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Startingcatholic
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I’m currently in RCIA and the rite of welcoming will be on Saturday and I was wondering where it comes from in church tradition?
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TheLittleLady
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http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-te...e-of-christian-initiation-of-adults/index.cfm
Prior to beginning the RCIA process, an individual comes to some knowledge of Jesus Christ, considers his or her relationship with Jesus Christ and is usually attracted in some way to the Catholic Church. This period is known as the Period of Evangelization and Precatechumenate. For some, this process involves a long period of searching; for others, a shorter time. Often, contact with people of faith and a personal faith experience lead people to inquire about the Catholic Church. After a conversation with a priest, or RCIA director, the person, known as an “inquirer,” may seek acceptance into the Order of Catechumens, through the Rite of Acceptance. During this Rite, the inquirer stands amidst the parish community and states that he or she wants to become a baptized member of the Catholic Church. The parish assembly affirms this desire and the inquirer becomes a Catechumen.
The Period of the Catechumenate can last for as long as several years or for a shorter time. It depends on how the person is growing in faith, what questions they encounter along the way, and how God leads them on this journey. During this time, the Catechumens consider what God is saying to them in the Scriptures, what changes in their life they need to make to respond to God’s inspiration, and what Baptism in the Catholic Church means. When a Catechumen and the priest and the parish team working with him or her believes the person is ready to make a faith commitment to Jesus in the Catholic Church, the next step is the request for baptism and the celebration of the Rite of Election. Even before the Catechumens are baptized, they have a special relationship to the Church.
Prior to beginning the RCIA process, an individual comes to some knowledge of Jesus Christ, considers his or her relationship with Jesus Christ and is usually attracted in some way to the Catholic Church. This period is known as the Period of Evangelization and Precatechumenate. For some, this process involves a long period of searching; for others, a shorter time. Often, contact with people of faith and a personal faith experience lead people to inquire about the Catholic Church. After a conversation with a priest, or RCIA director, the person, known as an “inquirer,” may seek acceptance into the Order of Catechumens, through the Rite of Acceptance. During this Rite, the inquirer stands amidst the parish community and states that he or she wants to become a baptized member of the Catholic Church. The parish assembly affirms this desire and the inquirer becomes a Catechumen.
The Period of the Catechumenate can last for as long as several years or for a shorter time. It depends on how the person is growing in faith, what questions they encounter along the way, and how God leads them on this journey. During this time, the Catechumens consider what God is saying to them in the Scriptures, what changes in their life they need to make to respond to God’s inspiration, and what Baptism in the Catholic Church means. When a Catechumen and the priest and the parish team working with him or her believes the person is ready to make a faith commitment to Jesus in the Catholic Church, the next step is the request for baptism and the celebration of the Rite of Election. Even before the Catechumens are baptized, they have a special relationship to the Church.
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TheLittleLady
Guest
RCIA as we know it was promulgated by the Vatican in 1972.
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Startingcatholic
Guest
Thank you for the information!
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Dovekin
Guest
I looked up St Ammbrose’s sermons On the Mysteries to see what he described, and the first paragraph said:
These rites go back to the earliest days of the Church, and they have been retained since then. The ceremonies were abbreviated for infant baptism, so that the rituals of the next few months were done in about 5 minutes. The RCIA expanded and adapted them for modern adults. But in some way they have always been there.
I guess I shouldn’t tell you about the rite, just open your eyes and ears to hear what is happening around you.The season now warns us to speak of the Mysteries, and to set forth the purport of the sacraments, which if we had thought it well to teach before baptism to those who were not yet initiated, we should be considered rather to have betrayed than to have portrayed the Mysteries. And then, too, another reason is that the light itself of the Mysteries will shed itself with more effect upon those who are expecting they know not what, than if any discourse had come beforehand.
These rites go back to the earliest days of the Church, and they have been retained since then. The ceremonies were abbreviated for infant baptism, so that the rituals of the next few months were done in about 5 minutes. The RCIA expanded and adapted them for modern adults. But in some way they have always been there.
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HeDa
Guest
RCIA can be seen as “a very long baptismal rite” with all the parts spread over several months. When an infant is baptised all of these parts take place at the same time.
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jimXroberts
Guest
The various parts of the RCIA program date back to the early 1970s. Before then, converts to Catholicism received their catechesis from a priest and were baptised and confirmed at a semi-private service. They then found themselves in an impersonal Church where they felt excluded by those who had grown up together as Catholics. The lapse rate among converts was quite high.
The RCIA provides a route for converts to Catholicism, as well as Catholics who lapsed prior to confirmation, to explore and join the Church. Catechesis is a group activity so that you have the opportunity to discuss areas that seem strange and to get to know both your fellow enquirers and your catechists. The process is marked by various celebrations that take place in front of the congregation so that you feel integrated into the Church and not just someone who has been slotted in quietly.
Over the last 2,000 years, the conversion experience has gone through various changes. At the start of the Church, conversion was the norm. The way Christians are initiated has changed according to society’s requirements. Many medieval Cathedrals in Europe have a separate baptistry building outside the West door. At midnight on Easter Sunday, you would have undressed and been baptised naked by immersion before being given a new white garment, been confirmed and then go in procession to join Mass in the Cathedral at around the Creed. Bearing in mind it was before the days of central heating, it must have been a chilling experience and I’m sure you find the present rites preferable. However, parts of the ceremony such as taking a new white garment still hark back to medieval times.
The RCIA provides a route for converts to Catholicism, as well as Catholics who lapsed prior to confirmation, to explore and join the Church. Catechesis is a group activity so that you have the opportunity to discuss areas that seem strange and to get to know both your fellow enquirers and your catechists. The process is marked by various celebrations that take place in front of the congregation so that you feel integrated into the Church and not just someone who has been slotted in quietly.
Over the last 2,000 years, the conversion experience has gone through various changes. At the start of the Church, conversion was the norm. The way Christians are initiated has changed according to society’s requirements. Many medieval Cathedrals in Europe have a separate baptistry building outside the West door. At midnight on Easter Sunday, you would have undressed and been baptised naked by immersion before being given a new white garment, been confirmed and then go in procession to join Mass in the Cathedral at around the Creed. Bearing in mind it was before the days of central heating, it must have been a chilling experience and I’m sure you find the present rites preferable. However, parts of the ceremony such as taking a new white garment still hark back to medieval times.
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TheLittleLady
Guest
RCIA was never intended for the baptized. I know we have simply put Christians IN the RCIA prep, but, that is not part of the actual intent of the Rites.as well as Catholics who lapsed prior to confirmation
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