Stewardship Tip March 2010

A Mini-Ministry Fair for the Mystagogia?

Ever wish you could capture and continue the depth and intensity of Lent? Find a way to hold onto the prayerful focus and disciplined intentionality that a well-lived Lent brings to the celebration of Easter? Taking a leaf out of the RCIA book by celebrating the Mystagogia with those who were baptized and received at the Easter Vigil can help us do that – and it’s good stewardship, too!

The final phase of the RCIA process is called “Mystagogia,” which means “leading into the mysteries.” It’s a time – usually from Easter to Pentecost – during which the newly-initiated members, called “neophytes,” reflect on and further explore the meaning of their Easter experiences and the deeper implications of the faith they have just professed. It’s the last phase of the RCIA process, but the first stage of their new life in Christ and the first phase of their life-long faith journey with the Christian community. In many parishes, it’s a time to introduce these newest members to the various ministries in the church and to invite them to use their gifts and talents to serve others in the church and the world.

They are new in the faith, but St. James reminds us that “faith without works is dead” – “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,’ but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:14-17).

And what are the works that flow from our faith? They’re described in Matthew 25 – “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me… whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matt 25:35-36, 40). This year, as the RCIA team invites the neophytes to put their faith into practice in one of the many ministries in your parish, how about inviting the rest of the parish to re-commit to the ministries in which they serve? Or to build on their Lenten discipline by embracing some new opportunity for outreach or evangelization.

The parish has accompanied these neophytes from the beginning, through all the Rites and the Scrutinies and the Easter sacraments. Being intentional about walking with them through the Mystagogia is the natural next step and can be an opportunity to deepen and extend the good stewardship of newcomers and old-timers alike. Plan now to do it this year!

Stewardship Tip March 2010