Choice of a Baptismal Day

I was noticing up-and-coming blogger, atheist-converted-Catholic Leah Libresco posted on her baptism yesterday. I’m always curious about the choice of a day for adult baptism when it’s off the liturgical year. The Church strongly urges Easter Vigil, of course. It does so with such an insistence that it presumes that if an adult is baptized elsewhere in the liturgical year, that it be prepared by a Lent of sorts. Not only by the elect, but also by the community, or a portion of it.

The 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time is an unusual choice. If Easter Vigil is not possible, there are other baptismal feasts, even this time of year. All Saints Day and Christ the King seem more fitting for this particular month. And a seven-week wait for Epiphany or Baptism of the Lord, is a thought too. The Orthodox embrace the Epiphany/Theophany as an appropriate baptismal feast, along with Easter and Pentecost.

The picture posted is also intriguing, as it features two clerics (plus one in the background) but no sign of a godparent.

I am aware of a conservative or clerical pushback against “RCIA” as it surfaces in parishes. It’s important to keep in mind that RCIA is, by definition, rite. Not a catechetical/faith sharing offshoot on weeknights or during Sunday Mass. One priest I knew commented several years ago, “I don’t do RCIA if it’s not called for.” I could well have commented, “If you’re a Catholic priest you sure should be doing it. What other initiation rite is there?”

Whatever rite was used, congrats to Leah on her baptismal day.

 

Acceptance: The Cycle Begins Again

It was a bonus to come to a parish four years ago that did a year-round catechumenate. What’s that, you ask? Simply that we are focused on evangelization and welcoming twelve months a year. Not just in the Fall.

And when unbaptized inquirers are ready, we celebrate the Rite of Acceptance. It can happen at any time during the year, as it did at 8:30 Mass this morning. The pews empty somewhat so the newcomers are surrounded by their new community as they enter the church.

Left, our pastor Fr Jon Seda greets two new members of God’s household. They encounter the cross of Christ for the first time (ritually).

Below and right, our new members experience the Signing of the Senses.

 

GDC 88-89: “The baptismal catechumenate: structure and progression”

Nothing really new for those involved in RCIA, or those who followed our analysis of it here on this site. The emphasis of the GDC is on a careful progression for those initiated into the Church:

88. Faith, moved by divine grace and cultivated by the action of the Church, undergoes a process of maturation. Catechesis, which is at the service of this growth, is also a gradual activity. “Good catechesis is always done in steps”. (Cf. RCIA 19) In the baptismal catechumenate, formation is articulated in four stages:

– the pre-catechumenate, (RCIA 9-13) characterized as the locus of first evangelization leading to conversion and where the kerygma of the primary proclamation is explained;

– the catechumenate, (RCIA 14-20; 68-72; 98-105) properly speaking, the context of integral catechesis beginning with “the handing on of the Gospels”; (RCIA 93; cf. 1977 Synod of Bishops, Message to the People of God 8c)

– a time of purification and illumination (RCIA 21-26; 133-142; 152-159) which affords a more intense preparation for the sacraments of initiation and in which the “the handing on of the Creed” (RCIA 25 and 183-187) and “the handing on of the Lord’s Prayer” take place; (RCIA 25 and 188-192)

– a time of mystagogy, (RCIA 37-40; 35-239) characterized by the experience of the sacraments and entry into the community.

89. These stages, which reflect the wisdom of the great catechumenal tradition, also inspire the gradual nature of catechesis.* In the patristic period properly, catechumenal formation was realized through biblical catechesis, based on recounting the history of salvation; immediate preparation for Baptism by doctrinal catechesis, explaining the Creed and the Our Father which had just been handed on, together with their moral implications; and through the phase following the sacraments of initiation, a period of mystagogical catechesis which help the newly baptized to interiorize these sacraments and incorporate themselves into the community. This patristic concept continues to illuminate the present catechumenate and initiatory catechesis itself. This latter, in so far as it accompanies the process of conversion, is essentially gradual and, in so far as it is at the service of one who has decided to follow Christ, it is eminently christocentric.

* This gradual nature is also apparent in the names which the Church uses to designate those who are in the various stages of the baptismal catechumenate: sympathizers (RCIA 12), those who are disposed to the faith but do not yet fully believe; catechumens (RCIA 17-18), those who have firmly decided to follow Jesus; elect (RCIA 24), those called to receive Baptism; neophytes (RCIA 31-36) those just born into the light by the grace of Baptism; the Christian faithful (RCIA 39), those who are mature in the faith and active members of the Christian community.

