Fr Totanes said the RCIA is ‘a task that belongs to the whole Church; not just priests, catechists or the catechumenate team, but the shared responsibility of all the baptised.’ Photo: Josh Low.
Conversion as the central dynamic of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) was at the heart of the message at the 2017 RCIA State Conference, last weekend.
Held at Morley Parish on Saturday 21 October, the conference was co-hosted by the Archdiocese of Perth and Diocese of Geraldton, with some 50 people involved in the facilitation of RCIA programs across Western Australia in attendance.
The conference included a keynote speech by Director of the Centre for Parish Faith, Life and Mission in Geraldton, Fr Gerard Totanes, as well as a workshop session discussing the practical application of the framework of the RCIA in parish life.
Held at Morley Parish on Saturday 21 October, the conference was co-hosted by the Archdiocese of Perth and Diocese of Geraldton. Photo: Josh Low.
In his address to attendees, Fr Totanes explained that it was important not to ignore the vision of the Church that is found at the heart of the Catechumenate.
“It is a call to a constant and fuller conversion and this is the underlying principle that guides the whole catechumenal process.
“We often say ‘we take people where they’re at’, but it also requires us to lead them to where they are called to be.
“This is what makes the RCIA a spiritual journey of a lifetime,” he said.
Fr Totanes said that whatever reasons people may have for joining the Church, we ‘have a task to help catechumens encounter Jesus Christ in the Church, in their day-to-day lives and their network of relationships, opening for them the way to an experience of conversion’.
“It’s the work of the Holy Spirit that makes conversion a reality for catechumens, while we cooperate with God’s work of bringing about that conversion.
“Conversion is not only just for them, but also for ourselves and the whole Church.
Fifty people involved in the facilitation of RCIA programs across Western Australia in attendance. Photo: Josh Low.
He added that the rites and symbols in the liturgy played an important role in the life of the Church and in the understanding of the Catholic tradition, which could then be mirrored in daily life.
“The community must be guided to see those rituals and symbols with fresh eyes, and hear the words that accompany them with fresh understanding.
“Yes we can all clap our hands and say ‘hip-hooray’ but what is that without people having a real understanding of what is actually taking place in the sacred rites?” he said.
“A shallow conversion is no conversion at all. Genuine conversion leads to constant conversion which then leads to fuller conversion.
“We are called to allow Christ to work in us and to shape us more and more into His image, allowing His power to remove whatever stands in the way of fully living the Good News, and to become the Good News ourselves,” he concluded.