What it will take to support newly baptized Catholics and reach out to those who have wandered away.
It was Jesus who pointed out that his “vineyard,” that is, all of humanity, contains a great harvest but the laborers are few (Mt. 9:37-38). So, as I begin to write about mystagogy, my first comment is that the Church’s “vineyard” is huge filled with many, though not enough, laborers working to harvest the people for God’s kingdom. The kitschy naming of that reality I’ve heard is “We don’t own the vineyard; we only work in it.”
That’s important to say because much as I am convinced that mystagogy holds great potential for the Catholic Church, I will grant that it is only one small part of the Church’s “public works” and efforts. However, it is an important part that can fill a couple of functions that I see as needing help.
One of those places is what the Church’s latest synodal report (For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission, 2024) I’m convinced the bishops pointed toward. Though the final report covered more than I can possibly summarize the themes of the community of believers travelling together (Synodality) in friendship, sharing of gifts and charisms, and small groups in parishes stood out for me.
As I see it, mystagogy has the potential, at the parish level, to stand squarely in the center of all the bishops point us toward. The caution, and the point of this first blog, is that mystagogy is in no way the only option to fill that space.
People like people and naturally fall into small groups. That includes recreational the vast variety of sports teams that garner avid supporters. Just read the sports page for a taste of that. There are also countless work groups of every sort such as project teams, small companies, and so on. There are even countless parish small groups such as the Knights of Columbus, assorted bible studies, and sacristan teams to name only a few. There are also countless spiritual groups such as Renew or Cursillos, retreat centers, pilgrimage groups, apostolic works groups such as food banks, or home visitation groups, and so on endlessly.
So, why add one more? The answer is that mystagogy is unique in that it is the result of an ecumenical council (Vatican II) and a dogmatic constitution (the Sacraments, 1963, paragraph 66). Unlike all the other groups mystagogy is part of the OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation) built on the revised rites (RCIA: Rites of Christian Initiation) that since its introduction in 1988 has ushered into the Church, by my guesstimate, 2.5-3 million people in the United States alone. The tragedy is that, insufficiently supported, the drop-out rate at two years has been variously estimated at 25-40%. I find that unacceptable.
Plus, Davis (The Great Dechurching, 2023) has demonstrated the drumbeat Pew Research also presents to us of a huge falling away of Christians, with Catholic losses, as I read the data, the worst. I am convinced that when linked to the rest of the catechumenate, mystagogy can stop that hemorrhaging.
To make that happen a couple of things need to happen. First, I find it rash to demote the mystagogy period as what I’m calling a “seasonal sacramental.” If we recategorize it as a catechetical period that task of developing it is right there in various church documents. As such I trust it will be robust enough to reach out to the newly baptized as well as those who have wandered away.
Second, devout believers need to become active witnesses rather than only passive hearers. That will be a stretch for many trained to pray, pay, and obey, but becoming witnesses is, in research terms, the dependent variable in each of the gospels.
Third, as a retired psychologist and researcher I ask you to think about my mystagogy blogs as us at point A, hoping to get to point C, and that I am filling in what needs to happen at point B to get to C.
I invite you to join me on the journey.
Deacon Ray Biersbach
