March 6, 2009
The Christian Journey
RCIA: Not a program but a ritual
BY FATHER JIM SAUER
Repeat: The RCIA is NOT a program; it is a ritual of the Church, “including not simply the celebration of the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, but also all the rites belonging to the catechumenate” (RCIA, par. 2). We cannot say this enough.
Whose responsibility is it to form new disciples for the Lord? Catholics of past generations might respond “the priest.” That was the correct answer when the underlying “blueprint” (“paradigm”) operative in the Church was “the priest is the sole minister.” New members met for “private instructions” with the priest.
Vatican II introduced a change in the blueprint of our understanding of “minister.” By virtue of our baptism, all Catholics are “ministers.” The laity also shares in the Church’s pastoral ministry with their pastors. This has nothing to do with any “priest shortage” but comes from our rootedness in baptism — “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Since the Holy Trinity does all things together, the “divine-indwelling” laity and ordained must also collaborate in the Church’s ministry.
This major shift in the Church’s understanding of ministry leads us to a different answer to the question “Whose responsibility is it to form new disciples for the Lord?” Every baptized person is involved in this ministry in some way. We are reminded of our sharing in the Church’s pastoral ministry at the conclusion of each Mass — “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” Tradition holds that St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel daily and, if you must, use words.”
In 1975, Pope Paul VI wrote his inspiring pastoral letter, “On Evangelization in the Modern World.” He affirms, “ . . . the whole Church receives the mission to evangelize, and the work of each individual member is important for the whole” (par 15). Precisely where the laity lives and works (“Spirituality of the Marketplace”) is the domain of their preaching the Gospel.
Pope Paul VI explains further that the primary preaching of the Gospel is “the witness of an authentic Christian life . . . ‘Modern man listens more willingly to witness than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses’” (Par 41). “Above all the Gospel must be proclaimed by witness. Take a Christian or a handful of Christians who, in the midst of their own community, show their capacity for understanding and acceptance, their sharing of life and destiny with other people, their solidarity with the efforts of all for whatever is noble and good. Let us suppose, they radiate in a simple way their faith in values that go beyond current values, and their hope in something that is not seen and that one would not dare to imagine. Through this wordless witness, these Christians stir up questions in the hearts of those who see how they live: Why are they like this? Why do they live in this way? What or who is it that inspires them? Why are they in our midst? Such a witness is already a silent proclamation of the Good News and is a very powerful and effective one. Here we have an initial act of evangelization” (Par 21).
So often new members share how this “informal evangelization” of the authentic life of another Catholic is precisely what drew them to Christ and the Church. Be aware that we can witness to Christ everywhere; never doubt the power of good Christian living. “Formal evangelization” takes place in the RCIA and other parish catechetical programs, which — you guessed it — is also “the responsibility of all the baptized” (RCIA, par. 9).