Transcript

This lesson marks the beginning of the final part of Credo, entitled Pillars of Catholic Living.

RCIA officially comes to an end when someone receives the sacraments of initiation.

However, in her wisdom, the church asks that communities offer special assistance to newly initiated Catholics in their first few months of practicing the faith, and this comes just after entering into the church, and this period is called mystagogy.

Mystagogy means leading through the mysteries.

And so, the time of mystagogy especially involves guiding a newly initiated Catholic through a deeper experience of the mysteries of the faith, and mystagogy has two basic parts, learning through experience and integration into a community of faith.

Part of the reason the church calls for a time of mystagogy is because she recognizes that theoretical instruction is not sufficient on its own.

As human beings, our knowledge is always closely connected to our experience.

Being Catholic is also a way of life, and so to completely know what it means to be Catholic, one needs to actually live out the faith.

Being Catholic is principally about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who leads us to friendship with the Blessed Trinity.

A full understanding of the Catholic faith is only possible when one has a relationship with Christ through the sacraments, and the time of mystagogy is a time to review everything that you've learned about the Catholic faith and to see it with a fresh perspective, a perspective enlightened by grace, the grace of the sacraments that you've received.

Having received the sacraments of initiation, you now have common spiritual ties with so many new people.

Mystagogy is a time to become completely integrated into your local community of faith.

It's a time to begin forging friendships with other practicing Catholics that will help strengthen you on this new journey.

M- You may have already begun to do this, and what this looks like will vary from person to person, and will depend largely on the character of the parish or chaplaincy you belong to.

Hopefully, your sponsor, teacher, or pastor can recommend groups that you may be interested in joining, whether it be a mothers group or a men's Bible study or a parish group that serves the poor.

You may also need to look beyond your own immediate community to find a group that suits you, such as a local Catholic young adult group or parents group.

To help you in this critical period of transition, we'll be considering some of the pillars of Catholic living.

The earlier material in this program has been an introduction and summary of the Catholic faith, and the chapters that follow have a more practical goal.

We will be focusing on some of the most important elements of the Catholic faith and Catholic practice and explaining how to take advantage of them completely.

And now that you understand something about Catholic prayer and worship, we'll be explaining how to build up a life of personal prayer and how to benefit from confession in the Eucharist.

Now that you have an idea of how Catholics understand the Bible, we'll be covering how to read the scriptures and continue to study the faith.

Now that you know about the Catholic teaching on Mary and the saints, we'll be exploring how to actually cultivate a devotion to them.

And finally, we'll be discussing how to hand on the faith to others and to live a life of stewardship.

While Pillars of Catholic Living is intended for the newly initiated, all Catholics will be able to benefit from it as they grow in their own life of faith.

We'll begin in the next session with the practice of mental prayer.