Q: I am touching base about the OCIA with a question regarding the reception of validly baptized candidates for full communion. In short, does the OCIA say anything about when they should be received into full communion? All I can find is OCIA 409 that states the high point of their reception will be at the Easter Vigil. Yet, the OCIA, as far as I can tell, does not specify when baptized Christians seeking full communion should be initiated. RCIA 409 says the same.
That being said, are OCIA 409 and RCIA 409 generally referring to Catholics baptized as infants who received no or little catechesis (dare I say evangelization also?)?
If so, I cannot find anything in the OCIA Statutes (unlike the RCIA statutes) or OCIA 473-486 about when baptized Christians – upon whom “…no further burden is imposed than what is necessary to restore communion and unity” (OCIA 473). And, as the RCIA made clear, including in the Statutes, OCIA 477-478 teach that a pastoral discernment regarding the doctrinal and spiritual needs of each candidate guides the formation, including the length of formation, all the while, making sure that “equating candidates with catechumens is to be all together avoided.”
OCIA 482 teaches that the candidate should celebrate the Sacrament of Penance prior to reception, informing the confessor of the upcoming reception. What is interesting is that it mentions nothing about a date of reception (Easter Vigil?) in OCIA 473-486.
So, if we can draw conclusions from OCIA 477-478, if the length of formation depends on what the baptized candidate needs for reception, may we assume that they may be received into full communion when they are ready?
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A: Baptized candidates may be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church whenever they are ready. The OCIA gives no recommended time of year because there is none.
It’s like asking, “When is the proper time of the liturgical year for the Order of Celebrating Matrimony?” Well, you celebrate a wedding when the couple is ready. It has nothing to do with the liturgical year.