Very quick question regarding RCIA

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Is “dismissal” a normal part of the RCIA program?

Its just I have never seen anyone mention it. It is REQUIRED part of my wifes RCIA program. if she doesn’t attend dismissal she doesn’t get baptized.
 
MikaAkim said:
Is “dismissal” a normal part of the RCIA program?

Its just I have never seen anyone mention it. It is REQUIRED part of my wifes RCIA program. if she doesn’t attend dismissal she doesn’t get baptized.
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My wife (she was baptized Lutheran) get permission not to attend the dismissal masses. She attended Catholic masses with me for over 20 years, she feels very strongly against this. She already is confessing and receiving the Eucharist, she will be confirmed in the the coming Spring.

The liturgy is for the people (especially newly invented liturgies like the dismissal) and not the people for the liturgy.
 
I attended R.C.I.A. for 2 and 1/2 years (long other story) and was dismissed as a candidate along with the catachumens after the Homily. We gathered together with one of our instructors for “breaking open the word” which was a discussion and question and answer session on the meaning of the Gosple reading for that Mass.
It was wonderful and informative and I’m very glad I had that R.C.I.A. experience.
 
MikaAkim said:
Is “dismissal” a normal part of the RCIA program?

Its just I have never seen anyone mention it. It is REQUIRED part of my wifes RCIA program. if she doesn’t attend dismissal she doesn’t get baptized.
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Yes, after the welcoming rite (comes after the inquirers decide they really do want to continue with RCIA and become Catholic or in full communion with the Church), they must attend the “Breaking of the Word” every Sunday or the Mass at which this dismissal is held.

As the previous poster said, it is very helpful and informative (formative too 😉 ), and is a normal part of RCIA.

blessings,
CEM
 
laszlo said:
My wife (she was baptized Lutheran) get permission not to attend the dismissal masses. She attended Catholic masses with me for over 20 years, she feels very strongly against this. She already is confessing and receiving the Eucharist, she will be confirmed in the the coming Spring.

The liturgy is for the people (especially newly invented liturgies like the dismissal) and not the people for the liturgy.
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FIrst of all as a baptized Christian a person is not dismissed. Only the non-baptized are dismissed. The dismissal in not a “newly invented liturgy.” It goes back to the earliest centuries of the Church. This is why pre-Vatican II the two parts of the Mass were the Mass of the Catechumens and the Mass of the Faithful. Catechumens were not supposed to be present for the Mass of the Faithful (which now is basically the time following the homily)

Second,you say your wife has not yet received Confirmation? Has she made a formal profession of faith and is now Catholic. if you wife is not yet Catholic she cannot receive the Eucharist. When a baptized Christian is received into the Church they are to receive Confirmation then first Eucharist.
 
Actually, the dismissal of the catechumens is not newfangled liturgy, but the restoration of the ancient practice in the early Church. Part of the ressourcement that happened in the 20th century–going back to the ancient practices.

The Liturgy of the Catechumens is the Liturgy of the Word. The Liturgy of the Initiated is the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

We aren’t as strict as the early Church was though. Happy about that. There used to be public confession and long years of sackcloth and ashes begging forgiveness at the entrance of the Church given as public penances, before being allowed to return. :eek:
 
Joannm said:
FIrst of all as a baptized Christian a person is not dismissed. Only the non-baptized are dismissed. The dismissal in not a “newly invented liturgy.” It goes back to the earliest centuries of the Church. This is why pre-Vatican II the two parts of the Mass were the Mass of the Catechumens and the Mass of the Faithful. Catechumens were not supposed to be present for the Mass of the Faithful (which now is basically the time following the homily)

Second,you say your wife has not yet received Confirmation? Has she made a formal profession of faith and is now Catholic. if you wife is not yet Catholic she cannot receive the Eucharist. When a baptized Christian is received into the Church they are to receive Confirmation then first Eucharist.
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A validly baptized person, (non-Catholic), attending RCIA, IS dismissed to attend the “Breaking of the Word”. They are not yet in full communion with the Church, thus the RCIA program of which they attend of their own volition. A validly baptized Christian is called a “Candidate” whereas a non-baptized person is called a “Catechumen”, after the RCIA phase of Inquiry has been completed. Both candidates and catechumens are dismissed. I am a Catechist in RCIA, and today we just celebrated the Rite of Welcoming (for the baptized) and the Rite of Acceptance (for the unbaptized).

