Deepening the unity

2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time – A

With only five and a half weeks before Ash Wednesday, you will want to make sure some important things get done now before you take a quick breather. One of these is receiving Christians.

The Sundays of Ordinary Time, especially today, are good days to celebrate the Rite of Reception into the Full Communion of the Catholic Church for baptized Christians who are becoming Catholic. Many parishes, however, celebrate this rite only at the Easter Vigil since that is the principal time for initiation. However, the rite’s guidelines, found in the soon-to-be retranslated Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, prohibit equating baptized Christians with catechumens (see RCIA, 477).

This rite, in and of itself, is not initiatory but is focused on deepening the unity we have in Christ—a union that Christians already share with us. Through the rite, in the most complete way possible, we become one with these Christian sisters and brothers at the Lord’s table. This is why “no greater burden than necessary is required for the establishment of communion and unity” (RCIA, 473).

If you have Christians who are ready to be received, don’t make them wait until the Easter Vigil. Plan to celebrate their reception (which includes Confirmation) on an Ordinary Time Sunday before Lent so they can fully participate in the Lenten season and the Triduum in full communion with us.

This post was first published in “GIA Quarterly: A Liturgical Music Journal.”

Image credit: Jacob Lund.

Read more reflections on the Sunday readings here:

• Prune our hearts
• Heed and follow
• New life in Christ
• Now what?
• We are Loved and Longed For