RCIA During Lent

This is my favorite time of the RCIA year, it’s also my busiest.  It’s a time when we leave the learning aside and enter a period of deep spirituality.  Every Sunday in an attempt to give our students an encounter with God our lessons become multisensory, engaging the complete person and immersing him in Scripture.  Our activities are creatively thought around the themes and messages of the three Scrutinies.  This Sunday, we began the class with an unusual activity- a blind maze.  We tied blindfolds on each student and took them on an obstacle course where they had to rely on the teacher leading them.  As they entered the dark classroom they sat and waited with no instruction for a minute before hearing the reading where Jesus heals the man born blind.  Once the reading ended each student removed his blindfold still in a dark classroom with only a spotlight on an image of Jesus rubbing mud on the eyes of the blind man.  After scrutinizing the biblical reading, we had community prayer and then played a beautiful worship song. 

These three Sundays, leading to Easter require all the leaders to arrive early because the environment that we set-up requires a lot of detail.  On Sunday we set up the altar with the theme of darkness to go along with the themes of the reading.  Before class we placed a burning lamp under the altar in a pot.  In front, we placed a votive for each student (forming the shape of the cross).  

After prayer, we read Matthew 5:15-16 and one of the leaders reveals the lamp which has been suffocated by the pot: 

“You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” 

The leader then relights the lamp and we invite each student to take a votive and light it using the fire from the lamp representing God.  Everything is done in a spirit of prayer and respect.

These Sundays fill me with so much Jesus in so many ways!  As we set-up, all my teammates and I are excited with anticipation- knowing that God will pour out His spirit and bless our students and we will be there witnessing it.  There’s so much love that goes in planning these Scrutinies and to see our students begin to participate in the biblical readings, to examine and contemplate – then apply them to their own lives gives me chills.  I am a big believer that any service in the name of the Lord always blesses the servant.  This past Sunday as we prayed together I felt this warm glow in my heart, I knew that it was God’s love for me and I couldn’t help smiling.  He lights each of us up so that we can spread His light and when our light is low or needs relighting we just need to go to Him.  RCIA is such a great ministry and thanks to Sister Grace we have the support to teach in a such a creative way.