Mystagogy: Entering the discipleship highway

By Patricia Kasten
Compass Associate Editor

Time to hit the road!

Remember what is was like when you got your driver's permit? And your temporary license?

The open road lay ahead. The wind was in your hair, the sun on your face. Horsepower under your foot.

Nearly 300 people entered the church in our diocese at the Easter Vigil. Now technically called "neophytes," they have hit the road as disciples of Christ. Yet they still need some more directions.

Neophytes have been through the first steps of the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) process. Through instruction and sharing with their sponsors and other members of the faith community, they have explored the Catholic faith, expressed their desire to become members of the church, and been brought into the church through the sacraments of initiation. They now have the right to receive the Eucharist, be married in the church, and receive the sacraments of penance and of anointing of the sick when they feel the need for healing.

However, the RCIA process is not over for them. Not yet. These people ­- called neophytes until the next Easter Vigil - are now in the stage of the RCIA called mystagogy. (This is also known by its Greek name, mystagogia.) The Greek word means "learning the mysteries." Mystagogy is the time for "getting the feel of the road," a little like having "your temps" on the road to full discipleship. The period of mystagogy formally lasts until Pentecost, though it can be extended.

While the sacraments of initiation - baptism, Eucharist and confirmation - immediately bring a person fully into the church and fill them with the Holy Spirit, becoming a full adult disciple takes time. Even the Twelve needed several years of training with Christ before they were ready to "go out and make disciples of all nations." And then, after the resurrection, they spent another 40 days with the risen Christ, who told them to wait still more: for the coming of the Spirit after his ascension.

"During the period of mystagogy," the U.S. bishops state, "the newly baptized members reflect on their experiences at the Easter Vigil and continue to learn more about the Scriptures, the sacraments and the teaching of the Catholic Church. In addition, they reflect on how they will serve Christ and help the church's mission and outreach activities."

Neophytes are learning the rules of the road about being disciples - students of the Teacher. They look to us,who have been on the road longer in this learning process, for direction.

"The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it, and spread it," the Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 1816) tells us.

It takes time - and practice - to learn to do that. In fact, it takes a lifetime. No one, not even the saints on earth, get it right all the time.

And no one can do it alone. Pope John Paul II used the Gospel teaching of the vine and branches (Jn15:5) to explain how modern disciples - just like the first Twelve - must work together to reach the goal of being like Christ. The vine and branches, the pope said, are "an image that sheds light not only on the deep intimacy of the disciples with Jesus, but on the necessity of a vital communion of the disciples with each other: all are branches of a single vine" (Christifidelis Laici, no. 12).

This is why our neophytes continue to need instruction in the faith, and why they need to be part of an active faith community during these 50 days until Pentecost. We - as "older" disciples of Christ - are responsible for the healthy growth of these newer disciples on the vine. And, by helping them, we will also grow and gain new insights into our faith. We will teach them, and they will also teach us.

Think of it as the experienced driver who is in the car with someone who has a learner's permit. We've been on the road longer, and we have already experienced some of the bumps and turns along the way. But we aren't always as excited about the open road ahead. We need to relearn to feel the excitement of the road - and that's what the neophytes can offer us.

After all, we're all headed toward the same final destination.

(Sources: www.vatican.va; RCIA at www.catholicbishops.org; and The Harper Collins Encyclopedia of Catholicism.)