Initiating Adults Outside the Easter Vigil
An article exploring the possibilities for celebrating the Christian Initiation of adults apart from the 'usual' time of the Easter Vigil.
This article was originally published in the Spring 2025 edition of Liturgy News.
The flame of the Paschal Candle flickers in the slight breeze, casting its glow against the walls of the church. The sweet scent of Sacred Chrism wafts through the assembled people, while the Baptismal Font settles once again into stillness. The newly initiated member of the Body of Christ that is the Church, arrayed in the brilliant whiteness of their baptismal robe, takes their place of pre-eminence among the assembly as they prepare to exercise the baptismal priesthood for the first time during the Prayer of the Faithful.
It is a scene, an experience, that many people would be familiar with having attended the celebration of the Easter Vigil. Such moments are wonderfully powerful, not just for the newly initiated but for the entire community of faith. Such moments witness the culmination of a journey of discovery and discernment and the beginning of a new life in God within a community of faith.
While Christian initiation is usually and normatively associated with the annual celebration of Easter, and the Easter Vigil in particular, the scene described above, however, does not take place during the celebration of the Easter Vigil in March or April, but during a Saturday evening Mass sometime in September.
The reason for celebrating someone’s initiation in September could be for something as practical as an illness ‘disrupting’ their preparation for initiation. Perhaps a family will be moving interstate over the Christmas holidays. Or tt could be that the person initiated on that September evening was not yet ready for the Easter Vigil this year, but their readiness was discerned in the intervening time. In such circumstances do we really need to wait until the arrival of the next Easter Vigil, some five or six months away?
Whatever the reason, however, the celebration of Christian initiation on that September evening is entirely in keeping with what the Church teaches. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) identifies the connection with Easter as the ‘general rule’ (RCIA 17) while acknowledging that for pastoral needs of a more serious nature, … it is lawful to arrange the schedule for the entire rite of initiation differently. These details are then articulated in RCIA 26-30.
Before we look at the details of that brief section of the RCIA and what it means for the celebration of Christian initiation, a couple of observations about Christian initiation in general are worth noting.
Firstly, the RCIA’s normative pattern, where the Easter Vigil is the culmination of the journey of Christian initiation, is applicable only to those who are not yet baptised. By its very nature, the RCIA has been created for the unbaptised.
The rite of Christian initiation presented here is designed for adults who, after hearing the mystery of Christ proclaimed, consciously and freely seek the living God and enter the way of faith and conversion as the Holy Spirit opens their hearts. By God’s help they will be strengthened spiritually during their preparation and at the proper time will receive the sacraments fruitfully. (RCIA 1)
What is missing from this paragraph? There is no mention of people who, having already been baptised in another Christian tradition, seek to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church! Such people, whose baptism we must acknowledge and honour, do not participate in the RCIA, since the RCIA is for those who are not yet baptised. The reception of those who are already baptised takes place whenever they are ready and is not linked to the Easter Vigil! The section of our current Australian edition of the RCIA on the reception of baptised Christians into full communion is a local additon to the book. So too is the plan in the appendix which integrates them into the celebration of the Easter Vigil. It is true that many parishes have these two groups journeying together, but the practice is worth a critical re-examination. Those already baptised have a different starting point and the pattern of the movement to communion should be seen to be different. Vive la difference!
Secondly, the journey of Christian initiation is never the same for every person who responds to God’s call. For some it may unfold across years; for others, it may be more immediate. For some it could be triggered by momentous life-changing events; for others, it may be a slow, gradual realisation of it simply being ‘right’. This variety requires of the Church a preparedness to walk with the seeker (see RCIA 9) and let the journey for each person unfold at the right time and proper pace for them.
It should be obvious then that a ‘one size fits all’ model based on ‘beginning’ in September and ‘finishing’ at Easter is not the most appropriate means by which the Church fulfills its responsibilities to seekers. This is especially the case if the model used is based solely on mid-week classroom gatherings where seekers are taught things. What if, instead, communities of faith were ready to welcome seekers when they emerge, and invite them into the life of the faith community to begin a journey by living as Christians live, similar to the way apprentices become masters of their trade by living and working in their trade?
