What Activities can a RCIA Sponsor do?

[Mankney]

Hi, I have just started being a RCIA sponsor but the material I have found on the subject seems to be light on the specifics. I was wondering if anybody who has been a Sponsor or I guess anyone else has any ideas on what I can do to help my candidate on his journey to the church. He has been going to a Catholic Church (just not as a member) for over 40 years with his wife so he should be pretty familar with the basics. We are going to talk this week about what he feels he needs but I wanted to have some options ready.

Thanks

 

[puzzleannie]

when possible the sponsor should accompany the catechumen in the doctrinal classes and the breaking open the word sessions. he should attend the various rites with his catechumen (first being Rite of Acceptance) because he has a role to play in these rites. His role is to model what it means to live a Christian life as a practising Catholic, to answer questions when he can, and to find answers when he can’t. He should be the one introducing his catechumen to parish life and activities–bringing him along on service projects, parish social events and the like. He should explain devotions and other events of the Church year, such as Advent wreath, rosary, funeral customs and so forth, as they come along. In Lent, the sponsor will be usually be replaced by the godparent who is the one who will actually stand up as the witness when the person is baptized and confirmed.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Hi, I have just started being a RCIA sponsor but the material I have found on the subject seems to be light on the specifics. I was wondering if anybody who has been a Sponsor or I guess anyone else has any ideas on what I can do to help my candidate on his journey to the church. He has been going to a Catholic Church (just not as a member) for over 40 years with his wife so he should be pretty familar with the basics. We are going to talk this week about what he feels he needs but I wanted to have some options ready.

Thanks

As his sponsor (why didn’t he choose his wife to be his sponsor?) anyway, as his sponsor you should attend Mass with him (and his wife). Since he is a Candidate he would not be dismissed. Try and meet with him once a week outside of the regular RCIA sessions to talk and go over the last RCIA session. You should also be attending the sessions with him. Feel free to give him resources, books, tapes, etc.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Note that the sponsor is not expected to be able to answer all the candidate’s questions, but rather to help him phrase the questions and put them to the RCIA leaders - who may not have the answers either, but are responsible for finding them. One of a candidate’s biggest problems is figuring out what it is that he wants to ask.

 

[Mankney]

Thanks for the replies,

I will definately be with him at the Doctrinal and breaking open the Word Sessions.

We will also get together once a week on our own.

Thanks for the suggestions. It gives me alot of good ideas.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Thanks for the replies,

I will definately be with him at the Doctrinal and breaking open the Word Sessions.

We will also get together once a week on our own.

Thanks for the suggestions. It gives me alot of good ideas.

Remember: you have a Mass obligation to attend the whole Mass. So if you do choose to go with him to the Breaking Open the Word (which if he is a Baptized Candidate he should not be going to) You are required to attend another complete Mass.

 

[Mankney]

Good suggestion Br. Rich and one I thought of.

I get so much out of Mass that I don’t want to miss one minute of it so I go to an earlier one. It does not matter to me if I am obliged or not to go, I will be there always full of joy and worshiping God

 

[puzzleannie]

As his sponsor (why didn’t he choose his wife to be his sponsor?) anyway, as his sponsor you should attend Mass with him (and his wife). , etc.

the spouse or fiance is not always the best sponsor, in fact this practice is actively discouraged in some places (including here). the sponsor represents the community so sometimes someone else is a better choice.

 

[Mankney]

In this case, my candidate and his wife has only been in the area for 6 months so she probably would not be the best to introduce the candidate to the people and activities at the church so it fits in with what puzzleannie said.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

the spouse or fiance is not always the best sponsor, in fact this practice is actively discouraged in some places (including here). the sponsor represents the community so sometimes someone else is a better choice.

I agree that sometimes another person is a better choice. But generally a couple that has been attending Mass together for 10-15-35 years the spouse is an execelent choice.

Even if the Sponsor is a spouse they should be qualified, interviewed, etc. Just like any other Sponsor.

 

[puzzleannie]

the reason we do allow spouses and fiances to be sponsors is first, we have a hard time finding sponsors from among parishioners (a scandal IMO but we are working on it) and because so often this person is also in need of more instruction, and benefits just as much or more from the class. but it is an individual matter, and we to make an effort to get the right sponsor for each catechumen (we only have 3). it is much tougher getting the right godparents.

 

[JohnnyReb]

Remember: you have a Mass obligation to attend the whole Mass. So if you do choose to go with him to the Breaking Open the Word (which if he is a Baptized Candidate he should not be going to) You are required to attend another complete Mass.

I did not know this. After the rite of acceptance on Sunday, candidates and catechumens will be going together to the breaking open of the word with our RCIA group. What is a candidate supposed to do instead?

 

[Joe_Kelley]

the reason we do allow spouses and fiances to be sponsors is first, we have a hard time finding sponsors from among parishioners (a scandal IMO but we are working on it) and because so often this person is also in need of more instruction, and benefits just as much or more from the class. but it is an individual matter, and we to make an effort to get the right sponsor for each catechumen (we only have 3). it is much tougher getting the right godparents.

I prefer to both have a sponsor and have the spouse or fiance attend. I find it best if the sponsor and the candidate have only RCIA in common. That way their interaction is free of a lot of unrelated baggage, like how does this apply to who should have taken the garbage out last night. ]

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

I did not know this. After the rite of acceptance on Sunday, candidates and catechumens will be going together to the breaking open of the word with our RCIA group. What is a candidate supposed to do instead?

A Candidate by virtue of their valid Baptism have a right to remain for the Liturgy of the Eucharist, even though they cannot receive Holy Communon.

 

[puzzleannie]

I prefer to both have a sponsor and have the spouse or fiance attend. I find it best if the sponsor and the candidate have only RCIA in common. That way their interaction is free of a lot of unrelated baggage, like how does this apply to who should have taken the garbage out last night. ]

that would be ideal and if you can give me advice on recruiting sponsors I’d love to hear it.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

that would be ideal and if you can give me advice on recruiting sponsors I’d love to hear it.

Delegate it to another member of the team.

Actually we work the Knights of Columbus and their wives pretty hard. Also, we try to bring back those who have gone through RCIA two or three years ago.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

that would be ideal and if you can give me advice on recruiting sponsors I’d love to hear it.

I just posted this in another thread. Do you actually present the RCIA process to the parish. Do the regular people in the pew really know what the RCIA is? Why we have it? How it is a whole community process? Why and how they should be invloved in it? Doing this helps a lot in getting Sponsors and even team support members.