As someone who has worked closely with catechumenate ministries, some of the emphasis here was a bit surprising. The Lenten presentations of the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer are dowplayed in many parishes. The focus is more on the conversion Gospels of John (4, 9, and 11), the rooting out of sin, and the spiritual preparation for Easter. I’ve not seen in other places the emphasis on the catechumenate period as “handing on of the Gospels,” an optional ritual in the Rite of Acceptance, alongside the “handing on of the Creed (and) the Lord’s Prayer” for Lent.

This material and that which follows in sections 90-91 is a good refresher for people serving in catechumenate ministry: sponsors, catechists, godparents, and others. It can help assure a parish it is on the right track with their emphasis and focus in ministry. Finding commentary on liturgy after a rite has been implemented can be illuminating. (The first General Catechetical Directory was promulgated one year before the first edition of the RCIA, and this document dates nine years after RCIA mark II)

 

RCIA Up

The RCIA page at the top of the header is finally done and completely linked. As I was trolling through my old posts, I found two that weren’t properly categorized. So I may have erred somewhere on one of the links. If so, just let me know.

Eventually, I’ll get to organize the funeral rites, the pastoral care of the sick, the major Vatican II documents. Any suggestions as to what I should tackle next?

 

RCIA Bad and Sad

A tale from the front:

A few years ago a colleague of mine had this incident in her parish. She had a baptized Christian in her RCIA group. He was divorced from his wife but had not remarried. The pastor insisted he needed an annulment. No matter that the chancery said that an annulment was not required in this case. At least not unless or until he wanted to remarry.

But the pastor’s word is law, on a local level. The insistence on annulment stood, and the man left RCIA, never to return. What would you do?

 

RCIA 597: Songs from Ancient Liturgies

This section gives seven “songs” for use in the RCIA. For research on a forthcoming article, I’ve corresponded with a few scholars on these, most notably Msgr Bruce Harbert of ICEL. He noted one was from an inscription at an ancient baptismal font, but he had no background on the others. Another liturgy professor I know judges them to be Eastern Christian in origin, but likewise, nothing specific. These “songs” first appeared in the infant baptism rite in the early 1970′s and were adopted into the adult rite without reference or much editing.

These first two are similar enough to be the same text. They also borrow from the language of the first letter of John, and have the same sense to them:

1. We believe in you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Fill our hearts with your radiance
and make us children of light!

2. We come to you, Lord Jesus.
Fill us with your life.
Make us children of the Father
and one in you.

This one I’ve seen set to accompany the Rite of Sprinkling at Sunday Mass. I’ve seen at least three good settings out there of this text, but no single one has caught the Catholic imagination, really:

3. Lord Jesus, from your wounded side
flowed streams of cleansing water;
the world was washed of all its sin,
all life made new again!

Nice trinitarian acclamation for baptism:

4. The Father’s voice calls us above the waters,
the glory of the Son shines on us,
the love of the Spirit fills us with life.

The only problem with the last text and this one following is the address of God. #5 is a little worse; I just don’t like the “preaching” tone which could easily be an interpretation along the lines of the many “priest” instructions in the rite. With a small change in wording (“stretch out your hand” to “clap your hands”) this could get very hokey very fast:

5. Holy Church of God, stretch out your hand
and welcome your children,
newborn of water and of the Spirit of God.

And another text giving instruction to the people:

6. Rejoice, you newly baptized,
chosen members of the Kingdom.
Buried with Christ in death,
you are reborn in him by faith.

This last one I like:

7. This is the fountain of life that floods the entire world,
the water that took its beginning
from the pierced side of Christ.
You, who are born again of this water,
place your hope in the kingdom of heaven.

This was actually the text I used for the first good liturgical song I ever wrote. I used Isaiah 55 and John 7:37ff as material for the verses. The concept of a “flexible” baptismal acclamation with optional verses may have been better than the actual music, but there you have it.

My honest sense with these texts as a whole is they’re largely inadequate. Why do I say that? They seem to be an afterthought–and not just because they’ve been placed in an appendix. What would have been helpful for all those sections referring to a “suitable song”  would be an inclusion of both psalm refrains, other Scripture texts, and suggestions for psalm verses. There are just too few of these, and not nearly enough for the stages of the initiation rites, especially the Lenten period. A section with twenty to thirty texts for all periods of the catechumenate would be a top-notch resource. Lacking that, we will have a lower bar as many, many composers set their own texts for use in the liturgies of initiation.

I doubt the next incarnation of RCIA will include more on this–this section of “songs from ancient liturgies” is mostly unchanged from the 1972 edition. Plus, there’s a decided attitude of clamping down from the CDWDS where beauty and creativity are concerned.