blessings,
CEM
 
We have dismissals at the parish I attend, but only at the 11:00 am Mass. It’s strongly encouraged, but not required, to attend dismissals here. My schedule hasn’t permitted me to go to more than the first one, though I hope to start going to them soon.
 
We had no dismissal when I attended RCIA - there were too few of us, and it was too hard on our sponsors to miss communion, leave their families, and them have to hunt down another service. We only had one instructor and an occasional volunteer (not often).

Matter of fact, we’ve attended many churches over the years, and we have yet to find one that did Dismissal for RCIA! Mostly, RCIA met one night a week at the rectory or community room for instruction. We were told of the concept of Dismissal, but informed that it wouldn’t work and to just stay in the pew or come up for a blessing.

Our current church is so tiny that the RCIA is only taught by the Priest, so since he can’t leave the altar to accompany the candidates out, they all just stay and come up for blessings. The candidates meet with the Priest weekly at the rectory.

Dismissal is a lovely concept and a nice throw-back to our history, but it is not always practical in some areas.
 
Almost forgot - we did learn, I recall, that if a person has a legitimate reason to not be dismissed, they can request a waiver from the Priest.

For example, a husband going through RCIA may hesitate to leave his pregnant wife and 3 tiny children alone to leave the church. Carrying one baby and reining in 3 others while pregnant would just be too hard on her.
 
sojo said:
We had no dismissal when I attended RCIA - there were too few of us, and it was too hard on our sponsors to miss communion, leave their families, and them have to hunt down another service. We only had one instructor and an occasional volunteer (not often).

Matter of fact, we’ve attended many churches over the years, and we have yet to find one that did Dismissal for RCIA! Mostly, RCIA met one night a week at the rectory or community room for instruction. We were told of the concept of Dismissal, but informed that it wouldn’t work and to just stay in the pew or come up for a blessing.

Our current church is so tiny that the RCIA is only taught by the Priest, so since he can’t leave the altar to accompany the candidates out, they all just stay and come up for blessings. The candidates meet with the Priest weekly at the rectory.

Dismissal is a lovely concept and a nice throw-back to our history, but it is not always practical in some areas.
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Oh, that is too bad, but I think it is wonderful that the Priest is undertaking this without any help. Maybe one day someone in the Parish will volunteer to help this Priest.
 
The final part of the Rite of Acceptance is your dismissal from the assembly, you will now be dismissed on a weekly basis until Easter vigil. At the dismissal you will further discuss the Word of God and the homily (sermon). The purpose of dismissal is to help you grow in love and knowledge of God through the scriptures, since you can not join our brothers and sisters in Christ at the Eucharistic table, you will be fed by Gods word. During your dismissal the assembled people continue to pray for you and participate in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The Liturgy of the Eucharist is a prayer of thanksgiving and a celebration of the real presence Jesus Christ, in which we share fully with one another. The paschal mystery, or the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is why we believe we are saved from the darkness which exists in the world today. Through your baptism and confirmation you will be a part of this celebration at Easter. --Alleluia!
ecatholic2000.com/rcia/rcia3.shtml
 
I’m going through RCIA. I’m taking classes at the Catherdal and attend Mass at my parish (My parish doesn’t have RCIA this year). Since there is no one at my parish to leave with me, my pastor let me stay. I’ve heard dismissal is not mandatory but it is required. If a parish is able to do dismissal then they should but if they are not able, like mine, then what to do?
 
sojo said:
We had no dismissal when I attended RCIA - there were too few of us, and it was too hard on our sponsors to miss communion, leave their families, and them have to hunt down another service. We only had one instructor and an occasional volunteer (not often).

