Becoming Catholic is one of
life’s most profound and joyous
experiences. Some are blessed enough to
receive this great gift while they are
infants, and, over time, they recognize
the enormous grace that has been
bestowed on them. Others enter the
Catholic fold when they are older
children or adults. This tract examines
the joyful process by which one becomes
a Catholic. A person is brought into
full communion with the Catholic Church
through reception of the three
sacraments of Christian
initiation—baptism, confirmation,
and the holy Eucharist—but the
process by which one becomes a Catholic
can take different forms. A person who
is baptized in the Catholic Church
becomes a Catholic at that moment.
One’s initiation is deepened by
confirmation and the Eucharist, but one
becomes a Catholic at baptism. This is
true for children who are baptized
Catholic (and receive the other two
sacraments later) and for adults who
are baptized, confirmed, and receive
the Eucharist at the same time.
Those who have been validly baptized
outside the Church become Catholics by
making a profession of the Catholic
faith and being formally received into
the Church. This is normally followed
immediately by confirmation and the
Eucharist.
Before a person is ready to be
received into the Church, whether by
baptism or by profession of faith,
preparation is necessary. The amount
and form of this preparation depends on
the individual’s circumstance. The
most basic division in the kind of
preparation needed is between those who
are unbaptized and those who have
already become Christian through
baptism in another church. For adults
and children who have reached the age
of reason (age seven), entrance into
the Church is governed by the Rite of
Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA),
sometimes called the Order of Christian
Initiation for Adults (OCIA) - see
weblink below for more information:
Learm
More about: RCIA - Right of Christion
Initiation for
Adults
Preparation
for the Unbaptized
Preparation
for reception into the Church begins
with the inquiry stage, in which the
unbaptized person begins to learn
about the Catholic faith and begins
to decide whether to embrace it.
The first formal
step to Catholicism begins with the
rite of reception into the order of
catechumens, in which the unbaptized
express their desire and intention
to become Christians. "Catechumen"
is a term the early Christians used
to refer to those preparing to be
baptized and become Christians.
The period of the
catechumenate varies depending on
how much the catechumen has learned
and how ready he feels to take the
step of becoming a Christian.
However, the catechumenate often
lasts less than a year.
The
catechumenate’s purpose is to
provide the catechumens with a
thorough background in Christian
teaching. "A thoroughly
comprehensive catechesis on the
truths of Catholic doctrine and
moral life, aided by approved
catechetical texts, is to be
provided during the period of the
catechumenate" (U.S. Conference of
Bishops, National Statutes for the
Catechumenate, Nov. 11, 1986). The
catechumenate also is intended to
give the catechumens the opportunity
to reflect upon and become firm in
their desire to become Catholic, and
to show that they are ready to take
this serious and joyful step (cf.
Luke 14:27–33; 2 Pet.
2:20–22).
The second formal
step is taken with the rite of
election, in which the
catechumens’ names are written
in a book of those who will receive
the sacraments of initiation. At the
rite of election, the catechumen
again expresses the desire and
intention to become a Christian, and
the Church judges that the
catechumen is ready to take this
step. Normally, the rite of election
occurs on the first Sunday of Lent,
the forty-day period of preparation
for Easter.
After the rite of
election, the candidates undergo a
period of more intense reflection,
purification, and enlightenment, in
which they deepen their commitment
to repentance and conversion. During
this period the catechumens, now
known as the elect, participate in
several further rituals.
The three chief
rituals, known as scrutinies, are
normally celebrated at Mass on the
third, fourth, and fifth Sundays of
Lent. The scrutinies are rites for
self-searching and repentance. They
are meant to bring out the qualities
of the catechumen’s soul, to
heal those qualities which are weak
or sinful, and to strengthen those
that are positive and good.
During this
period, the catechumens are formally
presented with the Apostles’
Creed and the Lord’s Prayer,
which they will recite on the night
they are initiated.
The initiation
itself usually occurs on the Easter
Vigil, the evening before Easter
Day. That evening a special Mass is
celebrated at which the catechumens
are baptized, then given
confirmation, and finally receive
the holy Eucharist. At this point
the catechumens become Catholics and
are received into full communion
with the Church.
Ideally the
bishop oversees the Easter Vigil
service and confers confirmation
upon the catechumens, but
often—due to large distances or
numbers of catechumens—a local
parish priest will perform the
rites.
The final state
of Christian initiation is known as
mystagogy, in which the new
Christians are strengthened in the
faith by further instruction and
become more deeply rooted in the
local Catholic community. The period
of mystagogy normally lasts
throughout the Easter season (the
fifty days between Easter and
Pentecost Sunday).
For the first
year of their life as Christians,
those who have been received are
known as neophytes or "new
Christians."
Preparation
for Christians
The means
by which those who have already been
validly baptized become part of the
Church differs considerably from
that of the unbaptized.
Because they have
already been baptized, they are
already Christians; they are,
therefore, not catechumens. Because
of their status as Christians, the
Church is concerned that they not be
confused with those who are in the
process of becoming Christians.
"Those who have
already been baptized in another
church or ecclesial community should
not be treated as catechumens or so
designated. Their doctrinal and
spiritual preparation for reception
into full Catholic communion should
be determined according to the
individual case, that is, it should
depend on the extent to which the
baptized person has led a Christian
life within a community of faith and
been appropriately catechized to
deepen his or her inner adherence to
the Church" (NSC 30).
For those who
were baptized but who have never
been instructed in the Christian
faith or lived as Christians, it is
appropriate for them to receive much
of the same instruction in the faith
as catechumens, but they are still
not catechumens and are not to be
referred to as such (NSC 3). As a
result, they are not to participate
in the rites intended for
catechumens, such as the scrutinies.
