Since today is my 24th anniversary of my entering the Catholic Church.
“You have no idea how much nastier I would be if I was not Catholic. Without supernatural aid I would hardly be a human being.” – Evelyn Waugh
People wonder why bad things happen to good people. I wonder why good things happen to bad people. So I am wondrously happy at the gift of grace and wished I showed a commensurate gratitude for it.
As I have been forgiven much, my love should be such as the woman who wet Jesus’ feet with her tears.
I was thinking about today’s Gospel where Jesus was deeply troubled by the person who would betray him. Peter would say that he would lay down his life for him, even though he would shortly betray him.
I also read this:
“The loving glance of the Master had saved him. Because Peter no longer relied on himself, Jesus could rely upon him and would entrust His flock to him. The lesson is clear. As long as a soul depends solely upon itself, it is not ready to be sanctified, nor to cooperate efficaciously in the sanctification of others.”
Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D “Divine Intimacy”
I also noticed this paraphrased headline:
“there is a danger of triumphalism by receiving baptized Christians” into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil.”
This article is ridiculous, even for America Mag. It reads like a pet peeve held before he entered the Church trying to make is sound like a big deal. True, there are nuances and distinctions to be made here. Still, I can’t ever remember hearing this complaint among those already baptized entering the Church on the Easter Vigil.
We should make accommodations for those already baptized and well-catechized regarding OCIA (Formerly RCIA) process and the timing of entering the Church. Each person being received into the Church needs to be treated as the individual they are and not just put into a bureaucratic process that everybody goes through.
I guess that is my pet peeve. When I entered RCIA I had been doing an intense study for a couple of years and totally convicted of the truth of the Church. I learned nothing new during RCIA. I was baptized as an infant in a Methodist church, but I would have laughed if somebody told me the Church was being triumphalistic by putting me in with the non-baptized non-catechized group and being received on the Easter Vigil.
There is much that we might reconsider in how effective the current process is and how or if it is forming disciples of Christ. It is easy to surmise that there is a lot of variance in effectiveness depending on the parish, those involved, along with societal factors. I recently read the book “Augustine and the Catechumenate” by the late Fr. William Harmless, S.J. It was a fascinating look into how St. Augustine and North Africa addressed the question of catechesis and training for those becoming Catholic. This information made me glad that I am not in charge of an OCIA program as this is such a serious responsibility and I ponder how I could take more academic knowledge and considerations in dealing with real people to help them love Jesus and the faith.
