St. Michael the Archangel Sacrament Preparation

If you have recently been initiated into the Catholic faith community through RCIA, you are invited to take part in continuing "post-initiation" formation. We will be focusing on how to continue living out the Catholic Christian commitments celebrated through the Sacraments of Initiation. These sessions will be held on Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m., beginning June 3, 2004. For more information, please contact Jim Peters in the Religious Education office by email or phone 303-690-7697.

RCIA Year At A Glance

Easter Vigil

Second Sunday of Easter

Our last two RCIA youth received their Sacraments of Initiation at the 10:30 a.m. Mass.

Easter Vigil
At the Easter Vigil Mass, St. Michael's is blessed with receiving new members in our Catholic faith community. As the culmination of their preparation through the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation), these adults and young people were fully initiated through the celebration of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.

Second Sunday of Easter
Aat the 10:30 am Mass, new members were received into our Catholic faith community. Because they had been previously baptized within another Christian tradition, these adults and children were received into the full communion of the Catholic faith through the celebration of Confirmation and Eucharist.

Our newly initiated brothers and sisters (known as "neophytes") now enter into the period of mystagogy. Mystagogy is a life-long process of continued conversion and spiritual growth, during which the neophytes will come to embrace and live out our faith to its fullest potential. Please continue to pray for and support our neophytes on their journey.

If you desire to enter the Catholic Church, or are returning to the Church after some time away, please contact the Religious Education Office via telephone (303-690-7697) about the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults.

The signing of the senses.

Father Fox signs the forehead of a young catechumen.

These individuals are accepted into the Order of Catechumens. During the Rite of Acceptance they are "signed" with the cross on their foreheads by Fr. Fox, and then signed on their foreheads, ears, eyes, lips, shoulders, hearts, hands, and feet, by their sponsors.

These catechumens continue their journey toward full initiation into the Body of Christ through the celebration of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist at the Easter Vigil.

This rite is the first public assembly of those who have been inquiring about membership within the Catholic faith community. Known as "inquirers" before this rite, afterward these unbaptized candidates will be known as "catechumen." The beginnings of the spiritual life and the fundamentals of Christian teaching have taken root, and so the Church accepts them as persons who intend to become its members.

The rite consists in the reception of the candidates, celebration of the Word of God, and the dismissal of the candidates. During the reception of the candidates the forehead and other senses are "signed" with the cross. The candidates receive the sign of the cross on their entire bodies, being marked with the magnitude of Christ's love and the immensity of Christ's pain, as a reminder that following Jesus leads to the cross.

From this time on the Church embraces the catechumens as its own with a mother's love and concern. Joined to the Church, the catechumens will be nourished with the Word of God and sustained through liturgical celebrations. As members, they now have the right to be married within the Church, and, should they die during this period of their journey, to receive a Christian burial.

New candidate receives the sign of the cross on his shoulders during the Rite of Welcoming.
Another new candidate receives the sign of the cross on her hands during the Rite of Welcoming.

During the Rite of Welcoming, catechumens are "signed" with the cross on their foreheads by Fr. Fox, and then signed on their foreheads, ears, eyes, lips, shoulders, hearts, hands, and feet, by their sponsors.

These candidates then continue on their journey toward full initiation into the Body of Christ through the celebration of Confirmation and Eucharist at Mass on the Sunday after Easter.

This rite is the first public assembly of those who have been inquiring about membership within the Catholic faith community, but are already joined with us in the Christian faith through Baptism within another Christian faith tradition. Known as "candidates for catechetical instruction leading to reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church" (or simply "candidates"), they will receive further doctrinal instruction and spiritual preparation. By virtue of their Baptism, they are distinct from "catechumens" (unbaptized individuals preparing for initiation into the Church. For this same reason they are never referred to as "converts."

The rite consists in the declaration of intent of the candidates, the affirmation by their sponsors, the signing of the candidates with the cross, and their dismissal from the Eucharistic assembly. The candidates receive the sign of the cross on their entire bodies, being marked with the magnitude of Christ’s love and the immensity of Christ’s pain, as a reminder that following Jesus leads to the cross.

Members of the Elect kneel while the parish community prays over them.
Father Jim Fox recites the prayer of exorcism over the Elect.

Members of the Christian Elect particpate in the First Scrutiny.

These Elect, having just finished the Rite of Election at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, will be continuing their journey toward full initiation into the Body of Christ through Baptism, Confirmation and First Eucharist.

The Elect (formerly called "catechumens" before their participation in the Rite of Election), are now entered into a period of purification and enlightenment, the time that immediately precedes their initiation at the Easter Vigil. This is a time of reflection,intensely centered on conversion, marked by the celebration of the Scrutinies and presentations and of the preparation rites on Holy Saturday.

The Scrutinies are a solemn celebration reinforced by exorcism, and are rites for self-searching and repentance and have above all a spiritual purpose. The scrutinies are meant to uncover, then heal all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the hearts of the elect; to bring out, then strengthen all that is upright, strong, and good. The Scrutinies are celebrated in order to deliver the elect from the power of sin and Satan, to protect them against temptation, and to give them strength in Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life.

Because they are asking for the three sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and First Eucharist), the elect must have the intention of achieving an intimate knowledge of Christ and His Church, and they are expected particularly to progress in genuine self-knowledge through serious examination of their lives and true repentance.

In order to inspire in the elect a desire for purification and redemption by Christ, three scrutinies are celebrated. In these three scrutinies, the elect are instructed gradually about the mystery of sin, from which the whole world and every person longs to be delivered and thus saved from its present and future consequences. The first scrutiny presents the gospel of the Samaritan woman at the well and thereby focuses on Christ the Redeemer, who is the living water. The second scrutiny presents the gospel of the man born blind and teaches us that Christ the Redeemer is also the light of the world. The third and final scrutiny presents the gospel of the Lazarus and thus proves Christ the Redeemer to be the resurrection and the life. From the first to the final scrutiny the elect should progress in their perception of sin and their desire for salvation.