To foster gospel values in our society, promoting the dignity of the human person, the importance of the family, and the common good of our society, so that our nation may continue to be transformed by the saving power of Jesus Christ.
Goal Three addresses evangelization’s impact on culture and society: To foster Gospel values in our society, promoting the dignity of the human person, the importance of the family, and the common good of our society, so that our nation may continue to be transformed by the saving power of Jesus Christ.
Catholics must affirm what is good in American culture, not unduly emphasizing the negative. Today, the Church stands among the most ardent defenders of immigrants, refugees, the elderly, the unborn, and the poor and the marginalized in general. Evangelization aims to build on this foundation to bring about the Kingdom of God on earth.
Catholic evangelization is a counter-cultural activity that confronts disrespect for life, injustices, prejudices, divisions, loss of the sense of the transcendent, and many other ills in modern America. Nevertheless, the evangelization of culture remains a fundamental goal.
This goal follows upon the other two: The appreciation of our faith and its spread should lead to the transformation of our society. The pursuit of this goal, however, must accompany the pursuit of the other two because evangelization is not possible without powerful signs of justice and peace, as the Gospel shapes the framework of our lives.
This goal means supporting those cultural elements in our land that reflect Catholic values and challenging those that reject it. Catholics, who today are involved in every level of modern life in the United States, have to address our society as a system and also in particular situations. This goal requires the strategy of strengthening our everyday involvement with those in need, of reflecting on the workplace and media, and of encouraging Catholic involvement in areas of public policy as a way of having greater impact on society’s values.
- Be a Show Off
- The term, “show off,” is not being used in its usual arrogant and haughty sense. Rather, it is suggesting that a powerful way to spread the good news is to demonstrate it in daily life. If faith really affects how one speaks and acts in private and in public, people will take notice. A faith lived is a powerful, attractive faith. Actions still speak louder than words.
- Help Someone in Need
- It is important to see Jesus in the poor. When faith is put into action by serving those in need, faith comes alive and has the power to attract others. Evangelizers don’t just write checks but reach out to the sick, the homebound, the troubled, the homeless, the hungry, the imprisoned. When others see this “hands on” service to the poor, they will take the faith more seriously.
- Pray
- Prayer is what drives evangelization. Prayer is something we can all do – any time, any place. We can pray for ourselves and for others. And certainly, almost everyone, even the most hardened unbeliever, appreciates prayers in time of need.
- Respect Other People
- Common courtesy seems to be on the wane today. Jesus invites us to be courteous, to have a deep respect for the God-given dignity of each human being. Not everyone is asked to write a treatise about human dignity, but we are all called to show respect and concern for each person - those we like and those we don’t like. There are those who imagine they are better than others, and there are those who show disrespect for race, sex, or economic status. When the disciples of Jesus show respect for others, they have a better chance of opening their minds and hearts to the Gospel of Jesus. We are, as children of God, brothers and sisters.
- Begin at Home
- Someone once said: “Charity begins at home.” So does evangelization. Husbands and wives should help each other to take their faith seriously and grow in it. Parents are the first to help their children open their minds and hearts to Jesus by teaching them how to pray and giving them their first religion lessons. How important for the family to practice their faith, especially by participating in the Sunday Eucharist.
- Start With Your Friends
- One may find it uncomfortable to evangelize beyond the family. No one wants to be thought of as a “religious fanatic.” However, we all have friends who are “unchurched” or “barely churched.” When those who have returned to the practice of their faith are asked why they were away from the church, some for rather extensive periods of time, they often respond “No one asked me to come back. No one missed me.”
- Share Your Faith Story
- We all believe that the Lord has touched our hearts with His Truth and His Love. To evangelize is to be aware of the ways God is active in our lives and to speak personally and appropriately about that. People will think more seriously about their own faith when they hear what faith means in the lives of others.
- Include God in Your Everyday Vocabulary
- It is not against the law to speak about God. To be conscious of God’s presence in everyday life, in decisions great and small, in events and casual happenings, and to casually mention how God works in your life is to evangelize. And that helps others to raise their awareness that God is very much alive and present in our midst.
- Bring a Friend to Church
- Some of the newly baptized at Easter are quick to recognize the fact that they took the step of requesting Baptism because someone had brought them to church. That seems to be good evangelization. If you work downtown, ask a friendly co-worker if he or she would like to attend noon Mass with you. Invite your friends to come to Sunday Mass or a parish adult formation class.