Even "[t]he rites of
presentation of the creed, the
Lord’s Prayer, and the book of
the Gospels are not proper except
for those who have received no
Christian instruction and formation"
(NSC 31).
For those who
have been instructed in the
Christian faith and have lived as
Christians, the situation is
different. The U.S. Conference of
Bishops states, "Those baptized
persons who have lived as Christians
and need only instruction in the
Catholic tradition and a degree of
probation within the Catholic
community should not be asked to
undergo a full program parallel to
the catechumenate" (NSC 31). For
this reason, they should not share
in the same, full RCIA programs that
catechumens do.
The timing of
their reception into the Church also
is different. The U.S. Conference of
Bishops states, "It is preferable
that reception into full communion
not take place at the Easter Vigil
lest there be any confusion of such
baptized Christians with the
candidates for baptism, possible
misunderstanding of or even
reflection upon the sacrament of
baptism celebrated in another church
or ecclesial community . . . " (NSC
33).
Rather than being
received on Easter Vigil,
"[t]he reception of
candidates into the communion of the
Catholic Church should ordinarily
take place at the Sunday Eucharist
of the parish community, in such a
way that it is understood that they
are indeed Christian believers who
have already shared in the
sacramental life of the Church and
are now welcomed into the Catholic
Eucharistic community . . ." (NSC
32).
Christians coming
into the Catholic Church must
discuss with their pastor and/or
bishop the amount of instruction
needed and the time of their
reception.
Peace
with God
The
sacrament of baptism removes all
sins committed prior to it, but
since Christians have already been
baptized, it is necessary for them
to confess mortal sins committed
since baptism before receiving
confirmation and the Eucharist.
In some
cases, this can be difficult due to
a large number of years between the
Christian’s baptism and
reception into the Catholic Church.
In such cases, the candidate should
confess the mortal sins he can
remember by kind and, to the extent
possible, indicate how often such
sins were committed. As always with
the sacrament of reconciliation, the
absolution covers any mortal sins
that could not be remembered, so
long as the recipient intended to
repent of all mortal sins.
Christians coming
into the Church should receive the
sacrament of reconciliation before
their reception into the Church
(there is no established point for
when they should do this) to ensure
that they are in a state of grace
when they are received and
confirmed. Their formation in the
faith should stress that frequent
confession is part of Catholic life:
"The celebration of the sacrament of
reconciliation with candidates for
reception into full communion is to
be carried out at a time prior to
and distinct from the celebration of
the rite of reception. As part of
the formation of such candidates,
they should be encouraged in the
frequent celebration of this
sacrament" (NSC 36).
The Christian
fully enters the Church by
profession of faith and formal
reception. For the profession of
faith, the candidate says, "I
believe and profess all that the
holy Catholic Church believes,
teaches, and proclaims to be
revealed by God."
The bishop or
priest then formally receives the
Christian into the Church by saying,
"[Name], the Lord receives
you into the Catholic Church. His
loving kindness has led you here, so
that in the unity of the Holy Spirit
you may have full communion with us
in the faith that you have professed
in the presence of his family."
The bishop or
priest then normally administers the
sacrament of confirmation and
celebrates the holy Eucharist,
giving the new Catholic the
Eucharist for the first time.
Reception
in Special Cases
In some
situations, there may be doubts
whether a person’s baptism was
valid. All baptisms are assumed
valid, regardless of denomination,
unless after serious investigation
there is reason to doubt that the
candidate was baptized with water
and the Trinitarian formula (". . .
in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit"), or
that the minister or recipient of
baptism did not intend it to be an
actual baptism.
If there are
doubts about the validity of a
person’s baptism (or whether
the person was baptized at all),
then the candidate will be given a
conditional baptism (one with the
form ". . . if you are not already
baptized, I baptize you in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit").
"If conditional
baptism . . . seems necessary, this
must be celebrated privately rather
than at a public liturgical assembly
of the community and with only those
limited rites which the diocesan
bishop determines. The reception
into full communion should take
place later at the Sunday Eucharist
of the community" (NSC 37).
Another special
case concerns those who have been
baptized as Catholics but who were
not brought up in the faith or who
have not received the sacraments of
confirmation and the Eucharist.
"Although baptized adult Catholics
who have never received catechetical
instruction or been admitted to the
sacraments of confirmation and
Eucharist are not catechumens, some
elements of the usual catechumenal
formation are appropriate to their
preparation for the sacraments, in
accord with the norms of the ritual,
Preparation of Uncatechized Adults
for Confirmation and Eucharist" (NSC
25).
Waiting
for the Day!
It can be a
time of anxious longing while one
waits to experience the warm embrace
of membership in the Church and to
be immersed into Catholic society.
This time of waiting and reflection
is necessary, since becoming a
Catholic is a momentous event. But
waiting can be painful as one longs
for the sacraments, especially the
Eucharist, and the joys of Catholic
life—the security that being a
faithful Catholic bestows. Yet even
before being received, those waiting
to be fully incorporated already
have a real relationship with the
Church.
For those who are
already Christians, their baptism
itself forms a certain sacramental
relationship with the Church (cf.
Vatican II, Unitatis Redintegratio
3; Catechism of the Catholic Church
1271). They are also joined to the
Church by their intention to enter
it, as are the unbaptized who intend
to do so: "Catechumens who, moved by
the Holy Spirit, desire with an
explicit intention to be
incorporated into the Church are by
that very intention joined to her.
With love and solicitude mother
Church already embraces them as her
own" (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium
14:3; CCC 1249).
Thus, even before
one is fully incorporated into the
Church, one can enjoy the status of
being recognized by the Church as
one of her own, precious children.
