The New (& the Old) Evangelization On the making of Catholics: How the Church Fathers united the faithful

Jun 24, 2011

One critical factor in strengthening the unity of the Catholic Church is the way in which candidates are received into her fold. The New Evangelization, if it is to be equally effective as the evangelization of the Apostles and Church Fathers, will be dependent upon how that unity is expressed.

To the extent that the bishops, priests, the laity, dioceses and parishes speak with one voice- to that extent! –will the New Evangelization succeed in bringing about a Christian civilization. St. Ireneaus, a Father of the Church in the second century A.D., could boast about the uniformity of the Church’s message with the following words: “Having one soul and one heart, the Church holds this faith, preaches and teaches it consistently as though by a single voice.”

Preaching and teaching the Gospel, as though by a single voice, would be equally important in the modern era. Pope Leo XIII, in his 1896 encyclical, "On the Unity of the Catholic Church," confirmed the importance of unity in communicating truth. He said, “Agreement and union of minds is the necessary foundation of this perfect concord amongst men, from which concurrence of wills and similarity of action are the natural results.”  Then he added: “It is of the greatest importance and indeed of absolute necessity, as to which many are deceived, that the nature and character of this unity should be recognized.”

The union of minds and similarity of action, so necessary in impressing the truth of the Gospel in the minds and hearts of people, has traditionally been guaranteed by the Church’s pastoral and disciplinary standards. For instance, when candidates wishing to enter into the Church were given, not just instruction for the intellect but spiritual formation for the will- and when they were required to embrace the fullness of the Faith -then the unity of the Church was more easily recognized.

Today’s R.C.I.A. (Rites of Christian Initiation for Adults) programs, on the other hand, rely heavily on lectures. And what is commonly expected of the today’s candidates in these programs is that they attend these lectures. The downside is that not much more is expected of them. This, however, was not always the case.   

Few know that an R.C.I.A. existed in the early Christianity. It was known as the “Catechumenate.” For several centuries preparations to enter into the Church lasted three years and were attended by frequent prayers known as exorcisms. Exorcisms, in this context, were simply prayers against any evil spirit that may have hindered the candidate's conversion. It was also a recognition that the sinner, who once belonged to Prince of Darkness, was not only called to do good but to also renounce evil.

The Catechumenate also involved a close scrutiny of the life of the candidate by the local bishop. A well known bishop of Hippo by the name of St. Augustine, one of the greatest Father's and Doctor's of the Church, would even ask the candidate's acquaintances how he or she lived during the Catechumenate. This process known as “the scrutiny” was an examination in order to determine if the candidate was serious about living the life of Christ. At the very least, the believer had to observe the Ten Commandments, be free from mortal sin and make a sincere effort to live out the Christian virtues. What is more, all of Christ’s teachings, as taught by the Church, had to be believed. It was only then that the candidate could hope to enter into the full communion with the Holy Catholic Church.

In the early Church, becoming a Catholic was not only a matter of concepts or receiving instruction. Far from it! It was principally in “the doing” that knowledge of God and fellowship with Christians was attained. As such, the Catechumenate was based not so much on lectures as on spiritual formation.

According to Fr. Johann Adam Mohler, author of Unity in the Church, the early Christians did not put a lot of emphasis on instruction or concepts alone or that Christian concepts were better than pagan ones. They did not want the Gospel to be chosen because its philosophy or ideas were superior to their pagan counterpart. The candidate who wanted to join the Church had to be proven in his or her association with Christians as well as living out the Faith. If Christians were convinced that the candidate believed that the teaching of Christ was from God, and if their actions demonstrated this, their admission followed.

These practices and standards of the Catechumenate better ensured that all Catholics not only embraced the fullness of the Faith but that they were on the same page in their beliefs and their witness, thus making the unity of the Church more visible.

One of the greatest challenges of the New Evangelization, therefore, is that the unity of the Church, namely, the union of minds and similarity of action, is recognized by the world; this, because the truths of the Gospel will be more effectively communicated. And one important instrument in bringing this about is to implement a spiritual formation in the R.C.I.A. programs not unlike the early Church Catechumenate.

Notes:

1.St. Ireaneaus, Against Heresies  2nd Reading from the Office of Readings of the Liturgy of the Hours for the Feast of St. Mark, Evangelist

2.Pope Leo XIII, On the Unity of Catholic Church (Satis Cognitum, 1896)

3.William Harmless, Augustine and the Catechumenate 1995

4.Rev. Johann Adam Mohler, The Unity of the Church or The Principle of Catholicism 1825