This concludes the Catholic Sensibility series on RCIA. American RCIA books include the national statutes, the section of particular liturgical law as defined by the US bishops for RCIA. We’ve alluded to some of these statutes as we’ve gone through the rites in more than 250 posts. Is there an outcry to review these 37 statutes? Or should we move on to the Order of Christian Funerals (OCF)?

 

RCIA 596: Hymns in the Style of the New Testament

These two examples are probably mostly ignored by composers. These New Testament hymns are 1 Peter 1:3-5 and a second based on 1 Timothy 3:16.

Praised be the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
a God so merciful and kind!
He has given us a new birth, a living hope,
by raising Jesus his Son from death.
Salvation is our undying inheritance,
preserved for us in heaven,
salvation at the end of time.

For contrast, check the RNAB text online here.

Number two:

How great the sign of God’s love for us,
Jesus Christ our Lord:
promised before all time began,
revealed in these last days.
He lived and suffered and died for us,
but the Spirit raised him to life.
People everywhere have heard his message
and placed their faith in him.
What wonderful blessings he gives his people,
living in the Father’s glory,
he fills all creation
and guides it to perfection.

I set some of this text twenty-five years ago for an infant initiation. I don’t think I was successful. Compare this expansion with the actual passage from 1 Timothy.

I think the problem with these texts as given is that they don’t even allow an easy rendering into chant, especially in contrast to the Grail translations of the evening prayer canticles. And are two texts adequate? I would have hoped for Ephesians 1:3-10, and probably Colossians 1:15-20, if not more poetic renderings of the gifts of 1 Corinthians 12. And if we’re going to expand a hymn fragment, why not Ephesians 5:14?

My criticism of this section: lazy and woefully incomplete, assuming that such canticles are a priority for the initiation rites. And I think they should be.

Any musicians out there with any success on these?

 

RCIA 595: Acclamations 5, 8-11

One acclamation from Psalm 34:6 well-suited for acceptance or welcoming:

5. Come to him and receive his light!

And Psalm 34 is designated at the Rite of Acceptance for the processional song after the signing of the senses and before the liturgy of the word. I’m less positive on linking this acclamation literally with the presentation of the baptismal candle. The rite “shows” people who come to God and receive his light; we don’t need to sing about it.

These next two are from 1 John:

8. You are now God’s children, my dearest friends. What you shall be in his glory has not yet been revealed. (3:2)

9. Think of how God loves you! He calls you his children, and that is what you are. (3:1)

These two Scripture passages are found in the Lectionary for both Easter (4th Sunday cycle B) and Christmas (Holy Family, cycle C). While I like these texts, I find them unappealing as acclamations, which ideally should be bursts of praise to God, not addressing people in the second person, God in the third.

This passage from Revelation 22:14 is more of an acclamation:

10. Happy are those who have washed their robes clean, washed in the blood of the Lamb!

My main worry with this would be the sing-songy quality of the text. Another text for the initiation rite, I would think.

And last, Saint Paul preaches to his difficult community, the Galatians (3:28)

11. All of you are one, united in Christ Jesus.

Probably the most popular contemporary piece this Scripture has been incorporated into, is John Foley’s “One Bread One Body.” Any of the three sacramental rites, especially Eucharist and mystagogy would seem apporpriate for this text.

Any last comments on this music? You all have been rather silent on RCIA for awhile.

 

RCIA 595: Ephesian Acclamations 4, 6, 7, 12

Four of the acclamations are based on passages from the letter to the Ephesians, a favorite for baptismal and credal theology.

4. There is one God, one Father of all; he is over all, and through all; he lives in all of us.

I have to say that poetically, this acclamation from Ephesians 4:6 is flat. But as an early Creed, it piques the imagination as to how the early Church in Ephesus remained open to Christ and the Holy Spirit to solidify the early expressions of Christianity.

6.  Blessed be God who chose you in Christ.

This excerpt (1:3-4) from the baptismal canticle opening the letter may be one of these acclamations most set to music over the past few decades. It’s a good text for both the rites of sending and election. It’s probably most used as an acclamation for the rite of Baptism.

The next one from 2:10):

7. You are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus.

… probably the same uses.

12. Imitate God; walk in his love, just as Christ loves us.

The brevity of these acclamations and the crispness of the syllables make it difficult to set these texts well. All have good and worthy sentiments to accompany the journey of initiation. This last text from 5:1-2 has no settings in the published realm of which I’m aware.

Possibly the most widespread baptismal acclamation is Howard Hughes’ setting of “You have put on Christ; in him you have been baptized.” That acclamation works well because of the insertion of an alleluia after each phrase. This last acclamation is a good text, and probably would be even better suited for the commencement of the catechumenate stage if it were expanded, “Imitate God; walk in his love, alleluia, just as Christ loves us, alleluia.”

