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PAGE 5—The Georgia Bulletin, May 16,1985
Father Gerald Peterson
The Rural RCIA
Occasionally I hear the objection: “Our parish is too
small for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
(R.C.I.A.) with its catechumenate process.”
I’ve just returned from the wonderful five-day
workshop on “The R.C.I.A. — Ecumenical Beginnings”
held at Emory University in Atlanta. The Catholics of the
archdiocese were well represented. Some of the priests
and laity were complaining about the difficulties of
building a sense of the parish community welcoming in
the new members and the logistics of multiple weekend
Masses and the large crowds of people in parishes of over
1,000 families.
Eight new members were received into the Church at
the Easter Vigil in my parish of St. Mark in Clarkesville.
Three others were initiated into full sacramental life in the
community of St. Helena in Clayton. With 115 families at
Clarkesville and about 60 in Clayton, the R.C.I.A. worked
beautifully. In fact, the process seems to get better each
year, and I’ve been using the catechumenate model for the
past 10 years.
I was proud of the people of my parish. Over 100 in
each church came to the Easter Vigil to welcome in the
new members. There was a beautiful sense of the
community saying: “Welcome into full membership to
share sacramental life with us. We know the long road
you’ve traveled meeting weekly to prepare for this night
of Easter.”
Leo Smith was the only adult baptized at St. Helena.
The others, being previously baptized, made their
Profession of Faith. In reflecting on the experience of his
baptism, Leo stated: “When I talked with Father Peter
nearly two years ago about becoming a Christian, I
thought I just needed to be baptized. The community
didn’t seem important. But experiencing my baptism and
the warm welcome of the community at the Easter
service, I see how much I need the family, the church
community to become a Christian and to live the Catholic
way of life.”
Leo’s baptism was the culminating point of his journey
of faith, which began 18 months earlier. He and his wife,
Sarah, a Catholic, had a lot of unresolved questions about
the church and the changes since Vatican II. The “inquiry
stage” of Leo’s catechumenate lasted a full school year
with weekly meetings. We celebrated at a Sunday Mass in
June 1984 the rite., of entry into the “catechumenate
stage” for Leo Smith.
Along with Sarah, and their little daughter, Katie, Leo
continued to be faithful at Sunday Mass. In September
1984, Helen and Edgar Ragan joined Leo to continue the
catechumenate process until Easter. They met weekly
with Sister Mary Burke, myself and three sponsors from
St. Helena Church.
The progress of the three catechumens in their journey
of faith indicated by the first Sunday of Lent that they
were ready to celebrate the “Rite of Election” and spend
Lent as a time of more intense preparation for full
membership at the Easter Vigil. Being dismissed after the
homily at the Sunday Masses during Lent, with Sister
Mary they continued to be nourished by the Word of
God. The dismissal gave them a heightened awareness of
their real hunger for the Eucharist.
I wish you could have seen the joy on their faces at the
end of the Easter Vigil celebration. For the eight received
into the church at St. Mark, the same joy was evident.
These new members made Lent and Holy Week a special
time for all of us in the church families of St. Helena and
St. Mark.
Yes, for those who still hestitate to plunge in and start
the R.C.I.A., let me assure you that it works well in a
small rural parish.
RESOUND
Forgive The Soldiers
To the Editor:
In the past few weeks we’ve heard a lot about the
Jewish holocaust. President Reagan has taken a lot of
flack for his visit to a German cemetery. True there were
SS soldiers buried there along with 2,000 other soldiers.
In this day and age of hate, greed and uncertainty the
Catholic Church had a great opportunity to practice what
it preaches. It’s been 40 years and even Jesus Christ
forgave us when we crucified him. As I recall His words
were “Father forgive for they do not know what they are
doing.” I think it’s time we acted ’ike Christ and forgive
the poor soldiers of Nazi Germany. I applaud President
Reagan and his actions. A pity the Catholic Church hasn’t
followed his example. Teresa Bizub
College Park
Father John Catoir
A Silver Jubilee
This month my
classmates and I celebrate
the silver anniversary of
our ordination to the
priesthood. It is with a
heart full of thanksgiving
that I reflect on the
mystery of this strange
vocation.
I really didn’t want to
be a priest. I thought of it
on and off in high school,
but I put the idea away as
fast as it came to me. In
college, I planned for a
career in business.
Somewhere along the way
I remember a Jesuit took
me aside and said, “Have
you ever thought about
becoming a priest?” I said,
“No, absolutely not.” I
avoided him like the
plague after that.