- Be Joyful
- Joy is not hilarity. Those who replace the “pursuit of happiness” with the pursuit of pleasure will find lasting joy always eluding them. Joy an inner assurance that your will is aligned with God’s, that you are graced beyond anything you could merit on your own. Joy is abiding contentment.
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Evangelization frequently speaks of sharing faith.What are some suggestions for a Catholic approach to sharing faith with family and friends?
- Say I will pray for you to a friend who has shared some personal concern or difficulty.
- Respond Thank God when someone shares a success story with you.
- Make the sign of the cross as you pray before a meal in a restaurant.
- Display a religious article in your room.
- Invite someone who has been away from the Church for a while to attend Mass with you.
- Offer to help your neighbor what it’s not convenient.
- Take time in your life for those who are suffering or in need. Remember, people are more important than tasks.
- When you see God working in your life, point it out to others. We are all enriched by the personal witness of others.
- Talk to friends about the good experiences you have had with the Church.
- Invite friends to social functions of your parish.
- Give money or food to a person in need. Remember that when you reach out to the poor, you are reaching out like Christ Himself did.
- Witness your faith with your own family and friends by gently stating, I believe…
- Warmly greet others at mass whom you do not know. Sometimes members of our community fall away from the Church because they feel alienated from others in the congregation.
- Tactfully change the direction of the conversation at home or school when things take an uncharitable or gossipy turn.
- Send a sympathy or get-well card to neighbors or friends assuring them of your prayers.
- Continue to comfort a grieving friend or neighbor well after the funeral. The process of dealing with a loss takes a long time. Offer to accompany the person who is grieving to social activities or make yourself available just to talk.
- Volunteer your time for visiting shut-ins, the elderly, prisoners, etc. Share your favorite story in the Bible with them during your visit.
- Be generous with compliments, especially to those who appear to be down today
- Share a smile and a personal greeting with a stranger. Try to see Christ in everyone you encounter each day.
- Share an unanswered prayer with a friend or family member. Remember to give thanks for what you have received.
- Tell someone about a good book or tape to help him or her grow in his or her faith.
- Wear a cross on a chain or other religious articles. You might be surprised how many times this will start a conversation about your faith.
- Be an example to family and friends as to how a disciple of Jesus acts and speaks.
- Forgive someone who has wronged you. Ask for forgiveness from someone you have wronged.
- Ask friends and family members to pray for your special intentions.
- Move to the center of the church pew, theater seat, etc., which invites others to join you and provides an opportunity for conversation.
- Do not judge others. Do not speak unkindly of others. Always look for the good in others and point this out when they are being hostile.
- Serve your parish as a Eucharistic minister, lector, choir member, altar server, usher, etc.
- Devote a specific amount of time to you daily prayer life. It is impossible to maintain a relationship with anyone without communication. Prayer should be viewed as a dialogue with God, not a monologue. Make sure you allow time for quiet reflection and listen with your heart to what the Lord tells you.
- Allow your faith to carry over into your work by insisting on fair prices, good products, and fair treatment for customers and employees alike.
- Share your personal faith story of how God has worked in your life with a friend or a family member.
- Work in a soup kitchen, a shelter for the homeless or some other charitable agency. Try to see Christ in everyone you encounter there.
- Treat everyone you meet with dignity. No matter what they look like, how they try your patience, or how they speak, they are part of the Body of Christ.
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What are some "qualities" of Catholic evangelization?
Catholic Evangelization is rooted in life – family (integral, divorced, single parent, nuclear), world (friends, workplace, technology, culture, neighbors, business offices, civic associations), and the church.
Catholic Evangelization is directed toward the kingdom of God (sharing faith is a way of furthering God’s kingdom).
Catholic Evangelization is always related in some ways to the Christian community (never just “me and Jesus”).
Catholic Evangelization recognizes all church members as partners in furthering God’s kingdom (collaboration).
Catholic Evangelization energizes Christian activities and church ministries (it’s not another program).
Catholic Evangelization interprets Sacred Scripture in a rich way and does not limit the Bible to its literal meaning (it's not fundamentalist).
Catholic Evangelization is optimistic, but realistic (the world is basically good but wounded).
Catholic Evangelization is a lifelong journey to God (it’s a continuous process of conversion).
Catholic Evangelization happens in the midst of everyday living (God in ordinary life).
Catholic Evangelization offers a firm anchor and clear direction in an uncertain world (provides a wonderful Faith Tradition).
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The most numeros body of Christian believers in America today is the Roman Catholic Church, numbering some 45 million believers.Recent research shows that the second largest body, some 17 million, consists of those Catholics who no longer practice their faith. What are some reasons why Catholics become inactive in their faith?
