Q: I am trying to spread out the minor rites so that we have approximately one a month until the buildup to the Rite of Initiation of which their are many. I am concerned that adding too many minor rites during that buildup period would make that period a little congested. Therefore, I would like to perform a rite during January and one during February.
I have a practical question for you. I am adding the Minor Rites to the OCIA program which I am leading for my parish. Two of the minor rites, the Handing On of the Creed and The Handing On of the Lord’s Prayer are meant to be performed after the Scrutinies during the Period of Enlightenment. It does say, “if circumstances suggest, this rite may also be celebrated during the Period of The Catechumenate” (OCIA 149).
Am I able to do those two of the minor rites during the Period of the Catechumenate based on those concerns? While it seems clear that I can would it be inadvisable as it may be contrary to the spirit of those rites in the 2024 edition of The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults?
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A: You may indeed arrange the celebration of the Rites of Handing On outside Lent and put them into the period of the catechumenate. The very circumstance you describe—making “that period a little congested”—is precisely the reason why we have the permission to move those rites outside of Lent. Historically they have always been part of Lent, so I advise keeping them there when possible, but you have every right to move them, as the OCIA makes clear.