ACCOMPANYING THE NEWLY BAPTISED IN OUR MIDST (27)

Introduction

In the previous article, I examined the role of the Christian community in accompanying the neophytes (new converts) in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) during the Period of Mystagogy. The call for the involvement of the community in the catechumenal process is in line with the directive of the Church that the RCIA “is to take place within the community of the faithful” (RCIA, 4).

The Church also states that “the People of God, as represented by the local Church, should understand and show by their concern that the initiation of adults is the responsibility of all the baptised” (RCIA, 9). By this, the Church makes it very clear that the Christian community is not only the context but also the true agent for initiating new members into the Church. As such, there exists a close and crucial relationship between the Christian community and the RCIA. Nowhere is this more evident than in the parish, which is the most immediate and visible expression of the community in the Church.

The importance of relationships

Often, it is the practice for some parishes to celebrate a commissioning rite on Pentecost Sunday to formally mark the end of the RCIA process and to symbolically “send forth” the neophytes “into the world” as disciples of Christ. After that, it is assumed that they would somehow integrate themselves into parish life and mission. However, this is not the case all the time.

While a number of new converts feel welcomed and accepted by the members of the parish, some can actually face difficulty integrating in the community. This is especially so since they start missing the friendly and regular small group experience that they had with the RCIA team and fellow catechumens with whom they had journeyed for many months. Gradually, feeling “isolated” or “lost” in the larger parish setting, they may eventually opt to leave the community.  

This is why it is important, especially when the RCIA process comes to a conclusion, that members of the parish be more attentive to the new converts around them and help them feel accepted through their warmth, support and prayers. They have to make the effort, as much as possible, to foster relationships with the converts. After all, relationship is a key element in the RCIA. Relationships actually help in determining whether a person not only becomes a Catholic but also whether he or she has sense of belonging in the parish.

In his study, “Converts, Dropouts, Returnees: A Study of Religious Change Among Catholics”, Dean Hoge, a sociologist, identified three categories of people who convert to Catholicism in the United States:

i. Intermarriage converts – persons who are already or about to be married to a Catholic who feel some concern for the marriage or are influenced by their spouses or relatives in their choice or religion.

ii. Family life converts – non-Catholic with children being raised as Catholic, or who express concern over the children’s religious upbringing.

iii. Seeker converts – persons motivated by a spiritual search or a sense of void or meaninglessness in their lives.

Often, a person becomes a Catholic, says Hoge, because he or she has developed a close bond with a person in the community. And it is most likely that he or she stays in the community because of this bond. As such, it is the relationship with a person or persons already in the Church or the search for a meaningful relationship with others that is a crucial factor in someone remaining in the community long after his or her baptism.

According to Fr. Robert D. Duggan, in “Sociological Perspectives on Conversion”: “Nothing is quite as powerful as that one-to-one experience of being loved as an individual, feeling the strength and support of affective bonds that deepen and grow, and coming to understand that all this is connected to a particular community which makes such an experience possible”. Duggan too states that it is the presence of a person or persons with whom that convert can interact that seems to make the difference in him or her remaining in the community.

Facilitating relationships

While it is essential to affirm the role of the parish RCIA team in the catechumenal process, it is also important to acknowledge that they should never see themselves as the only point of contact with the converts. Often, when the next batch of candidates enter the RCIA, the team members would be busy in trying to foster new relationships and as a result may not have sufficient time to dedicate to those from the previous group. Also, godparents may not be able to adequately accompany the converts on their own. This is why RCIA team members, sponsors and godparents have the task of “facilitating” relationships, that is, to serve as bridges or links between the converts and the rest of the community. As much as possible, they have to connect the catechumens to others.

The potential of a parish ministries or groups and Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC) in this regard has to be highlighted. It is highly recommended that catechumens be introduced to certain ministries or groups in the parish and BEC from the Period of Catechumenate onwards or if not, at least before the conclusion of the RCIA process. This is in order to help them to experience a sense of a close-knit community, which they had once experienced during their time in the RCIA. In a sense, ministries or groups and BECs can serve as essential means by which converts are helped to integrate in the larger parish setting.

Conclusion

Unless the members of the community become more aware that the initiation of adults into the Catholic Church is their responsibility too, the burden of the task will continue to be left to the RCIA team, sponsor or godparent. Therefore, it is essential that community members, especially in the parish, have a greater awareness of their role and responsibility in the RCIA so that they may accompany the new converts in their midst.