OCIA/RCIA Coordinators’ Weekly Update 10/11/2024
Embracing the Mysteries: Celebrating Sacraments and Deepening Faith in Our Community
October 11, 2024
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Last Sunday’s initiations and celebrations of the sacraments remind those of us already baptized in Christ to “stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands” as Paul exhorts Timothy (2 Timothy 1:6). This is a reminder to stir up the gifts of God in our lives, so that they might burn brightly nourished with the oxygen of the Holy Spirit.
We witnessed four new members profess their faith and kneel to be washed clean in the waters of baptism. Nine new members professed the baptismal faith in Christ they already share with us and then “accepted the revelation of God through Jesus Christ as believed, taught and proclaimed in the Catholic faith.” Another nine Catholics completed their sacraments of initiation, as all were confirmed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit and came forward with us as one Body to receive the Body and Blood of Christ.
The following evening our RCIA/OCIA members met for their first mystagogy. Mystagogy comes from the Greek word meaning, “to lead through the mysteries.” The Catechism describes mystagogy as a “liturgical catechesis that aims to initiate people into the mystery of Christ” (CCC 1075). Mystagogy leads us from the external signs and rituals of the liturgy to the inner, spiritual meaning of the divine life they signify. Mystagogy helps us unpack and explore the spiritual treasures contained in the sacraments by continuously reflecting on their meaning and significance in our personal lives of faith.
After the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church revitalized this ancient practice, especially in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. But mystagogy isn’t just for the newly baptized; it is the way every Catholic can continually deepen their relationship with Christ by daily drawing on the grace of the sacraments.
Ongoing mystagogy is important because our relationship with the sacraments change as we grow and mature as individuals and meet new life challenges and circumstances. In turn, the sacraments really change us. Pope Benedict XVI said, “The mature fruit of mystagogy is an awareness that one's life is being progressively transformed by the holy mysteries being celebrated.” By reflecting regularly on the sacraments, we access an incredible strength for our daily tasks.
Our Fall 2024 – Spring OCIA (formerly RCIA) begins November 18.
Please contact Ed Harasim, OCIA Coordinator, eharasim@clement.org or Fr. Brett Williams, bawilliams@clement.org
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