It’s the end of the school year, time for graduation and promotion and moving on to the next thing. It is in that context that this week we also wrapped up our RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) program for the year.
Rather than be surprised we finished, most folks would be startled to hear that we were still meeting. Didn’t that end at Easter, when they all entered the Communion and received the Sacraments? Our neophytes (new or “rookie” Catholics) were surprised too. But no, there is more to be learned about the Faith that can only be approached and apprehended with the help of sacramental grace, and we spent a month on that.
By this time of year, a comfort and community has been achieved in our little group, and people are ready to talk easily about serious things with one another. So, in our final meeting, we had a little celebration and I put some questions in a basket for the neophytes to draw out, at random, and answer. An example is, When did you first think of yourself as someone who would/could/should be a Catholic? If you were raised Catholic, that is not a milestone you have ever marked, but for all of them is was fun to consider. In fact, for most of the questions, after the one who had drawn the question gave his answer, several others chimed in with theirs.
Other questions might be easier for cradle Catholics to engage. Is there a famous Catholic who has made a difference for you? Everybody was willing to offer a few names from the proverbial “saints of old” like Francis to celebrities of the modern era like Mother Teresa. “Famous Catholic” includes a much broader sample than saints, though, and includes people who are famous for other things but eagerly identify themselves as Catholic, like President Biden; and folks who have been famous for a long time for other things but only recently have folks discovered their Catholicism (Mark Wahlberg, as revealed in “Father Stu”). We are always excited when somebody famous for doing something cool or excellent, like that astronaut, or the firefighter who saved the baby, turns out to be a Catholic. What is your idea of a famous Catholic? What about them, or their fame, or their examples, has been helpful to you? Anybody can answer that question.
But if those people can make a difference in your life, and in the lives of people who decide to become Catholic, then, well, so can other people. So can you. Each of the neophytes could name several people who had helped them personally on their way to the Church, and these people were not famous. Before our conversation was finished, all our rookie Catholics were aware that they, too, could help somebody else in that same way.
Even though it’s in May, and it means our neophytes are indeed moving on to the next thing, the end of RCIA is not really a graduation. Entering the Communion of the Church is more like a wedding, which is the beginning of a relationship that will define and direct the rest of your life, something you can’t picture living without. Because of that, you should readily be able to explain it to somebody you care for, and encourage that person to pursue it as well.
One of the questions was, What would you say to suggest to someone you know to suggest that he or she consider embracing the Catholic faith? They had a range of answers; you should have one, too.
Monsignor Smith
