LEADING SEEKERS TO ENCOUNTER CHRIST THE ART OF ...

LEADING SEEKERS TO

ENCOUNTER CHRISTTHE ART OF ACCOMPANIMENT

Copyright © 2017, 2018, TeamRCIA.com. All rights reserved.

NICK WAGNER

1. WHY IS OUR WORK AS CATECHISTS IMPORTANT?

“

The primary and essential object of catechesis is, to use an expression dear to St. Paul and also to contemporary theology, "the mystery of Christ."

POPE JOHN PAUL II, ON CATECHESIS IN OUR TIME

“

Accordingly, the definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ:

Only He can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity.

POPE JOHN PAUL II, ON CATECHESIS IN OUR TIME

“

We need Christians who make

God’s mercy and tenderness for

every creature visible to the

people of our day.

POPE FRANCIS, “ADDRESS TO THE PLENARY ASSEMBLY OF THE

PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR PROMOTING THE NEW EVANGELIZATION” (OCT. 14, 2013)

“

It is important to devise and ensure a suitable formation, one which will make persons able to step into the night without being overcome by the darkness and losing their bearings…

POPE FRANCIS, “MEETING WITH THE BISHOPS OF BRAZIL” (JULY 28, 2013)

“

…able to listen to people’s dreams without being seduced and to share their disappointments without losing hope and becoming bitter;…


“

…able to sympathize with the brokenness of others without losing their own strength and identity.


“

On the lips of the catechist the first proclamation must ring out over and over:

“Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you.”

POPE FRANCIS, JOY OF THE GOSPEL, 164

2. WHAT IS CATECHESIS?

“

The church sometimes has locked itself up in small things,in small-minded rules.

POPE FRANCIS, “A BIG HEART OPEN TO GOD”

RAISE YOUR HAND IF...

◉…you ever experienced small-mindedness…

in your parish?

on your RCIA team?

in yourself?

Pope Francis says we cannot get distracted

by the small things.

FOCUS

“

To get diverted by many secondary or superfluous things does not help;

what helps is to focus on the fundamental reality,

which is the encounter with Christ….

POPE FRANCIS, OCTOBER 14, 2013

“

What is communicated in the Church, what is handed down in her living Tradition, is the new light born of an encounter with the true God…

POPE FRANCIS, THE LIGHT OF FAITH

“

…a light which touches us at the core of our being and engages our minds, wills and emotions, opening us to relationships lived in communion.

POPE FRANCIS, THE LIGHT OF FAITH

“

Catechesis, as a component of the process of evangelization, needs to go beyond the simple realm of scholastics…

POPE FRANCIS, PLENARY ADDRESS ON NEW EVANGELIZATION, MAY 29, 2015

“

…in order to educate believers, beginning with children, to encounter Christ, living and working in his Church.

POPE FRANCIS, PLENARY ADDRESS ON NEW EVANGELIZATION, MAY 29, 2015

3. HOW DO WE DO THIS?


The normative vision"The model for all catechesis is the baptismal

catechumenate when, by specific formation, an adult converted to belief is brought to explicit profession of baptismal faith during the Paschal Vigil". (180)

This catechumenal formation should inspire the other forms of catechesis in both their objectives and in their dynamism.

–General Directory for Catechesis, 59

Gradual process

Within community

Paschal mystery

Conversion

Adult process

Varies for each person

RCIA principlesRCIA #4-5


Word Community

Worship Witness

RCIA formation areasRCIA #75


Aidan Kavanagh, OSB


…what the Roman documents contain are not merely specific changes in liturgical

rubrics, but a restored and unified vision of the Church.