Bishop Michael Saltarelli presents nine reasons why 17 million U.S Catholics “no longer practice their faith.”
Reason 1: Some did not experience the power or presence of God in Catholicism or in the Catholic community of which they were a part.
Reason 2: Some did not experience warm, personal, caring relationships in their encounters with Catholics. To them the people seemed cold, the services boring.
Reason 3: Others did experience the complex religious system that seemed to lack relatedness to their lives and, for many, a lack of ministers appreciating their language and culture.
Reason 4: Some were hurt in some way by Catholics – clergy or laity – and have not been reconciled.
Reason 5: Some are in conflict with the teachings of the church on…matters of faith and morality.
Reason6: Others never know their faith well and were ignorant of basics. They were easily misled in their lack of understanding, exploited by those who attack Catholic beliefs and practices for their own purposes.
Reason 7: Some have been kept from full communion with the church because of a marriage outside the church.
Reason 8: A significant number of the inactive simply got lazy and stopped going. They may have gotten busy with their jobs and families, and through their own fault didn’t find the time. In a recent survey of young-adult Catholics published in American magazine, 35 percent of the inactive simply got too busy and were lazy and didn’t find the time to be involved.
Reason 9: Others moved to new locations and never got around to finding a church in their new city or neighborhood. The American survey noted that 19 percent of the inactive young adult fell into this category.
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What does it mean "to be saved" in the Catholic tradition?
Simply put, we were saved when we were baptized; we are being saved now as we live of life of discipleship; we will be saved fully in the future when we live in the fullness of God’s reign.
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Jesus commands us to "Go and Make Disciples." What does it mean to be a disciple or what is discipleship?
The concept of discipleship, central to the ministry of Jesus, is expressed in the New Testament by the verb akolouthein and by the noun mathetes. Jesus called men and women to “follow after” (akolouthein) him. Those who followed him were known as his “disciples” (mathetes).
The word mathetes appears more than 250 times in the New Testament, always in the Gospels and Acts. In secular Greek the word means “one who learns.” A mathetes was someone bound to another in order to learn, thus an apprentice to someone in a trade or profession or a student of a philosopher. There is no mathetes without a didaskalos, a “master” or “teacher.” The English word “disciple” comes from the Latin word discipulus, “pupil.”
Akolouthein or “follow after” does not always refer to those who were disciples in the strict sense, as when it is used of the crowds that followed Jesus. When used of individuals, akolouthein or "follow after” shows some special characteristics of discipleship in relation to Jesus.
First, unlike the case of discipleship in Rabbinic Judaism, the disciples of Jesus did not choose the master; rather , the master chose and called the disciples. The initiative comes from Jesus. Jesus called those He desired that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach.
Secondly, there is an inclusive element to Jesus’ call, even if it is still within a Jewish context. Unlike that of the rabbis, Jesus’ call was not restricted to the ritually pure and the religiously obedient. Among those invited to follow Him were tax collectors and sinners. Women also accompanied Him as disciples.
Thirdly, Jesus’ call to discipleship demands a radical conversion, a religious conversion to Jesus often symbolized by leaving behind one’s possessions. For some, discipleship also meant celibacy for the sake of the kingdom.
Fourthly, discipleship means following Jesus by sharing his ministry. Unlike the disciples of the rabbis, who were students, concerned with passing on the tradition of their teachers, the disciples of Jesus were called for service. Jesus sent them out to heal the sick, to cast out demons, and to proclaim that the kingdom of God was at hand.
Finally, discipleship means a willingness to love others with a sacrificial love. The disciples are to share whatever they have with others; they are to take the last place and serve others; their love of others is to be all-inclusive, placing others first, yielding to them, and being willing to bear insult and injury.
The Gospels distinguish between the Twelve and the disciples who traveled with Jesus, other friends and supporters, and the larger group to whom Jesus ministered. After Easter, when the Christological meaning of discipleship became clear, discipleship was understood as including the following of Jesus in his Easter passage from death to life.
Discipleship means a personal following of Jesus that affects every dimension of human life. It shapes one’s attitude toward property and wealth, affects a person’s human and erotic relationships, gives a new meaning to love, changes the way one understands success and personal fulfillment, and finally calls one to enter into Jesus’ paschal mystery. At its heart, it is the imitation of Christ.
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Are there different ways or "styles" of evangelization? If so, can you describe them?
