April 16, 2010
The Christian Journey
Easter Season: Time to meet the new members of the Church
BY FATHER JIM SAUER
Throughout the Easter Season, the Church proclaims a reading from the Acts of the Apostles during every Mass. If we place the Gospel of Luke and Acts side-by-side, the reason becomes obvious. The Gospel of Luke proclaims the life and ministry of Jesus from his conception until his Ascension; Acts proclaims the presence of the risen Christ and his Spirit inspiring the Church’s life and ministry as the visible Body of Christ. Acts wants us to remember that the risen Christ and his Spirit continue to work through us today.
Acts recalls that 3,000 people were baptized on Pentecost (2:41) and some days later 5,000 joined their number (4:4). Every day, the Lord added to their number those being saved (2:47). The Church grew by leaps-and-bounds! If that many people joined your parish this year either through the Easter Sacraments or from other Christian traditions, your work in their regard during the Easter Season would be next to impossible to accomplish.
This is the focus of this article today – “What are you doing to help your newly initiated and received sisters and brothers feel more at home in your parish during the Easter Season?” The Easter Season – according to the RCIA Ritual – has the official title of “Postbaptismal Catechesis or Mystagogy.” Don’t let that scare you away! The official language of Church documents and rituals makes us search deeper to understand their meaning and expectations of us. This is what we will reflect upon over the next few weeks.
The RCIA Ritual claims that the Easter Season (“Mystagogy”) is of great significance for both the new members and the faithful. During the Easter Season, the new members “with the help of their godparents should experience a full and joyful welcome into the community and enter into closer ties with the other faithful.”
Thus, we must ask ourselves “Have we taken time to meet our new members? Have we gone out of our way to try to find out who they are? Do our catechumens/candidates (hence, new members) attend the same Mass each weekend thus making it impossible for the entire parish to become acquainted with them? Is it time to have them attend different weekend Masses so that more parishioners will get to know them? Does someone introduce our new members each weekend during the Easter Season at Mass? Is not the Easter Season an opportune time for “extra social gatherings” after every weekend Mass to mingle with the new members? Do our new members present the bread and wine at Mass? Have our organizations or clubs thought about inviting the new members to join them to one of their social evenings?”
The goal of the RCIA is not Baptism in and of itself; but rather, life within the Church community. Baptism is a “bridge” into Church life. Each parish needs to ask seriously how it is helping its new members experience “life within their new-found Church community.” What level of hospitality exists in our parish to help our new members experience that they are finally “at home” and that they “desire to remain here”?
If we do not become more hospitable, our new members will eventually seek another church. This is the main reason Catholics leave our Church. They seek a Church where they feel at home, loved and cared for. Through the RCIA, the Holy Spirit is calling our parishes to develop hospitality. I believe with all my heart – as Bishop Gettelfinger writes in his column – that hospitality is a key ingredient for re-energizing our parishes. Hospitality is also the cheapest item to include in our annual budget!