The One Accompanied 77
environment to accompany catechumens as they are introduced to new ex-
periences and become part of the parish community.
Catechumens need to be instructed in doctrinal and moral teachings of
the faith, but also be accompanied as they seek to integrate these new teach-
ings into their lives. RCIA leaders should be pastoral and compassionate in
their accompaniment as catechumens adjust to a newfound life of faith. The
RCIA ministry leaders and team must be patient as the catechumen absorbs
a new way of life into their heart, and must faithfully walk with them in the
journey to the Church.
In addition to forming them doctrinally and liturgically, the RCIA
leader or team must also incorporate the catechumen into the communal
life of the parish:
[W]hen the community is a place of communion and a true family
of the children of God, it expresses a generative force which trans-
mits the faith; where, on the other hand, it yields to the logic of
delegation and where bureaucratic organization holds sway, Chris-
tian initiation is misinterpreted as a course of religious instruction
which ends with the sacrament of Confirmation. So we urgently
need a profound rethink of the way catechesis is presented and
the link between transmission of the faith in the family and in the
community, providing space for processes of personal accompani-
ment. (Final Document of the Synod of Bishops on Young People, Faith
and Vocational Discernment, 19)
Communal life is an essential element of the Catholic faith, and it is an
essential part of the religious formation of all people who seek God.
For the catechumen and neophyte introduced to the family of faith in
the parish, community can be found in the ordinary and extraordinary mo-
ments of parish life. Fish fries, parish festivals, days of service, ministry
gatherings, communal prayer, and mass offer the ability to lift the catechu-
men out of themselves and draw them into the parish community:
When an encounter with God is called an “ecstasy”, it is because
it takes us out of ourselves, lifts us up and overwhelms us with
God’s love and beauty. Yet we can also experience ecstasy when
we recognize in others their hidden beauty, their dignity and their
grandeur as images of God and children of the Father. The Holy