To freely share your faith, it is helpful to recognize the different styles of evangelization and consider which method most reflects your personal style. Dorothy Hulburt and Sister Priscilla Lemire, RJM have written a booklet entitled Evangelization Teams in the Making and in there they identify six styles of evangelization and include an evangelization styles survey to help a person asses their own particular style. What follows below is a brief of these six styles as described in their booklet.
Servant Style: This style of evangelization is characterized by qualities of patience and selflessness. Servant evangelization is others-centered and finds joy where love is put into action. Servant evangelists must balance their actions with words, that others may recognize that the motivation for their service is Christ. Faithful service is always offered for the other – servants must be cautious not to impose their service on another.
Invitational Style: This style of evangelization is characterized by qualities of hospitality and commitment. Invitations evangelists are persuasive, enjoy new people and easily reach out to others. Invitational evangelists do not let their own feelings of inadequacy at proclaiming Christ stop them from inviting others to hear the Gospel proclaimed. It is important to discern what functions are appropriate for different persons and to invite accordingly. With this style of evangelization, one can easily get discouraged if invitations are turned down.
Relational Style: This style of evangelization is characterized by qualities of compassion, sensitivity, and friendliness. Relational evangelists are friendship oriented, focus on people and their needs, and are good conversationalists. Relational evangelists must beware of valuing friendship over truth. They sometimes experience a sense of betrayal when the friendships they make do not lead to Christ. Relational evangelists can become overwhelmed with the needs of others.
Witness Style: This style of evangelization is characterized by personal experience as a basis for sharing faith. Witness evangelists are good listeners who feel connected to the experiences of others. Their story continues to touch their own life as well as the lives of others. In witnessing, it is important to relate your story to those to whom you are speaking. It is easy to lose perspective of the multitude of ways in which God works, to presume “if it didn’t happen to me, it’s not valid.”
Intellectual Style: This style of evangelization is characterized by logical and analytical thinking. Intellectual evangelists are inquisitive and often like to debate. They are concerned about what people think over what they feel. Intellectual evangelists must avoid getting “stuck” on particular arguments and missing the Gospel message. A balance between information and an open attitude must be cultivated. This style is not apologetics, which defends the Church, but an intellectual assent to faith.
Challenging Style: This style of evangelization is characterized by strong convictions. Challenging evangelists are confident, bold, and direct. Challenging evangelists must be sensitive to the spirit at work in a person’s life. Judgment and condemnation must be avoided. The call here is to “speak the truth in love.”
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An important part or aspect of evangelizing is "sharing faith." What is faith sharing and/or what does it mean?
Faith sharing refers to the way in which we communicate our personal experiences of and responses to Jesus Christ. I let others know what is happening in me at this deepest level of relationship. It is sharing some part of my faith journey with those I can trust and owning and valuing God’s action in my life’s journey. I am the only one who knows what is going on in me and I share it with another person or group. I choose to share this because of my conviction that we are called together in Christian relationship and community to share at this level of faith so that we can grow more fully in our relationship with our God.
As a result of this sharing, we grow together in communion in Christ. Each of us lives a spiritual life from our own unique center as elevated by grace. What we feel, perceive, imagine, will or do, comes into being from the core of our own uniqueness where we personally meet Christ as He revels Himself in our daily lives. This is our spiritual world of meaning. In order to use this core faith experience, I have to look back over my life and raise the experience to the level of awareness so that I can use it consciously in living out my Christian life and ministry.
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Where does the practice of faith sharing come from?
Faith sharing began when God gave us Jesus Christ, the Word, to reveal to us a personal God. This sharing reached it climax at the discourse at the Last Supper. Christ told His apostles of His life in the Trinity. Faith sharing is a long tradition beginning with Jesus and His disciples. The Gospels are the faith sharing of the evangelists, their reactions to Christ, the details of their lives with Christ. Paul also tells us of his personal experiences with Christ, of his fears, his anxieties, hopes and love for Christ. Other examples of faith sharing are the Confessions of St. Augustine, the autobiographies of St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Therese of Lisieux.
Your own personal experience of God comes about at the level of your own inner feelings, thoughts, and images. Through verbal description of articulation you can help other persons to “experience” your experiences of the Lord. This kind of sharing strengthens the bonding in Christ. Faith sharing is a more profound, and therefore riskier, sharing that the sharing at the second level.
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What are some of the basic steps of faith sharing?
There are several basic steps in faith sharing:
- We invite God to come into our hearts – We open our minds, hearts and soul to received the Word.
- We read or listen to the readings from the Sacred Scriptures.
