Archive for the ‘Neophytes’ Category

What are your plans for mystagogy this year? There may be several models to choose from. Continue reading →

How’s mystagogy going for you right now? More importantly, how is it going for the neophytes? Some teams think the period of mystagogy ends with Pentecost, but that’s not what the U.S. bishops think. Flip your copy of the RCIA … Continue reading →

Rehearse on the Saturday before Palm Sunday (not on Holy Saturday) Catechumens and candidates are not at rehearsal; their sponsors are and godparents are The pastor and the Vigil presider (if it is not the pastor) do not need to … Continue reading →

In the June 2009 issue of This Sunday’s Scripture, Paul Bernier, SSS, writes in his commentary for the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ that the body is the “what” and the blood is the “how”: It might … Continue reading →

Do you have any recommendations for “some sort of celebration” at the end of the Easter season that the RCIA mentions in paragraph 249? Our parish has traditionally done a “commissioning,” a blessing prayer over the neophytes by the community … Continue reading →

You know who they are. They’re the ones who keep coming back week after week long after the Easter Vigil and Pentecost are over. They light up anytime someone mentions the RCIA or the catechumenate or becoming Catholic. They want … Continue reading →

One of the complaints I sometimes hear from catechumenate teams is that the parish isn’t really the full expression of church that the catechumens-now-neophytes might have come to expect. It is one thing to catechize them fully and correctly about … Continue reading →

What do you do after the Easter Vigil? What does the ritual text call us to do and be for the neophytes during the sacred time of mystagogy? The following checklist will give you guidance and suggestions for effective mystagogy. … Continue reading →

What do I wear?! That’s a question I get often when I’m planning liturgies. Whether it’s the confirmation candidate, the newly-ordained, or even the bishop, himself, we have a natural concern over what to wear. The baptismal rite in the … Continue reading →