Mystagogy can be defined simply or in its complexity.
For a simple one-sentence definition of mystagogy I nominate,
The first three periods of the catechumenate prepare people for life as baptized Catholic Christians, and the fourth period, mystagogy, forms them so that they can competently live their faith for the rest of their lives.
For a slightly more complex one-sentence definition of mystagogy I nominate,
Mystagogy as period is a life-long process of living the social dimensions of the Communion of saints.
Though I have nominated and will stand by these two sentences as definitions of the simplicity and the complexity of mystagogy, at the very least they point out the need for lots of unpacking to understand them.
One way to start that unpacking will be to define some of the terms in those two one-sentence definitions.
The first term to define is the word “Catechumenate.” To capture the understandings of the word I resorted to a Google AI search and got these responses:
- In the Catholic Church, the catechumenate is the process of preparing catechumens for church membership through religious instruction. The word “catechumen” comes from the Greek word for “one who sounds out something”.
- The catechumenate is the second of four periods in the RCIA process. [For those unacquainted with the catechumenate process, I will add that the first three periods are 1) inquiry, 2) instruction, and 3) the celebration of lent and Easter culminating in the Easter Vigil. Mystagogy is the fourth period in that process.]
- The overall catechumenate process involves:
- The parish family
- Sponsors
- Catechists
- A pastoral team
- Community worship
- Christian charity and service
- The catechumenate is a spiritual journey that helps catechumens: discover their Christian vocation, deepen their spiritual lives, and find their place in the faith and community.
- The development of faith (in the catechumenate) takes time, and the catechumenate usually lasts one to two years. The length of time depends on the candidate’s background and spiritual maturity.
Notice how even using a Google AI definition of common usage of the word “catechumenate” raises exponentially more questions than it answers, such as,
- “What are the first three periods about?”
- “What about the elements of the catechumenate process such as ‘parish family,’ ‘sponsors,’ ‘pastoral team,’ ‘community worship,’ and ‘Christian charity and service’ mean in operational terms?
- What does ‘spiritual journey’ mean for Catholic Christians in terms of ‘discovering their vocation,’ or ‘deepening their faith,’ or ‘finding their place in the faith’ or ‘finding their place in the community’ actually mean?
- What does it mean that ‘development of faith’ takes time? Why does ‘it’ take time? Why one to two years? Why not less or more time? How are we to assess a person’s background and spiritual maturity?
So, mystagogy can be as simple as my two sentences. However, unpacking what those two sentences can mean promises to be a long process. This first blog is my beginning step in elaborating all that mystagogy can be.
Deacon Ray Biersbach, Ph.D.
January 16, 2025