- We let God speak to us in silence – We “notice” the words or phrases that touch, stir, challenge, correct our hearts.
- We ask ourselves: How is my life touched by this scripture passage? Is there an invitation for me?
- We share what we have heard in our hearts.
- We commit to some action individually or as a group. It is important that at the end of each session we ask ourselves: “What is God telling me (us) to do? How can we respond?
- We pray together for God’s continuous guidance in our life.
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By way of contrast or perhaps comparison, what is faith sharing and what is not faith sharing?
What Faith Sharing Is:
- It is rooted in the belief that God is always present and active in my life and bringing to awareness and articulating this presence and action of God.
- How am I experiencing God’s presence in life at this moment?
- What is my image of God or of Jesus in this passage?
- How am I challenged to see God’s presence and action in my daily life?
- It is sharing how I was touched, called or challenged by the Scriptures or the questions suggested in the faith sharing materials.
- A word or phrase spoke to me in a special way
- I understood the passage in a new way
- How I felt called/challenged by God’s Word
Sometimes the fruit of our prayer may be questions that still have no answers.
I may just want to share this with the group asking for their prayers.
What Faith Sharing IS NOT:
Faith sharing is not:
- A scripture study or discussion
- A show and tell of how much I know about Scripture, theology, etc.
- A time to resolve my problems of those of others
- A time to tell my whole life story
- Preaching to the group
- Complaining
- Debating
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What are some important attitudes to have in faith sharing?
In Faith Sharing we need to:
- Listen to each other – what they share is a gift and I receive it as such
- Receive without judging what the other shares
- Be comfortable with silence
- Be attentive to God’s presence in the group
- Nurture a spirit of faith: believing that God in intimately involved in my life and wants to reveal this to me.
Never forgetting that:
- Faith sharing is God centered.
- In order to receive God’s word and God’s grace, I need to be attentive to the Scriptures, to the events of my life, and to my relationship with others.
- The insights, calls, challenges, images that I receive in prayer are God’s gifts to me.
- The insights others share with me during faith sharing are also God’s gift to me.
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What is the relationship between evangelization and catechesis?
Evangelization is so central to the life of the Church that, should she neglect her sacred responsibility of bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to all of humanity, she would be faithful neither to the mission entrusted to her by her Lord nor to her identity as mother and teacher…The Church’s mission of evangelization is permeated by catechesis. While catechesis and evangelization cannot be simply identified with one another, “there is no separation or opposition between catechesis and evangelization….Instead, they have close links whereby they integrate and complement each other.” (From National Directory for Catechesis, #22, p.67.)
Catechesis is an essential “moment” in the process of evangelization. The Apostolic Exhortation Catechesi Tradendae places catechesis firmly within the Church’s mission and notes that evangelization is a rich, complex and dynamic reality which compromises essential but different “moments.” “Catechesis,” it adds, “is one of these moments – a very remarkable one – in the whole process of evangelization.” This is to say that there are activities which “prepare” for catechesis and activities which “derive” from it. The “moment” of catechesis is that which corresponds to the period in which conversion to Jesus Christ is formalized, and provides a basis for first adhering to him. Converts, by means of “a period of formation, an apprenticeship in the whole Christian life,” are initiated into the mystery of salvation and an evangelical style of life. This means “initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life.” (From the General Directory for Catechesis, #63, p. 57.)
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What is the RCIA?
The RCIA, which stands for Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, is a process through which non-baptized men and women enter the Catholic Church. It includes several stages marked by study, prayer and rites at Mass. Participants in the RCIA are known as catechumens. They undergo a process of conversion as they study the Gospel, profess faith in Jesus and the Catholic Church, and receive the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Holy Eucharist. The RCIA process follows the ancient practice of the church and was restored by the Second Vatican Council as the normal way adults prepare for baptism. In 1974, the Rite for Christian Initiation for Adults was formally approved for use in the United States.
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What are the steps of the RCIA?
Prior to beginning the RCIA process, an individual comes to some knowledge of Jesus Christ, considers his or her relationship with Jesus Christ and is usually attracted in some way to the Catholic Church. This period is known as the Period of Evangelization and Precatechumenate. For some, this process involved a long period of searching, for others, a shorter time. Often, contact with people of faith and a personal faith experience lead people to inquire about membership in the Catholic Church.
After conversation with an advisor or spiritual guide, the person, known as an “inquirer,” may decide to seek acceptance into the Order of Catechumens. The inquirer stands amidst the parish community and states that he or she wants to become a baptized member of the Catholic Church. The parish assembly affirms this desire and the inquirer becomes a “catechumen.”