Or perhaps not. Any readers out there with experience setting these texts? Charles? Tony? Anyone?

 

RCIA 595: Acclamations 1-3

With very little fanfare, RCIA launches into a second appendix of many musical texts, but very little in terms of commentary. Perhaps between you reader and I we can come up with something substantive.

RCIA’s Appendix II (the first appendix covered the combined rites for thew baptized and the not) is only three sections long. Two “hymns in the style of the New Testament” make up RCIA 596, and seven “songs from ancient liturgies” are found in RCIA 597. Today we’ll look at the first three of twelve “acclamations from sacred Scripture.”

1. Lord God, who is your equal? Strong, majestic, and holy! Worthy of praise, worker of wonders!

Exodus 15:11 is from the third “psalm” of the Easter Vigil, the Israelites’ song of triumph on the shores of the sea. This quote is slightly suggestive of the Trisagion–which itself may have been a good choice for an initiation acclamation.

When might this be used? The text might suggest it being a bridge between baptism and confirmation at the Easter Vigil. If so, a development as the antiphon of a larger setting might be called for, perhaps some of the (Evening Prayer) canticles from Revelation, like 4:11, 5:9-10, 12 or 11:17-18, 12:10-12 or 15:3-4 or 19:1-7 could be utilized to build that setting.

A better case might be made for a more frequent use during the catechumenate period, to more closely link God’s agency in the Exodus triumph with the initiation journey of the catechumens/elect. My suggestion would be to set this text and use it for the minor exorcisms and the blessings of the catechumens. That would mean a singable melody that could stand well unaccompanied.

2. God is light: in him there is no darkness.

1 John 1:5, but better known as the first phrase of Dan Schutte’s “City of God.” I’ve seen this phrase set in a few collections of RCIA music. When to use it? Rite of Acceptance or Welcoming would be good. A literal stitching into the baptismal rite would be poor.

3. God is love; those who live in love, live in God.

David Haas’s setting of 1 John 4:6 (which includes other baptismal acclamation texts) is probably the most well-known of the handful of versions, but it doesn’t have wide use. I’m probably least sold on this text as an acclamation as any in the bunch. Sure, it’s a quote from Scripture. But out of context in the epistle, it comes off as more sentiment than kerygma.

 

RCIA 566-594: Easter Vigil

The combined initiation of the elect and reception of baptized Christians is pretty common at Easter Vigils across North America. The first rubric in the celebration:

566. Those who will be received into full communion at the Easter Vigil, along with their sponsors, should take places apart from the elect who will be called forward for the celebration of baptism.

The homily should include reference not only to the sacraments of initiation but also to reception into full communion (see RCIA 489).

You can’t get much clearer than this: “places apart.” My sense is we’re talking not only different rows, but different sections.

Everything else is pretty easy to figure out. The elect are baptized (RCIA 567-579). Following the Rite of Baptism, the entire community, along with the candidates for full communion renew baptismal promises (RCIA 580). Sin is renounced (581), faith professed by question and answers (582) and baptismal water is sprinkled. (583)

The newly baptized with godparents proceed to the sanctuary (584) and this procession may be accompanied by a “suitable song.” The candidates with sponsors are called forward, and the Celebration of Reception takes place (585-586).

A song may be sung before everyone is confirmed (587-591) and the Liturgy of the Eucharist (592-594) concludes the celebration.

Whew! The last of the RCIA rites. Any last comments before we head into the musical adventures of appendix II?

 

RCIA 564-565: The Decision to Combine

So, what’s the bottom line on receiving baptized Christians at the Catholic Easter Vigil along with the Baptism of the elect?

564. The decision … must be guided by the provision in the Rite of Reception, Introduction (RCIA 475 no. 2). The decision should, then, be consistent in the actual situation with respect for ecumenical values and be guided by attentiveness both to local conditions and to personal and family preferences. The person to be received should always be consulted about the form of reception. (see RCIA 475, no. 2)

Ecumenical sensitivity: yes. Parish ministers must also be attentive to the situations of parish, candidate, and the family of the candidate.

565. In its actual arrangement the celebration itself must reflect the status of candidates for reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church: such candidates have already been incorporated into Christ in baptism and anything that would equate them with catechumens is to be absolutely avoided (see RCIA 477).

What might equate them with catechumens? Possibly many common practices: similar seating plans in the pews for individuals and families, similar robing for Confirmation and Eucharist, to name two. Perhaps the community and the candidates are well-prepared in advance of the Vigil. Holy Saturday night isn’t primarily about lessons in ecumenism.

