If you’ve been at 10am Mass during Lent, you’ve been a part of the rites and blessings that those going through OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) are experiencing. Maybe you’ve wondered what this OCIA thing is all about. If you haven’t been at 10am Mass, you’ve probably seen pictures in our bulletins/media announcing various rites and you might have pondered the same question. What the heck is OCIA and why is there all this “extra” stuff happening at Mass right now? I thought I’d take this opportunity to briefly explain OCIA in general and invite you to pray for those taking this journey.
The OCIA process is the normative way that an adult (defined by the Church as someone over the age of reason, so about 7 years old) who is not Catholic, becomes Catholic. While there is a lot of variation and options in how someone goes through this initiation, for simplicity’s sake here, I’ll stick to the “textbook” method for an adult over 18 years old. Let’s say this person is unbaptized but is seeking the Lord. They generally join us once a week; most parishes start in the fall, but here at St. John they can start coming anytime they feel called, to begin learning who Jesus is. Formally, those early weeks of questions and seeking are called the Period of Inquiry. This person is dipping their toe in the waters of Christianity, asking questions like, “What’s the Trinity? Who is Jesus? Why do I need Him? What do we mean by ‘incarnation’?”
When they are ready, they’ll celebrate the Rite of Entrance when they state that they have chosen to move forward with study and are beginning to live a Christian life. This marks the beginning of the Period of the Catechumenate, which means they become a student (or catechumen). This time is filled with study and an increased devotion to prayer. At this point, our friend is learning more specifics about the Catholic faith; things like: Marian doctrine, Sacraments, Catholic moral teachings. If they aren’t already, they should begin coming to Mass regularly now, too.
On the First Sunday of Lent, he takes the next step toward the Church by participating in the Rite of Sending and the Rite of Election. It’s a busy day for our friend as he is literally “sent” by our pastor and all of the parish to meet the Bishop that afternoon to become an “Elect”. The Bishop celebrates this rite with all of the catechumens in the diocese and advances them to become the Elect – those chosen by God, elected if you will, to become part of His family. This year the Diocese of Lansing welcomed 940 men, women, and children into the Rite of Election to become Catholic this year at the Easter Vigil, the most in more than 20 years!
Following the Rite of Election our friend moves into the Period of Purity and Enlightenment. These weeks of Lent are meant for him, and us, to be a time of reflection, deepening prayer, penance for our sins. This isn’t so much a time of gaining knowledge as it is a time of introspection and intense spiritual preparation. During these weeks he will participate in the Scrutinies over the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent (someone who is already Baptized but becoming Catholic will go through the Penitential Rite on the 2nd Sunday of Lent; similar in nature to the Scrutinies, but as a singular event). These are the blessings and prayers that we’ve all been participating in together at the 10am Masses.
Since we are present for, and part of, these Scrutinies, let’s explore those for a moment. These rites have a dual purpose: “to reveal what is weak, sick and sinful in the hearts of the elect so that it can be healed; and what is honorable, strong and holy, so that it can be strengthened.” (OCIA 141). They follow the same format each week: elect & sponsors are called forward; parish prays in silence for them; intercessions for the elect; a prayer of exorcism; a laying on of hands in silent prayer; prayer over all the elect; dismissal. Notice that we, the parish, are part of these prayers. We are praying for those who are about to join our family, who are becoming our brothers and sisters.
Our friend comes to the Easter Vigil excited, nervous, and with a sense of relief that the moment has finally arrived. On this night he celebrates all of his Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist, initiating his life as a Catholic Christian; this is just the beginning, though, and he knows he still has much to learn and deeper to go with his relationship with the Jesus.
The final official stage of OCIA is called Mystagogy. This is a time to have a fuller understanding of the mysteries he has recently celebrated and will continue to celebrate in the Eucharist. Because we, as human beings, so often learn by doing, our friend is able to go deeper in learning about the Eucharist, and the whole Christian life, now that he is experiencing it. Technically, Mystagogy lasts for the first year following Baptism, but in reality it’s lifelong. We are all still growing, learning, digging into our faith; drawing closer to Christ in His Sacraments; building community in our worship. This is all mystagogy – deeper understanding of the mysteries – and it never stops.
Whether you see them at the 10am Mass or not, I hope that you’ll join me in praying for our St. John the Evangelist Elect (unbaptized): Ryan Grubbs, Annie Hancock, Zachery Jones, Gracyn Marken, Emily McIntosh, Carleigh Preston and April Valdez, and our Candidates (already Baptized): Kevin Adams, Bryce Behncke, Alaina Brown, Melissa Cissney, Halie Dixon, David Enyedy, Jacob Faist, Brayden Glessner, Patricia Laberdie, Alexis May, Isabelle McCully and Mike Pryson. They intend to celebrate Sacraments with us this Easter Vigil so please be sure to welcome them to the family!
In Christ,
Angel