The Period of the Catechumenate can last for as long as several years or for a shorter time. It depends on how the person is growing in faith, what questions they encounter along the way, and how God leads them on this journey. During this time the catechumens consider what God is saying to them in the Scriptures, what changes in their life they want to make to respond to God’s inspiration, and what membership in the Catholic Church involves.
When a catechumen and the parish team working with him or her believes the person is ready to make a faith commitment to Jesus in the Catholic Church, the next step is the request for baptism and the celebration of the Rite of Election. This rite includes the enrollment of names of all those seeking baptism at the coming Easter Vigil. On the first Sunday of Lent, the catechumens and their sponsors gather at the cathedral church and the catechumens publicly request baptism. Their names are recorded in a book and they are called “the elect.” The days of Lent are the final period of purification and enlightenment leading to the celebration of initiation at the Easter Vigil. Lent is a period of preparation marked by prayer, study, and spiritual direction for the elect, and prayers for them by the parish communities.
The third step is the Celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation, which takes place during the Easter Vigil Liturgy on Holy Saturday when the catechumen receives the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and Holy Eucharist. Now the person is a fully initiated member of the Catholic Church.
After the person is initiated, formation and education continue in the period of the postbaptismal catechesis, which is called “mystagogy.” This period continues at least until Pentecost. During the period the newly baptized members reflect on their experiences at the Easter Vigil and continue to learn more about the Scriptures, the sacraments, and the teachings of the Catholic Church. In addition they reflect on how they will serve Christ and help in the church’s mission and outreach activities.
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What is meant when people refer to men and women coming into "full communion with the church"?
Coming into full communion with the Catholic Church describes the process for entrance into the Catholic Church for men and women who are baptized Christians but not Roman Catholics. These individuals make a profession of faith but are not baptized again.
To prepare for this reception, the people, who are called “candidates,” usually participate in a program to help them understand and experience the teachings and practices of the Catholic Church. Some preparation may be with catechumens preparing for baptism, but the preparation for candidates is different since they have already been baptized and committed to Jesus Christ, and many have also been active members of other Christian communities.
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What is the Holy Saturdy Rite like?
The Holy Saturday Liturgy begins with the Service of Light, which includes the blessing of the new fire and the Paschal Candle which symbolizes Jesus, the Light of the World. The second part consists of the Liturgy of the Word with a number of scripture readings. After the Liturgy of the Word, the candidates are presented to the community, who pray for them and join in the Litany of the Saints. Next, the presider blesses the water, placing the Easter or Paschal Candle into the baptismal water. Those seeking baptism then renounce sin and profess their faith after which they are immersed into the baptismal water three times with the words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” In some situations the water may be poured over the head of each candidate.
After the baptism the newly baptized are dressed in white garments and presented with a candle lighted from the Paschal Candle. They are then confirmed by the priest or bishop who imposes hands on their heads, and invokes the gift of the Holy Spirit. He then anoints them with the oil called Sacred Chrism.
The Mass continues with the newly baptized participating in the general intercessions and in bringing gifts to the altar. At Communion, the newly baptized receives the Eucharist, Christ’s body and blood, for the first time.
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What does the white robe symbolize?
The newly baptized are dressed in a white garment after baptism to symbolize that they are washed clean of sin and continue to walk in this newness of life.
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What does the candle symbolize?
A small candle is lit from the Easter or Paschal Candle and given to the newly baptized as a reminder to them always to walk as children of the Light.
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What does the sacred chrism symbolize?
The Sacred Chrism, or oil, is a sign of the gift of the Holy Spirit being given to the newly baptized. It is also a sign of the close link between the mission of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Who comes to the recipient with the Father in baptism.
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Why was this ancient rite restored?
It was restored in the church to highlight the fact that the newly baptized are received into a community of faith, which is challenged to realize that they too have become different because of this new life in the community.
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Is there a ceremony or preparation for baptized catholics who never or seldom have practiced the faith?
Catholics who have been baptized, confirmed and made First Communion but then drifted from the faith return through the Sacrament of Penance. Catholics who were baptized but never received confirmation and Eucharist can return through a process called continuing conversion that is completed with the reception of the sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Communion at the Easter Vigil or during the Easter Season.
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What is the role of a godparent for an adult being baptized?
Godparents accompany the candidates through the RCIA Process. They are called to show the candidates good example of the Christian life, sustain the candidates in moments of hesitancy and anxiety, bear witness, and guide the candidate’s progress in the baptismal life.