Easter is the time in our liturgical year when we celebrate the new life that our Lord has offered us through his Resurrection. As a Church, we rejoice in this promise of new life and are eager to share this Good News with everyone. So, we ordinarily welcome into our Church those adults who have undergone the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) at our Easter Vigil. Unfortunately, like so many other important events in our personal and parish lives, this had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Fortunately, as we continue to enjoy a little more freedom with the Green Phase, we are able, at last, to welcome the ten men and women who will be welcomed into our parish and the Church as they receive the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion this weekend and next. It will be a particular joy as we welcome James Cignarella (husband of Danielle), Roy McClymont (husband of Caroline), Chiaki Denison (wife of E), Jennifer Stoudt (wife of Brad), and Diego and Luna Tafuri (son and daughter of Laura) into the Church as they receive all three sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Additionally, we welcome Keith Kline (husband of Sarah), Brad Stoudt (husband of Jennifer mentioned above) and Carl Taggart (husband of Kim) into the fullness of the faith as they receive the sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist. And, we rejoice as Marissa Smatlak (wife of Kenneth) is fully initiated into the Church through the Sacrament of Confirmation.
God works in mysterious and wondrous ways. He has made us for himself and has placed within us a yearning for union with him. As St. Augustine wrote so well: “Our hearts are restless, O Lord, our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” And, it is through the sacraments of initiation that we are joined to the people whom God has called to be “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for your own possession,” as we hear proclaimed in Preface I of the Sundays in Ordinary Time. In the General Introduction of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (the manual that provides guidance for this process), we read an excellent summary of these sacraments:
In the sacraments of Christian initiation we are freed from the power of darkness and joined to Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. We receive the Spirit of filial adoption and are part of the entire people of God in the celebration of the memorial of the Lord’s death and resurrection.
Baptism incorporates us into Christ and forms us into God’s people. This first sacrament pardons all our sins, rescues us from the power of darkness, and brings us to the dignity of adopted children, a new creation through water and the Holy Spirit. Hence we are called and are indeed the children of God.
By signing us with the gift of the Spirit, Confirmation makes us more completely the image of the Lord and fills us with the Holy Spirit, so that we may bear witness to him before all the world and work to bring the Body of Christ to its fullness as soon as possible.
Finally, coming to the table of the Eucharist, we eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man so that we may have eternal life and show forth the unity of God’s people. By offering ourselves with Christ, we share in the universal sacrifice, that is, the entire community of the redeemed offered to God by their High Priest, and we pray for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit, so that the whole human race may be brought into the unity of God’s family.
Thus, the three sacraments of Christian initiation closely combine to bring us, the faithful of Christ, to his full stature and to enable us to carry out the mission of the entire people of God in the Church and in the world.
The Introduction goes on to state that RCIA “is designed for adults who, after hearing the mystery of God proclaimed, consciously and freely seek the living God and enter the way of faith and conversion as the Holy Spirit opens their hearts.” It is usually through the good example of some people around them that catechumens (those who are to be baptized) and candidates (those who are baptized in another Christian denomination) begin to seek God and the fullness of truth found in the Catholic Church so I commend those who brought these ten men and women to this important moment in their faith lives.
Although RCIA is intended specifically for non-Catholics who are interested in learning more about the Catholic faith or adult Catholics who have not yet been confirmed, I would also like to invite any Catholics who would like to learn about their faith from an adult perspective. Many of you have not had any formal education in your faith since you finished grade school or high school. Some of the answers that you learned back then are not adequate for you today. Why not give yourself the opportunity to learn about your faith in an adult environment, where you don’t just memorize the answers that will get you an “A” on a test, but are invited to delve deeply into the issues of your faith with fellow adults? I will again be leading RCIA this year; it is scheduled to begin in early October. Please contact me (610-688-4584 or halb@sks.org) to let me know of your interest to attend. In the meantime, please join me in welcoming these ten fully into our family of faith!