In the next post, we’ll briefly outline the Easter Vigil with both baptism and reception. From there, we’ll be very close to wrapping up the whole series on RCIA.

 

RCIA 563: More on the Easter Vigil

The case for candidates being received at the Vigil:

563. Inclusion at the Easter Vigil of the rite of reception into full communion may also be opportune liturgically, especially when the candidates have undergone a lengthy period of spiritual formation coinciding with Lent.

This is the best argument, I’d say. The RCIA promotes the inclusion of the long-standing members of the faith community in the spirit of the initiation journey. There is a recognition that evangelization and initiation ministry develop not only the missionary sense of the faithful, but actually feed their faith. And if this is true for full members of the community, why not for those baptized in other traditions making the journey too? After reminding us of the preeminence of the Easter Vigil for the elect …

Candidates for reception, who in baptism have already been justified by faith and incorporated into Christ (Unitatis Redintegratio 3), are entering fully into a community that is constituted by its communion both in faith and in the sacramental sharing of the paschal mystery. The celebration of their reception at the Easter Vigil provides the candidates with a privileged opportunity to recall and reaffirm their own baptism, “the sacramental bond of unity [and] foundation of communion between all Christians.” (Unitatis Redintegratio 22).

Confirmation, after all, is “intimately connected with baptism.” And given the connection of Baptism with Eucharist, the rite emphasizes:

(T)he baptismal themes of the Easter Vigil can serve to emphasize why the high point of the candidates’ reception is their sharing in the eucharist with the Catholic community for the first time (see RCIA 475, no. 1).

 

RCIA 562: Easter Vigil Combination

Most American parishes combine the initiation of the elect with the Rite of Reception into Full Communion at the Easter Vigil. I don’t claim to be well travelled (a vocation as a parish liturgist precludes being a liturgical visitor on the big feasts). But my own parish is the only one I know that always receives candidates at a time  other than the Easter Vigil. When I was an RCIA director, baptized candidates would have the option, upon discernment, of disengaging from the larger initiation community to be received on a Sunday.

We’ll examine the instructions of RCIA 562-566 carefully over the next few posts. The Church doesn’t consider the usual American practice of combining initiation rites to be a slam dunk. Indeed, while it may be pretty well entrenched in parishes, I’m not convinced it is the best practice theologically. And pastorally, the testimony is a decidedly mixed one. The pastoral realm kicks off today’s discussion:

562. Pastoral considerations may suggest that along with the celebration of the sacraments of Christian initiation the Easter Vigil should include the rite of reception of already baptized Christians into the full communion of the Catholic Church. But such a decision must be guided by the theological and pastoral directives proper to each rite. The model provided here simply arranges the ritual elements belonging to such a combined celebration. But the model can only be used properly in light of nos. 206-217, regarding the celebration of the sacraments of Christian initiation, and of nos. 473-486, regarding the rite of reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

If only more pastors and parish ministers would read and consider this. Here’s what I see:

- Pastoral considerations are those of the newcomers, not the considerations of the catechetical program, or the convenience of the ministers (the Easter Vigil is long anyway; why not add another ritual or two to it?). If a baptized candidate is ready, and it happens to be close to the Vigil? Then sure, it’s a consideration from a pastoral view.

- That said, the rite also urges a consideration of the theological directives of adult baptism, RCIA 206-217. Confirmation and Eucharist are part of the Easter Vigil, but not as exclusively tied to it as the baptism of adults is.

- RCIA 566-594 just shows you how to do a combined rite. But just because it’s in the book doesn’t mean it should always be used.

- By the way, as long as you’re reading RCIA 206-217, don’t forget 473-486. Get the theology of it all.

 

RCIA 547-561: Combined Election and Continuing Conversion

Rite 3 of Appendix I is the combined rite of election/call to continuing conversion (RCIA 547) celebrated with the bishop, ordinarily on the First Sunday of Lent (548). As with all combined rites, we once again are reminded to maintain distinctions between the baptized and those not in both catechesis and in celebration (549).

After the homily (550), this combined rite completely separates Election (551-554) from the Call to Continuing Conversion (555-557). The basic structure of each includes three similar rituals, a presentation of the individuals, affirmation by godparents (of catechumens), sponsors (of the baptized candidates) and the assembly, plus a final act of admission (unbaptized) or recognition (candidates). Catechumens will be enrolled by name: that is the only dissimilar ritual.

Intercessions for both groups follow (558), followed by a prayer over both (559). If Mass is to be celebrated, the elect are dismissed (560) by the same ritual in RCIA 67 and other places, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist (561) follows.