Q: What sacrament celebrations can / cannot / should not take place during Advent and Lent. Couldn’t find the exact information… Is the following accurate? SEASONAL LIMITATIONS: Advent: no Gloria, keep Alleluia; no Confirmations; Discourage baptisms, marriages and First Communions Lent: No Gloria, no Alleluia (substitute choice from # 223 in the Lectionary); discourage baptisms, marriages; no Confirmations, no First Communions Can you help us? A: The rule for the Gloria is in GIRM 53 – said on Sundays outside of Advent and Lent. The rule for no Alleluia during Lent is in GIRM 62b. Baptisms and confirmations may not be celebrated …
After a person is received
Q: After a person has been received into the Catholic Church, can they receive communion or do they have to wait for their confirmation? A: Confirmation is part of the Rite of Reception of Baptized Christians into the Full Communion of the Catholic Church. When the priest receives a baptized Christian into the Catholic Church, he also confirms that person and gives communion.
Absolute baptism
Q: In our baptismal record, a number of entries mention baptism of children above the age of reason with a notation of ‘neo-conversus, baptism absolute’. A Google search reveals that this is old terminology for those who were received into the Church. What is not clear is if these people were baptized, or baptized & confirmed, or simply made a profession of faith (having perhaps been baptized in a Christian community). Can you shed any light on this practice and how I should interpret this notation? It has become relevant because I don’t know how to fill out a requested …
Restored Order
Q: Our diocese will be moving toward Restored Order within the next three years. That means that our children will celebrate confirmation before they receive first communion. Have you ever documented a brief history of this practice in any of your writings? Do you have a document that you might easily direct me toward? I am very grateful for this help! I hope you are well and gratefully receive your blog entries now. A: Be assured of my prayers as your diocese moves to a new order of Christian initiation. This book should be helpful: Ages of Initiation. The book …
The rite of welcoming candidates
Q: Greetings Paul. I hope that all is well with you. We here down under are somewhat bemused/amused by the campaign for president currently running in your country! Two paragraphs in the RCIA have always puzzled me but I keep forgetting to ask about them. I came across them again just now so decided to go straight to the expert for help! They are 381& 382 in the section on Preparation of Uncatechised Adults for Confirmation and Eucharist in the Australian version (my emphasis): 381. The period of preparation is made holy by means of liturgical celebrations. The first of these …
Prayers of the Faithful
Q: It’s been a while since I taught about Prayers of the Faithful. What is the sequence? First For the church… Then ? Etc. etc. A: Here’s what GIRM 70 says: The series of intentions is usually to be: for the needs of the Church for public authorities and the salvation of the whole world for those burdened by any kind of difficulty for the local community Nevertheless, in any particular celebration, such as a Confirmation, a Marriage, or at a Funeral, the series of intentions may be concerned more closely with the particular occasion. The suggested intentions in the …
Receiving Orthodox Christians
Q: A reader sent me a question about receiving Orthodox Christians, which sent me to your book. And I’m still scratching my head. In When Other Christians Become Catholic, you write about the reception of an Orthodox Christian: “No profession of faith is required…” (141). But right before that, you cite RCIA 474, which says “simply a profession of Catholic faith” is required. What’s the difference? And also, you indicate that the celebrant “places his hand on the head of the candidate, while proclaiming the act of reception.” Isn’t that a “liturgical rite,” which RCIA 474 says is not required? Thanks …
Conditional baptism
Q: I have a question concerning conditional baptism. I looked in your book for priests on Celebrating Initiation and The Catechumenate Answer Book but couldn’t see any mention of it. So I looked up Canon 869 which quotes the RCIA Appendix by saying the minister “should administer it in a private form.” However, the Australian version of the same segment says: “the minister should explain beforehand the reasons why this is being done and a nonsolemn form of baptism is to be used.” #393 I am presuming that “nonsolemn” means it is not only shorter but also private, as quoted …
Rite of Reception outside of mass
Q. Today I got a call from a parish that would like to do the Rite of Reception into Full Communion with a candidate outside of mass and not include the celebration of Confirmation. The choice of the parish is to celebrate Confirmation and Eucharist with this individual at the Easter Vigil. From all I have read today; doing it this way is not preferred. What are your thoughts? A. A priest who receives a person into the church is obliged to confirm in the same ceremony. The appropriate canons are 883 and 885. The first says in section 2 that a …