One might describe it as a concentric ecclesiology locked together by the sacramental discipline of faith shared on all levels…

Gradual process

Within community

Paschal mystery

Conversion

Adult process




“The initiation of catechumens is a gradual process…”

Gradual process

Within community

Paschal mystery

Conversion

Adult process




Postbaptismal catechesis has a “gradual character expressed in definite stages.”GDC, 91

ACCOMPANIMENT CHALLENGE

The “definite stages” are spiritual and life stages, not academic progress

We need to move away from scope and sequence models and toward a process of accompanying seekers on their own journey of faith

God’s pedagogy is one of self-revelation that takes place progressively (in stages)


Gradual process

Within community

Paschal mystery

Conversion

Adult process




“The initiation of catechumens… takes place within the community of the faithful…”

Gradual process

Within community

Paschal mystery

Conversion

Adult process




Catechetical pedagogy will be effective…when the community is proposed as a source, locus, and means of catechesis. GDC, 158

Word Community

Worship Witness

RCIA formation areasRCIA #75



As catechists, we do not yet have a full understanding of faith formation as apprenticeship, a learn-by-doing process

A complete catechesis is only achieved by immersing seekers into the full life of the community of faith

Word

Community

Worship

Witness


Gradual process

Within community

Paschal mystery

Conversion

Adult process




“…By joining the catechumens in reflecting on the value of the paschal mystery…”

Gradual process

Within community

Paschal mystery

Conversion

Adult process




“Catechesis is distinguished from other forms of presenting the word of God by its vital deepening of the mystery of Christ;”GDC, 67


Every catechetical encounter must be a moment of healing

What needs to be brought to life in this person?


Gradual process

Within community

Paschal mystery

Conversion

Adult process




“…and by renewing their own conversion, the faithful provide an example…”

Gradual process

Within community

Paschal mystery

Conversion

Adult process




“Catechesis must have a catechum-enal style, as of integral formation rather than mere information; it must act in reality as a means of arousing true conversion.”GDC, 29


Many of our catechetical programs are not designed to accompany those who actually need evangelization and conversion

Conversion happens in the heart

All catechesis must be based on our prior mission of evangelization


SIGNS OF CONVERSION

an initial conversion

a desire to change their lives

a desire to enter into a relationship with God in Christ

signs of the first stirrings of repentance

a start to the practice of calling upon God in prayer

a sense of the Church

some experience of the company and spirit of Christian community (see RCIA 42)

Gradual process

Within community

Paschal mystery

Conversion

Adult process




“The rite of initiation is suited to a spiritual journey of adults…”

Gradual process

Within community

Paschal mystery

Conversion

Adult process




The discourse of faith with adults must take serious account of their experience, of their conditioning and of the challenges which they have encountered in life.GDC, 172


In many parishes, RCIA is the only adult faith formation process that is functioning

Therefore, it becomes a catch-all for all adult faith formation needs

We have to learn how to accompany adults on at least three different levels

Unbaptized seekers

Baptized, but not sufficiently catechized for mission

Christians consistently doing the mission


Gradual process

Within community

Paschal mystery

Conversion

Adult process




“The rite…varies according to the many forms of God’s grace, the free cooperation of the individuals, the action of the Church, and the circumstances of time and place.”

Gradual process

Within community

Paschal mystery

Conversion

Adult process




Interpreting [individual] experience with the data of faith is a constant task of catechetical pedagogy—even if with difficulty. It is a task that cannot be overlooked. GDC, 153


Most of our catechetical programs, including RCIA, are designed as one-size-fits-all curriculums

Each journey of faith is unique, and as catechists our vocation is to accompany each seeker on his or her own journey


Gradual process

Within community

Paschal mystery

Conversion

Adult process


Word Community

Worship Witness

RCIAconversion model

#4-5 and #75


HOW DO WE DO THIS?

Baptismal catechumenate is the model

Mission (evangelization) is the content

Apprenticeship in parish life is the textbook

Word

Community

Worship

Witness

Accompaniment is the methodology

4. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE DID THIS?

“

I dream of a “missionary option”,

that is, a missionary impulse

capable of transforming

everything, so that the Church’s

customs, ways of doing things,

times and schedules, language

and structures…

POPE FRANCIS, JOY OF THE GOSPEL

“

… can be suitably channeled for

the evangelization of today’s

world rather than for her self-

preservation…


“

…to inspire in pastoral workers

a constant desire to go forth and

in this way to elicit a positive

response from all those whom

Jesus summons to friendship

with himself.



Nick [email protected]

Get information about online training and view the slides at

TeamRCIA.com/nccl2018

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