experience the riches of these seasons.
Patience, hard thing! the hard thing but to pray, But bid for, Patience is!
-Gerard Manley Hopkins
The aim of an Advent and Christmas Session is to enable Catechumens and Candidates to experience a sense of expectation, preparation, joy and celebration of the manifestation of Christ, "the light of the world", through the Incarnation of the Son of God. During this period of joyful spiritual preparation, Catechumens and Candidates may also develop an awareness of sin, a sense of repentance and a growing desire to be filled with Christ, as the light of the world who overcomes darkness. Their minds may also be directed to the second coming of Christ at the end of time. The seasons of Advert and Christmas play important parts in the process of the spiritual conversion of Catechumens and Candidates. During this period of preparation and celebration of the birth of Christ, they will be comforted that Christ is calling them to follow him and that they are being challenged to transform their lives by personal encounter with Christ and union with God.
Catechumens and Candidates are unlikely to be familiar with the religious and spiritual meaning of Advent and Christmas. The RCIA team should use all the resources available to them, but preparation for a RCIA session on Advent and Christmas will come down to words, music, language, narrative, symbols and rituals of the seasons. These essential elements are "mediators" between the Catechumens and Candidates and the Divine. They create an environment where Catechumens and Candidates can participate in what is being performed and can alter and affect their developing relationship with God.
A number of important Rites in the RCIA process can take place during Advent and Christmas. Parishes sometimes celebrate the Rite of Acceptance for Catechumens in the first week of Advent. It may also be possible for parishes to hold non sacramental Penitential Services for Candidates during this time in accordance with paragraph 384 of the RCIA text. The Anointing of Catechumens is another powerful rite that can be celebrated. But it is a pre-baptismal rite, and not applicable to baptised Candidates. Blessings and Minor Exorcisms may also be carried out during this time, within a Celebration of the Word or during a RCIA session or meeting.
A RCIA session on Advent and Christmas can incorporate any of the above rites within the session itself, and can assist Catechumens or Candidates prepare for any rites planned during a during a Mass or a Celebration of the Word. The RCIA team may exercise a degree of creativity and adapt the session to the meet the needs of the Catechumens and Candidates. The following is a suggested format that may be of some assistance:
Prayers (Opening / Closing Prayer)
The RCIA team leader or members may wish to prepare the opening and closing prayers for the session with an Advent or Christmas theme. It would be helpful to obtain copies of Advent and Christmas Prayers and make adaptations where appropriate. Take note of the words and phrases used to evoke an Advent theme:- come; long expected; excite in me; joy; hope; prepare our hearts; prepare us for his coming; searching for the light of your Word; the dawn of his coming: welcome the light of his truth; open our heart in welcome; remove the things that hinder us; may darkness not blind us; the joy of salvation; the earth rejoices; the hope of the Savour's coming; looking forward with longing; Christ's return at the end of time; the coming of your Son; watchful hope: or a Christmas theme:- the heavens rejoice; the earth be glad; He has come; the Son of God is born; shining star; the Word made flesh; the bright dawn; welcome Christ; the dawn of salvation; the birth of your Son; gratitude; humility; a child born; filled with wonder; shine; new light; the light of faith; holy night; Jesus Christ our light; true light; glory breaks on the world. A simple opening Prayer may be as follows:
Lord, as we gather here today
Fill our hearts and being
With the wonder of your presence.
Grant that we may come to love and know you
With receptive minds and generous hearts
As we search for the light of your Word.
Increase our longing for Christ our Saviour
And give us the strength to grow in love,
That the dawn of his coming may find us rejoicing
In his presence and welcoming the light of truth.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Scripture Reading
An appropriate scripture reading may be selected for sharing and reflection after, or in place of, the Opening Prayer. The group may use Lectio Divina to pray with the Scripture. It would be helpful, before hand, to obtain copies of the Sunday Advent and Christmas Readings from the Lectionary, in order to choose the reading and develop themes for contemplation. The following are the readings for:
Year B: Advent
- 1st Sunday of Advent:
Mark 13: 33-37. Stay Awake! You never know when the Lord will come. - 2nd Sunday of Advent
Mark 1:1-8. Make straight the paths of the Lord. - 3rd Sunday of Advent:
John 1: 6-8. 19-28.There stands among you, unknown to you, the one who is coming after me. - 4th Sunday of Advent:
Luke: 1:26-38. You will conceive and bear a son.