I wanted another kind
of life for myself, one I
could live on my own
terms, certainly not as a
cleric, a celibate, a dreary
man in a black suit. I
wanted to have fun, a
family, a career; most of
all, I wanted the freedom
to be myself, whatever
that meant.
For six years I
stubbornly resisted the
subtle attraction of the
priesthood, the feeling
that God wanted this for
me. It finally wore me
down. Eventually I came
to realize that I wanted
the priesthood more than
anything else in the world.
When I finally
surrendered, it all became
clear.
Looking back now, I
think of Christ’s words,
“You have not chosen Me,
I have chosen you.” What
a mystery! But isn’t it the
same for all of us? On the
road to sanctity, the Lord
leads us along paths we
would not have chosen for
ourselves. He knows where
our true happiness will be
found. If only we can
learn to trust Him.
The priesthood is a hard
life. Yet, it is both a
marvelous gift and a
magnificent obsession. All
I can say is “thank you”
to God and to all my
friends and loved ones
who have supported me
over the years. I thank you
for reading my words, for
being part of my life. May
God bless you and nurture
you in the warmth of His
love. May He teach you, as
He taught me, that crosses
are often blessings in
disguise, and that
happiness is found in
laying down one’s life
rather than clinging to it. I
am still learning and still
clinging, but I am happy,
thanks be to God.
SEVENTH
SUNDAY
OF EASTER
MA Y 19, 1985
Do not let your hearts
be troubled: I am going
to the Father, but once
I am taken away from
you, l shall send you
the Spirit of truth, and
your hearts will be full
of joy, alleluia. I shall
ask the Father and he
will give you another
Advocate, and your
hearts will be full of
joy, Alleluia.
*
I SHALL
SEDDYOU
THE SPIRIT
OF TRUTH
Dolores Curran
A Catholic Answer
To Planned Parenthood
Last year, a teacher in a large Catholic high school who
had built a trust level with her students wished she hadn’t.
In just one year, 10 girls had confided to her they were
pregnant, but even after her counseling to the contrary,
seven of the pregnancies “disappeared.”
“Only three had their babies,” she told me. “All I can
assume is that the other seven had abortions.” She shook
her head. “Why don’t we come up with some alternative
to Planned Parenthood and abortions for these kids?
Everything is after the fact. Why aren’t we helping them
deal with the pressures and realities of pre-marital sex? It’s
always too late when they come to us.”
I have reflected often on her despair. We know we are
rearing young people who are growing up and dating in a
permissive sexual culture. Yet, we are doing little or
nothing to help them deal with the pressures they face,
pressures much stronger than those we faced.
The “NO” button campaign of a few years ago was
admirable but not enough. Nor is simply moralizing in the
classroom. Kids still face the culture’s questions, “Why
not? Who’s it going to hurt? Are you gay or something?”
It seems the time is ripe for an agency like Planned
Parenthood for teens who want to avoid pre-marital sex
but need some skills in doing so. If we had such an agency
in every diocese where young people — girls and boys —
could go for help when they’re being pressured, it would
tell them their struggles are shared by others their age and
that we care about helping them deal with the very real
struggles of growing up today.
We could staff such a place with volunteer counselors
who have had some training in listening to young people,
posing questions, and suggesting responses. The success,
like the success of youth retreats, would lie in its staff.
These would have to be adults or young adults who like
teenagers, who are non-judgemental, who are perceived as
trustworthy, and who understand today’s youth culture. I
believe these people are out there in our church.
Many young people do not want to engage in
pre-marital sex but they’re made to feel odd if they don’t.
Different. They fear ridicule. “I’m the only virgin in my
gang,” a 16-year-old told her mother tearfully. “Is
something wrong with me?”
So they submit, even though they may feel used. The
offensive label for a girl who flirts but doesn’t indulge in
sex is a “tease.” Often these girls give in but thev don’t
like themselves very much. Still, they want to belong — a
driving need of adolescence.
I envision an ecumenical agency — Adolescenthood,
Inc. maybe — in which personal counseling and support
groups are offered to deal with low self-esteem that
sometimes results in promiscuity, with skin hunger and
healthy ways of dealing with it, with morality and
idealism, with techniques of saying “No, not yet,” that
don’t put off the ones they like but rather give rise to
respect.
As in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, I would invite
young adults who have suffered from the costs of
pre-marital sex to share with younger adolescents, and
also those who did postpone sex until marriage to tell how
they did it and why they are glad they did.
Maybe this kind of effort won’t help the already
sexually active teenager but it would offer a support for
those who are feeling pressured to get into something they
feel isn’t right when pressures get rough.
And I bet we would get a lot of parent support for such
an agency. I think we could make it work. Is there anyone
out there who wants to try?