The Periods and Rites of OCIA
The Order of Christian Initiation for Adults is a journey that lasts about nine months, depending when Easter is. Along the way, there are periods and rites that mark the person’s progress. These rites are celebrated at different stages, and participants go through periods of preparation leading up to them. But what are these periods and rites? Why are they significant and what do they mean? I learned all these things in my last OCIA class.
Let’s get into the periods and rites of OCIA…
The first period of OCIA is the Inquiry period. In this period, you learn more about Jesus, Sacred Scripture, and Sacred Tradition of the Church. You begin to follow Jesus with more intention, and with a deeper longing to know and love him. All my previous OCIA videos and articles cover the Inquiry phase. Please browse the videos on my The Bearded Revert YouTube channel and articles on my website (thebeardedrevert.com).
After about ten weeks of Inquiry, the Catechumenate period begins. This period is time of focused learning on topics relating to the Catholic faith and practice. This trains you in the Christian life. During this period, you go through a few different rites.
The Rite for Entrance into the Catechumenate is the first. This rite is for those desiring to be baptized. It introduces you to the parish community. Members welcome you and offer prayers to support you on your faith journey. Since I am already baptized, I did not need to complete this rite. However, I did witness it happen which was pretty cool. The catechumens stood in front of the priest at the altar, and he asked them questions. Then, they had to respond in unison. After that, the priest makes the sign of the cross on each catechumen’s forehead, and their sponsors do the same. Lastly, the priest officially welcomes them to the church community, and everyone in the church stood and clapped.
Now, myself and a few of my classmates were already baptized, so we did what is called the Rite of Welcoming. Similar to the Rite for Entrance, we stood in front of the priest at the altar. He asked us questions, and we responded. We had a much longer response than the others had…which made me a little nervous. But it went exceedingly well! After the response, the priest made the sign of the cross on our foreheads, and our sponsors did the same.
The second rite in the Catechumenate period is called the Rite of Election or Enrollment of Names. In my class, this is going to occur at a major cathedral and is mandatory for those who are seeking Baptism. For those already Baptized, we are welcome to attend, but is not mandatory. During this rite, four things will happen:
1. Unbaptized catechumen’s godparents will affirm their readiness
2. The celebrant will ask, “Is it your will to be initiated into Christ’s Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist?”
3. Unbaptized catechumen’s will then sign their name in the Book of the Elect
4. The community prays for the elect, and the celebrant offers a special blessing
If you are already baptized, then you will celebrate the Rite of Calling to Continuing Conversion. We did not get too deep into the meaning of it. The gist of it is that we are pledging to continue our conversion journey.
The next period is Purification and Enlightenment. This period typically coincides with Lent, and is a time that focuses your conversion as one of the elect, preparing to celebrate the Easter sacraments. During this time, a few minor rites occur: the Scrutinies, Handing On of the Creed, and Handing On of the Lord’s Prayer. These minor rites occur at Sunday Mass.
These lead up to the most important rite: Celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation. This occurs at the Easter Vigil Mass. On this holy night, all the elect are fully initiated into the Catholic Church. They receive all sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist. In my case, I have already received Baptism and the Eucharist. So, I will only be receiving Confirmation. This is something that I have looked forward to for quite some time, and I cannot wait to be fully initiated into the Church. For over twenty years, I have been missing the sacrament of Confirmation. I am so excited to receive this, and experience the graces that it promises.
Only a few more months to go!
Lastly, we have the Mystagogy period. In this period, we will “lead through the mysteries” of Christ. It is a form of catechesis that helps us better understand and explore the spiritual treasures that are in the sacraments. It is the way that early Church Fathers took in and trained up new Christians.
I appreciate you all reading. I truly hope my journey can inspire or offer some sort of help to you while you are on your very own faith journey. Thanks so much and God bless!