Year B: Christmas
- Midnight Mass:
Luke 2:1-14. Today a saviour has been born for you. - Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God:
Luke 2: 16-21. The shepherds found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the crib....When the eighth day came they gave him the name of Jesus. - The Epiphany of the Lord:
Matthew 2.1-12. We have come from the East to worship the king.
Another option may be to focus on being receptive to God's will during Advent and Christmas. An excellent reading for this purpose is Philippians 2:5-11:
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The RCIA group can then reflect on the importance of becoming receptive to God's divine will, through the "self emptying" of one's own will.
Information Session
The Session may now move to a shared discussion on Advent and Christmas with a greater focus on content. One or more team members may wish to prepare something beforehand to initiate discussion, for instance on the meaning of Advent and Christmas, or the history and tradition of these seasons. A helpful way to deal with this is to focus on the symbols and rituals of the seasons. Advent symbols include: the Advent Wreath, Advent Candles, Liturgical colours, the Jesse tree and Advent Calendars. Advent rituals include: the blessing of the Advent Wreath, Candle lighting ceremony; the absence of the Gloria during the Mass and penitential celebrations. Christmas symbols include: the Christmas Manger and Nativity scene, Christmas Candle, Christmas tree Christmas star and lights, the Holy family. Christmas rituals include: the blessing of the Christmas Manger and Nativity scene, the blessing of a Christmas tree; Christmas hymns and Carols.
Blessings
Blessings are powerful and sometimes under-utilised rites of the RCIA, which have the ability to connect with Catechumens and Candidates. It is often the transcending moment when theory and practice interface. The RCIA text provides wonderful Prayers of Blessing in paragraphs 97 A –I. Another rich resource is the Book of Blessings which contains the order for blessing of an Advent Wreath, a Manger or Nativity Scene and a Christmas Tree. With creativity, the use of appropriate Advent and Christmas symbols, such as a brief candle lighting ceremony, and some minor adaptations to the Prayers of Blessing, the blessings can instil in Catechumens and Candidates courage, joy and peace. Often the RCIA session concludes with a blessing.
Minor Exorcism (or Healing Prayers)
Minor Exorcisms apply only to Catechumens and have a different focus than Blessings. They have a penitential overtone. The RCIA team should discern when it is appropriate to use a Minor Exorcism during an Advent and Christmas RCIA Session. If a special need arises one of the prayers of Exorcism set out in paragraphs 94 A-K may be used with appropriate adaptations for the season of Advent and Christmas.
Planning & Preparation: Anointing of Catechumens and Penitential Service for Candidates:
No RCIA Session can conclude without some planning. This is particularly important if there is a brief recess period at the end of the year. If there is an Anointing of Catechumens or a Penitential Service for Candidates planned in the Advent or Christmas season, this is the time to explain it to them. The RCIA team and the Parish Priest should prepare the liturgy for the celebration of the Word and select appropriate prayers for the Anointing with reference to paragraph 101of the RCIA text. The preparation for a Penitential Service for Candidates is more challenging and perhaps not as common. The RCIA team and Parish Priest may prepare the liturgy with reference to the RCIA (US Edition) paragraphs 459-472.
Service & Mission
Since the Church's life is apostolic, Catechumens and Candidates should also learn to work actively with others to spread the Gospel and build up the Church (paragraph 75.4 of the Rite). During the period of Advent and Christmas much can be gained by Catechumens and Candidates if they become involved in parish activities or groups such as St Vincent De Paul, local Soup Kitchens and Asylum Seeker Centres. They may also be able to help with the Church environment for Advent and Christmas and the preparation of Christmas Hampers. During this period of time, it may also be helpful for RCIA team members to regularly meet up with Catechumens and Candidates, especially if they do not have strong connections with the parish. These matters can be explored during the RCIA session.
Take Home Reflection
With the planning out of the way and with a concluding Prayer or Blessing, the RCIA session can come to an end. Spiritual conversion remains the key element in the RCIA. A simple poem about Christmas makes this connection beautifully - better than a thousand words.
Moonless darkness stands between.
Past, the Past, no more be seen!
But the Bethlehem-star may lead me
To the sight of Him Who freed me
From the self that I have been.
Make me pure, Lord: Thou art holy;
Make me meek, Lord: Thou wert lowly;
Now beginning, and alway:
Now begin, on Christmas day.
-Gerard Manley Hopkins