Such an ‘apprenticeship’ model opens the door to embracing the RCIA’s vision of a ‘year-round’ catechumenate. This in turn shifts the focus of catechesis and preparation away from the classroom and back to the liturgical year (see RCIA 75.1). The model encourages the flexibility found in RCIA 26-30. It is immensely helpful in permitting Christian initiation to take place when seekers are ready, rather than when we might think it ‘should’ take place. It opens up possibilities beyond initiating only at the Easter Vigil. And the RCIA’s year-round approach is a better response to the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20.
Outside the Usual Times
In light of these considerations, what does Christian initiation “Outside the Usual Times” look like? While there are certainly adjustments required, the overarching principle applicable to celebrating Christian initiation at another time of the year is ensuring the structure of the entire rite, with its properly spaced intervals, remains the same (RCIA 26).
This reference to ‘entire rite’ means ensuring that there is a liturgical acknowledgement of a person’s entry into the Order of Catechumens, that there is a rite of election celebrated about six weeks before the celebration of baptism-confirmation-communion, that the scrutinies and presentations that usually take place during Lent (the traditional ‘period of purification and enlightenment’0 are still celebrated, and that the sacraments of initiation are celebrated on a Sunday.
There are those who might argue that, since Christian initiation is not being celebrated at Easter, there is no need to keep to all the steps outlined in the RCIA. Yet the RCIA itself makes it clear that this is not the case. Indeed, the RCIA highlights the necessity of the various steps because the journey to Christian initiation, and thus the journey of the initiation process, is as important as the destination, regardless of when the celebration of the sacraments takes place.
The beauty and power of the ritual elements and occasions that constitute the ‘entire rite’ need to be experienced not only by the catechumen but also the entire community. There is something powerful about the greeting of the soon-to-be catechumen at the door of a church building where, in answer to the question put to them, What do you ask of God’s Church?, we hear the answer, Faith. Equally, the subsequent signing of the person with the cross, which mirrors a similar action during the baptism of children, not only needs to be felt by the one being signed but also witnessed by those in whose name it is done.
The writing of a name in the Book of the Elect, the three scrutinies that follow for the Elect, along with their accompanying exorcisms, and the presentation of the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer – not on paper but by being spoken by the Church and heard by the Elect – all highlight in ritual the reality of the seeker becoming more closely connected to the Church to which they will be forever joined following their initiation. The texts of the scrutinies are tightly linked to the gospel reading of the Lenten Sunday and so will need careful adaptation. The exorcism texts given as ritual resources for the period of the catechumenate might be of assistance (RCIA 94).
Each of these ritual moments is vitally important to the journey that will reach its culmination at the baptismal font and it waters. They are important whether they take place during the Season of Lent, as is the ‘general rule’, or at another point in the liturgical year. When celebrated well these moments provide meaning for both the Elect and the community of faith of which the Elect will become integral members.
Shifting the ‘entire rite’ to another point in the liturgical year is no easy task and needs careful scheduling. It is important to ensure that the celebration of the rite of election and thus the scrutinies do not fall on a solemnity of the liturgical year (see RCIA 29, 30 respectively). The other consideration that requires attention is the timespan of the journey, with the normative approach taking twelve months – a ‘liturgical year’. Care should also be taken to ensure that a similar span of time is kept when initiating outside the usual times. With those requirements observed any suitable date is possible for the celebration of Christian initiation.
While Christian initiation will always be intimately associated with the celebration of Easter and the Easter Vigil, the Church is also attentive to the needs of those who, having heard God’s call on their lives, seek to become part of the Body of Christ through baptism. Their journey of faith, inspired by the promptings of the Holy Spirit, cannot become so tied to a single event on the calendar that God’s work in them is frustrated by the Church’s hesitancy to initiate them when they are ready simply because the calendar does not ‘work’.
Thankfully, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults itself provides the means by which the journey of faith of a seeker unfolds not according to the calendar but rather according to God’s plan. The rite itself says, nothing can be determined a priori (RCIA 76).