Rite of Welcome or Acceptance

​After a period of inquiry, in which we have gathered over meals and gotten to know each other over the course of several months we then celebrate a rite moving to the next level of commitment to the process of becoming Catholic. We make these decisions at everyone's own right time. We celebrate these things when the people are ready and when our community is also ready. There is no predetermined course. We recognize that there are unexpected twists and turns that have brought people to this spiritual place and that there are more unexpected things to come.  

For those who have not been baptized this formal next step is the Rite of Acceptance. At the beginning of mass the unbaptized wait at the threshold or entrance to the sanctuary. The presider or a representative of the community goes and greets them to welcome them in. The movement from outside to inside is key.  

For those who have already been baptized we celebrate the Rite of Welcoming. The candidates who are already baptized wait inside. They are already part of the assembly of the faithful. That is why they are already standing inside, it is a physical sign that they are already inside the church. Physical things and places communicate spiritual realities and we need to grow accustomed to seeing how the divine is communicated through physical reality.  

The participants in the rites are asked “What is your name and what are you seeking?” Then they are signed on their forehead by the priest. The signing is the key symbol of the rite. They are signed on their senses, their hands, feet, and shoulders. They are presented with the cross at this time as a memorialization of the entrance into the Order of Catechumens. Then they are seated for the liturgy of the Word.   After the homily they are invited forward and are presented with a Bible. It is a sign that the scriptures will guide them on their journey to initiation. The Church hands on the scriptures which we have received. The community then prays the intercessions. There is then a special blessing over the catechumens with arms extended and they are dismissed prior to the Eucharist.  

We then go directly to the space they normally gather for a period of breaking open and reflecting on the experience of the Rite. We recall how Christ taught that we are to be salt but if we lose our true flavor how can it be restored? We recall how Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt when she chose to look back and how she has become an example reiterating that “No one who puts hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God.”