In the
fall of 1996 Carolyn Lassek, director of the liturgy office of the Archdiocese
of Seattle, phoned me in her role as chairperson of the program planning
committee for the 1997 meeting of the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical
Commissions (FDLC). She invited me to be one of the workshop presenters at this
meeting, which had as its focus celebrating the Triduum. Carolyn asked that I
address the “Rite of Reception of Baptized Christians into the Full Communion
of the Catholic Church.” Preparation for the workshop led me to a new and
better understanding of our Church’s intent in this rite. An intent which
challenges much of our pastoral practice.
My pastoral experience of the Rite of Reception has
been primarily in the combined form celebrated at the Easter Vigil, that is,
initiation sacraments for the elect combined with reception for the baptized
candidates (see U.S. edition of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults,
nos. 562-594; see Canadian edition, nos. 418-451). As a result of this
experience, my innate sense of the Rite of Reception is within that context
(wherein, its is important to remember, this rite is celebrated in an adapted
form), and carries with it the sentiment of how impoverished the Rite of
Reception is when juxtaposed with such a richly symboled sacrament as baptism.
I
was quite surprised by what I discovered when studying again the specific Rite
of Reception (U.S. edition nos. 487-498; Can. edition nos. 387-417). I found
that instead of the Renewal of Baptismal Promises prior to the profession of
faith in the Catholic Church (“I believe and profess all that the holy
Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God”), the
baptized candidates are invited to profess the Nicene Creed (along with the
assembly). More surprising, however, was the realization that the text inviting
the candidates to profess their faith and the text for the Act of Reception
makes no mention of baptism. In fact, any mention of their baptism only comes in
the introduction to the General Intercessions (U.S. no. 496; Can. no.
409). What has been so clearly the context for this rite combined with
the initiation sacraments during the Easter Vigil –baptism—is amazingly
absent! “What is this?” I wondered.
At the same time, I recognized that included in the
Rite of Reception were several elements that are omitted when celebrated within
the Easter Vigil. Following the celebration of Confirmation, there is: (a) the
Celebrant’s Sign of Welcome, “The celebrant then takes the hands of the
newly received person into his own as a sign of friendship and acceptance”
(no. 495/408); (b) the General Intercessions, “In the introduction to the
General Intercessions the celebrant should mention baptism, (confirmation,) and
the eucharist….The one received…is mentioned at the beginning of the
intercessions” (no. 496/409); and (c) a Sign of Peace prior to the celebration
of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, “…the sponsor and the entire assembly, if
not too numerous, may greet the newly received person in a friendly manner”
(no. 497/410). As a result of this recognition, I was prompted to do two things:
first, reread Rita Ferrone’s article on the Rite of Reception in my book, One
at the Table: The Reception of Baptized Christians (available through
Forum’s Book Service); second, reread the introductory paragraphs to the Rite
of Reception (nos. 473-486/387-399).
Rita Ferrone’s article sets the crafting of this
new rite within the Church’s ecumenical development since its foundations are
truly rooted in this dimension of our Church. This reading sensitized me to some
of the ritual gestures mentioned in the preceding remarks and to some of the
wording in the rite itself;
“The
rite should… have as its high point eucharistic communion.” (no.
475,1/389,1)
“…it
is permissible to celebrate the Mass “For the Unity of Christians” from the
Masses
for Various Needs.” (no. 487/400)
“In
this faith you will be one with us for the first time at the eucharistic table
of the Lord Jesus, the sign of the Church’s unity.” (no. 490/403)
“(The
Lord’s) loving kindness has led you here, so that in the unity of the
Holy Spirit you may have full communion with us….” (no. 492/405)
What I saw
in a fresh way was what I call “the lens through which the Rite of Reception
was crafted.” Unlike the renewal of the initiation sacraments and the Easter
Vigil, which have been shaped using the lens of initiation (the Easter Vigil
being the Church’s primordial celebration of being initiated into Christ), the
Rite of Reception has been crafted through the lens of Christian unity – it is
a celebration of a new union within the Christian community, not of initiation
into Christ (already accomplished in their baptism).
Because
our pastoral practice is to celebrate this Rite of Reception most often in the
adapted form of a combined rite at the Easter Vigil, the understanding of both
parishioners and the catechumenate team members of what is being celebrated in
this rite is being shaped by the initiatory context of the experience. Not only
does it leave us with a sense of ritual impoverishment, it can also foster other
thoughts: “too bad they were previously baptized, otherwise they could partake
in our rich baptismal symbols” and/or “this rite is somehow compensating for
their lesser baptism in that other Christian community” (an attitude surely
not in keeping with the Church’s ecumenical understanding).
As
one can see, however, just from reading the ritual text outside of an adapted
form in a combined rite, it is ritually rich. In fact, the experience by those
communities who celebrate it outside of the Easter Vigil is that it is a
powerful rite, rich in symbol and meaning.
Given the distinct intent of the Rite of Reception, the question arises: should we be celebrating this rite in a combined form at the Easter Vigil? I will address this in a subsequent issue of this Newsletter. For now, suffice it to say that, indeed, more opportunities need to be taken to celebrate the rite at times other than the Easter Vigil. In so doing, we will come to understand its true intent from a personal experience of it in its own right. Then, if and when celebrated in a combined form, we will understand what we are doing and will make appropriate adaptations within these combined celebrations so that its true intent will be proclaimed.
Forum Team member Ronald A. Oakham, O. Carm. offers some important theological and pastoral insights into the background and purpose of the “Rite of Reception of Baptized Christians into the Full Communion of the Catholic Church.”
Last Month Issue: The Uncatechized Baptized Member by Rick Goodwin