Dear Mark,
Christ is risen!
I have sometimes disagreed with you in the past but I must say you are 100% bang on with your observations on the RCIA in the Catholic Exchange. I completely agree with your four points and would go even further than you on two of them. To wit:
The RCIA split into a two-track system could even add a third stream for people who are Catholics in name only. In the RCIA teams I have worked with we sometimes had people who had been baptized as children but they were never catechized. These were people who took their faith seriously and who reached out to learn more but they don't really fit into the RCIA model and in most places there is no other place for them to learn.
Mystagogia be much more heavily emphasized. Indeed! And isn't it actually a life-long job for all of us? We should get back to the early church's understanding of every Sunday being a new Easter.
Like you I have had a long journey in the Church and never cease to amaze at how the Holy Spirit continues to work in wondrous and mysterious ways. After completing seminary studies I discerned that the priesthood was not the path for me. As it turned out a wonderful woman, whom I met during theology studies, is now my wife and I have moved from the Latin Rite to join her in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. But I remain involved with the western diocese as a volunteer teacher in a variety of their formation programs, including training RCIA teams, for Church leaders.
Peace, and a most joyous Easter,
Patrick
Dear Patrick,
Amen to all you say! Congratulations on your marriage and Happy Easter!
Mark Shea