Matter of fact, we’ve attended many churches over the years, and we have yet to find one that did Dismissal for RCIA! Mostly, RCIA met one night a week at the rectory or community room for instruction. We were told of the concept of Dismissal, but informed that it wouldn’t work and to just stay in the pew or come up for a blessing.

Our current church is so tiny that the RCIA is only taught by the Priest, so since he can’t leave the altar to accompany the candidates out, they all just stay and come up for blessings. The candidates meet with the Priest weekly at the rectory.

Dismissal is a lovely concept and a nice throw-back to our history, but it is not always practical in some areas.
Click to expand...
Same story here with me
 
Our parish never had “dismissal”. Our RCIA class was on Tuesday nights. I don’t know that it’s a dogmatic requirement. Afterall, if you are just visiting a Parish, as a non-catholic, they don’t make you leave. Just don’t partake in the Eucharist.
 
My RCIA classes (almost 4 years ago) were set up every Sunday morning - we attended Mass and heard the homily, then as a group we came up and were dismissed with a blessing to go to class while the rest of the congregation received the Eucharist. This is how RCIA is conducted whether or not the person is baptized. However, baptized people can be confirmed at times other than the Easter vigil, while non-baptized people waited until Easter.

Anyone allowed to receive the Eucharist was not in RCIA - those who had received first Communion and Confession but not Confirmation were in a completely different program, and were not a part of the dismissal.
 
MikaAkim said:
Is “dismissal” a normal part of the RCIA program?

Its just I have never seen anyone mention it. It is REQUIRED part of my wifes RCIA program. if she doesn’t attend dismissal she doesn’t get baptized.
Click to expand...
yes it is integral to the program
no it is not absolutely required that the pastor practice it in his parish, if for instance as here it raises difficulty (I have two RCIA classes, English and Spanish and if we did dismissal I would regularly miss Mass myself) so until I get more help we don’t do it. Yes it is required that catechumens attempt to aquire the first prerequisite for receiving the Holy Spirit-docility, that is, obedience and humility to accept what the Church has arranged for their prepartion.

The instruction and preparation for initiation is founded first on the Sunday readings, especially the gospel, and the systematic catechesis flows from that, so you parish is doing it right.

In the early Church no one was permitted to remain for the Eucharistic mystery until after baptism. Nowdays she is certainly free to attend another full Mass with you, but she still needs to participate in all the preparation sessions, including the Breaking open the Word which follows dismissal.
 
CEM5 said:
A validly baptized person, (non-Catholic), attending RCIA, IS dismissed to attend the “Breaking of the Word”. They are not yet in full communion with the Church, thus the RCIA program of which they attend of their own volition. A validly baptized Christian is called a “Candidate” whereas a non-baptized person is called a “Catechumen”, after the RCIA phase of Inquiry has been completed. Both candidates and catechumens are dismissed. I am a Catechist in RCIA, and today we just celebrated the Rite of Welcoming (for the baptized) and the Rite of Acceptance (for the unbaptized).

blessings,
CEM
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I beg to differ with you, but the dismissal is for the unbaptized only. All the rubrics in the Rite only speak of catechumens being dismissed. However many parishes erroneously dismiss the candidates as well.
 
originally posted by Joannm
All the rubrics in the Rite only speak of catechumens being dismissed. However many parishes erroneously dismiss the candidates as well.
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It may be erroneous, but I’m very grateful for it. Though I’d been Baptized as a lutheran, I needed all the extra instruction I received in the “Breaking Open the Word”. Just because one is Baptized does not make a person automatically have any understanding of Catholicism. I would think that goes without saying. :confused:
 
Joannm said:
I beg to differ with you, but the dismissal is for the unbaptized only. All the rubrics in the Rite only speak of catechumens being dismissed. However many parishes erroneously dismiss the candidates as well.
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it should be the choice of the baptized candidate whether or not he wishes to join the Breaking open the Word session. In any case he does not yet have a Mass obligation before Confirmation, but even if candidates are dismissed, the distinction between the baptized and unbaptized should be made clear in the dismissal blessing and sending prayers.
 
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