245. The neophytes are, as the term “mystagogy” suggests, introduced into a fuller and more effective understanding of the mysteries through the Gospel message they have learned and above all through their experience of the sacraments they have received. For they have truly been renewed in mind, tasted more deeply the sweetness of God’s word, received the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and grown to know the goodness of the Lord. Out of this experience, which belongs to Christians and increases as it is lived, they derive a new perception of the faith, of the Church, and of the world.
Reception of the sacraments may be a gateway to a “full” understanding of the life of faith. How does one assess or judge “effectiveness?” I would think through the lived example of the Christian life in the neophyte. After all, the next group of inquirers/catechumens/elect must be inspired.
Instead of a process of active and directive formation, the sacraments now provide the direction and inspiration for the neophytes, as they do for the faithful. The reference to faith, Church, and world implies there is no corner of life divorced from the considerations of a person adopted into the grace of Christ.
