Image by Nate Johnston on Unsplash
By Lori Smith
“For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him.” Acts 2:39
Challenging times require innovative solutions. These are indeed challenging times, both in our world and in the Church. It is important for lay catechists to shine as beacons of light in the darkness to draw entire families to the one, true Light—that of Christ himself in the Catholic Church. Most importantly, it is the time for the wise process of the RCIA to move to the forefront of our endeavors for the evangelisation and catechesis of entire families.
Whether we realise it or not, we have providentially been training many years for the time in which we are now living. Holy Mother Church takes good care of her children and she has been preparing us for decades. From the restoration of the baptismal catechumenate at Vatican II1 to the General Directory for Catechesis2, the National Directory for Catechesis3, and most recently to the newly published Directory for Catechesis4, the Church has held up the baptismal catechumenate as the essential model upon which all catechesis should be based.
The new Directory for Catechesis states that it “is becoming ever more urgent, that catechesis should be inspired by the catechumenal model” (DC 62). What is it about the RCIA that makes it such an inspiring model? The new Directory enlightens us: “This formative experience is progressive and dynamic; rich in signs and expressions and beneficial for the integration of every dimension of the person” (DC 2).
Unpacking this magisterial statement, we begin to see the benefit of using the catechumenal model to form disciples of all ages. The RCIA is a shaping or forming experience that advocates a change from who the person is at present toward the person God created him to be. This change, or metanoia, is meant to be very powerful and energising for the participant. It involves much more than passively attending sessions to jump through hoops and receive a certificate of completion at the end. A program has a beginning and an end, whereas a process is fluid and ongoing. The RCIA process is designed to renew and bring into union every aspect of the person with Christ and his Church for all eternity. This change is going to cost each participant something. The way he or she has lived life in the past will now change in many ways, which can be more than a bit unnerving. The signs and expressions cannot be perceived as “rich” until the person begins to change and seeks to learn and understand how God moves in his or her soul. Each individual needs to be given the necessary time coupled with accompaniment by formed disciples to “to feel called away from sin and drawn into the mystery of God’s love” as they begin to desire to follow Christ.5
Missionary Outreach
Deep in the trenches of parish life, our RCIA team has recently begun what may best be described as a missionary outreach to parents approaching Mother Church with their unbaptised children who have reached the age of reason through to age seventeen. In the past, we would have focused primarily on preparing these young people via the RCIA process adapted for children and teens. Albeit a worthy endeavor in itself, we have found through experience that it often ends up being both a catechetical and spiritual dead end.
Most often, the parents have never been evangelised themselves, and if they have been catechised, it has been many years since they have received any formation in the faith. This, coupled with the fact they rarely attend Mass (if at all), are not an active part of the parish community, and often have irregular marriage situations, makes it all the more essential to focus on the parents as well as their children and teens. In other words, if we do not minister to the adult parents in whatever situation they happen to be, the children will be unable to practice their faith in the community to which they have been welcomed because we will never see them again. They receive their sacraments, and they are “done”—often for life, due to the lack of spiritual support in the home.
In the RCIA, we teach progressively and in stages toward the upcoming liturgical rite and from that rite to the next. These young people are prepared liturgically, spiritually, and catechetically through the different periods of the RCIA for four sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, and Penance. The prevailing thought in many parishes has been since the parents and godparents have already received their sacraments, they are catechised, and the grace of the sacrament “supplies” for any lack of ongoing
catechesis.
Yes, they have received their sacraments. However, in many (if not most) cases, the graces of these powerful sacraments lie dormant because they have atrophied due to the lack of a response by the child of God who received them many years ago. In other words, they are often among those who are “far off” as our Scripture quote above describes.
The fact that the RCIA is structured to be a gradual and continuous journey of faith (cf. DC 232a) makes it the ideal model to evangelise and catechise the parents along with the children and teens because it allows them to embark on the journey together as a family. The Directory emphasises this by stating, “the community fosters the involvement of parents in their journey of initiation, which for some of them is a moment to deepen their faith and for others is an authentic space for its first proclamation” (DC 232). This wise counsel in a magisterial document gives us the model from which to build.
Quasi-Catechumens
It was Pope St. John Paul II who coined the term quasi-catechumen.6 Reaffirming the definition, the Directory under the section “Catechesis with Adults” identifies “adults who, although they have been baptised, have not been adequately formed or have not brought Christian initiation to completion, and can be referred to as quasi-catechumens” (DC 258).7 The new Directory picks up and develops this term further by stating, “Precisely because of its missionary character, the catechumenate can also inspire the catechesis directed toward those who, although they have already received the gift of baptismal grace, do not actually taste its richness: in this sense one speaks of a catechesis inspired by the catechumenal model or a post-baptismal catechumenate . . .” (DC 61).8 This model, rather than denying the baptismal grace already received by these adults, actually revives the grace that has been dormant—perhaps for many years, thus breathing new life into the souls of the parents.
This idea is expanded upon further in the Directory when it speaks of “three catechumenal initiatives,” the third being “a catechesis of catechumenal inspiration for those who have received the sacraments of initiation but are not yet sufficiently evangelised or catechised, or for those who desire to resume the journey of faith” (DC 62).9 In parish ministry, this is precisely where we find the parents who bring their unbaptised children of catechetical age for sacrament preparation. We often find godparents in the same situation, and they are strongly encouraged to participate with the parents. Preparing these young people for sacraments without evangelising and catechising the parents and godparents makes no sense. In fact, we can go so far as to say that if the parents are not interested in developing the effects of their baptismal grace, dropping their children off once a week at the parish is going to perpetuate this unfortunate situation. We have found it is better to wait until at least one of the parents is ready, willing, and able to participate in what we have aptly named “RCIA Adapted for Families.” z
What might a “catechesis of catechumenal inspiration” look like for parents who are willing to answer the Lord’s call and receive the promise, as our opening Scripture proclaims? In the next issue we will explore how to develop a process that incorporates post baptismal evangelisation and catechesis for parents and godparents inspired by the RCIA model.
“And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all that were in his house.” Acts 16:32
Lori Smith is a mentor and task writer for the Catechetical Institute’s RCIA Track at Franciscan University. She lives in Chico, California, where she is RCIA Director for St. John the Baptist Parish and Formation Chair of the RCIA Committee for the Diocese of Sacramento.
Reprinted with permission, original article: Smith, L., RCIA & Adult Faith Formation: RCIA Adapted for Families—It’s All About the Parents, Part One, The Catechetical Review , Issue #7.1, Jan-Mar 2021, (Online Edition) ISSN 2379-6324.
1 The restoration of the baptismal catechumenate can be found in the following Vatican Council II documents: Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium (December 4, 1963), 64–66; Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium (November 21, 1964), 14; Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church Ad Gentes (December 7, 1965), 13–15; Decree Concerning the Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church Christus Dominus (October 28, 1965), 14; and Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests Prebyterorum Ordinis (December 7, 1965), 5–6.
2 Congregation for the Clergy, General Directory for Catechesis (Washington, DC, 2008), 59.
3 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Directory for Catechesis (Washington, DC, 2005), 35d.
4 Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation, Directory for Catechesis (Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2020), 61–65 (hereafter cited in text as DC).
5 National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1988), 37.
6 John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation on Catechesis in Our Time Catechesi Tradendae (October 16, 1979), 44.
7 Emphasis in original.
8 Emphasis in original.
9 Emphasis in original.
