SENDING AND ELECTING

 
Many of us (like me) have no recollection of our baptism and only a vague remembrance of our confirmation.  We were babies when we were baptized and very young (6^th grade, for me) when confirmed.  I’m not sure what the overall effect would have been in any event, as the entire of both sacraments was celebrated in Latin.  But the ritual itself would have been impressive.
 
          If we had been adults in those days and wished to become Catholic (like my Mother, before she married my Dad), we would have undergone “instruction,” which was one-on-one (or perhaps very small groups) of meetings with a priest, with subsequent reception into the Church or (again, like my Mom) being “conditionally baptized.”  All this would have occurred in the rectory.
 
          How different things are today, in our post-Vatican II world of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosantcum Concilium)!  
 
          What was then introduced into Church practice was the “Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults” (RCIA, now re-named OCIA—“Order of Christian Initiation of Adults:  it’s so good to see meaningful and important changes made by those in charge…).  It was an attempt to bring forward ancient Christian practice into the life of the contemporary Church.  This is a combination of 2 important principles that touched almost every aspect of Vatican II:  ressourcement and aggiornamento (respectively, “going back to the sources” and “updating”).  It introduced emphasis on the communal dimension of the sacraments of initiation as well as their inter-relationship.  This brings us to this weekend.
 
          For months now, people have been coming to Our Savior on Tuesday evenings for supper, sharing, and presentations on various aspects of the Catholic Church’s teachings and practices.  It’s been a time of growth for folks, individually and as a community, growth has touched all of us, presenters and inquirers alike.   Now it’s time to take the final steps of preparation for the joy of Easter, when some will be baptized, some received formally into the Church, and everyone will be confirmed and celebrate First Eucharist.  So at 11:00 Mass this weekend we ask them to affirm their choices (with those to be baptized even writing their names in our Book of the Elect), and all of us going to the Cathedral to join similar groups from other parishes in a prayer service of welcome led by Archbishop Rodi.  No more hiding in rectory foyers!
 
          Our folks have studied and shared wonderfully in these past months, and we all look forward to the Easter Vigil as they formally and fully join the Church.  Please continue to pray for them in these last weeks before Easter (their final preparation is actually the original purpose of Lent, by the way).  They are ready, willing, and eager, and they are inspirations to us who have shared their fellowship in our OCIA process.