Q: Might I get your take on this? Your book was quoted in regards to appropriate time for celebrating full communion. Would you hold that a Sunday of Lent is appropriate for this? If yes, would it be appropriate for those candidates for full communion who were presented to the diocesan bishop at a combined R of E/ Call to Conversion to be initiated one week later on the third Sunday of Lent? ( we have to use second weekend for Rite due to numbers and size of Cathedral)
Thank you for any input you may have on this.
A: The Rite of Reception was composed to be used at any time of year as an individual Christian completed requirements to be received in to the full communion of the Catholic Church.
I realize that this poses hardships on parishes that have a school-year model catechumenate into which they add the baptized candidates. But the rite envisions a more personal investigation into a person’s readiness. Some baptized candidates need longer formation; others need a shorter one.
Therefore, any Sunday is appropriate. If people are ready on the Third Sunday of Lent, then they may be received. But if they’re ready on the Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time or the Solemnity of Christ the King, then conduct the rite on those days. It’s like asking, “What is the appropriate liturgical day for a wedding?” Well, there really isn’t one. The ceremony is tied to other circumstances: the readiness of the couple. When they’re ready, they get married.
When a baptized Christian is ready for communion, that person is received.