A MESSAGE FROM DEACON JIM GAUGHAN. . . . . . .

So What Exactly Is The R.C.I.A And The Elect,

My wife Sharon and I, along with Bill Clark and Terry Waszak are the co-directors of the R.C.I.A. program. R.C.I.A. stands for the Rite Of Christian Initiation For Adults. The process, begun during Vatican Council II in the early 1970’s, calls upon the local communities to form the men and women who are called by God to join the Catholic Faith. At St. Edna, the process begins in early September with the Investigation Into Catholicism series. Here, all are invited to learn more about the Catholic Faith, as different topics are discussed on a weekly basis. The attendees include those who are of a different religion, those who have little or no religious background and Catholics who have not received all of their Sacraments, or who have left the Church for some period of time. In addition to these groups of people, sponsors from The R.C.I.A. also attend the sessions. (I’ll talk about the role of the Sponsor later). At the end of the Investigation phase in late November, the attendees are asked whether they hear the call to join the Catholic Community.

For those that do, and want to continue on the journey, they are welcomed into the R.C.I.A. process with the Rite of Acceptance on the Sunday before Advent. Here the Catechumens (as they are referred to) publicly declare their intention to continue their journey of faith toward full initiation in the Catholic Church. The entire community in turn, offers its support to these men and women. At this point and thereafter, the Catechumens and their Sponsors attend Mass on a weekly basis, and are dismissed after the Homily. They leave to meet to discuss the Scripture readings and the Homily that they have just heard, and to delve into a specific topic for the day. The next Rite in the journey is the Rite of Election and the Enrollment of Names. This, having just taken place at Holy Name Cathedral on March 9, celebrates God’s election of the Catechumens to embrace the mission of Jesus, and to begin the Lenten preparation toward the receiving of the Sacraments on the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. From this point forward, they will now be referred to as the Elect. For the remainder of Lent, the Elect go through a period of purification and enlightenment. They are encouraged to look into their own lives, and listen to the call of God. Where must they reform their life? What new road is God leading them down? This continues through Holy Saturday, when the Celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation takes place. The R.C.I.A. process ends with the period of Mystagogy, or Postbaptismal Catechesis.

The role of the Sponsor is really the backbone of the process. They unselfishly give up countless hours of their time in walking through the journey with those who will be receiving their Sacraments. They are members of St. Edna who are as faith filled as one could imagine. We all owe them a tremendous amount of gratitude for their efforts!

The Elect is as inspiring as I could imagine. From the first day, they have been tremendously engaged, hungry to find Christ in their lives. To a person, they felt a void in their lives and chose Jesus as the one to walk each day with. They have helped to strengthen the faith of all that they have come into contact with.

The other very important part of the Rite is all of you, members of the St. Edna Community. You may not realize it, but the Elect look to you as members of this wonderful Parish for strength and courage. We ask that you keep all of the Elect in your prayers as they continue the journey to the Celebration of Holy Saturday. Deacon Jim Gaughan