In the course of my initiation into the Roman Catholic Church I did not go through the Rite of Acceptance.

Did I get the memo?

But today I attended this Rite at St. John’s in Frederick to be the sponsor of my brother-in-law, Steve, and my sister, Janet. This was a great honor. The Rite transitions the Inquirer into the phase of Candidate/Catechumen which will continue until the Easter Vigil where they will be confirmed and formally introduced into the Catholic Church.

Here is how it went at the morning Mass:

After the “introit” a group of about 20 inquirers with their sponsors marched out from a side door into the front of the church in a line. Upon hearing their name called out, the candidates were to step up onto the stairs that line the front and turn to face the congregation while sponsors (me) remain on the ground floor looking forward standing in front of the candidates.

The priest asked a number of questions to the candidates as well as one for the sponsors too. But my main task involved making the sign of the cross on Steve’s[1] forehead, ears, eyes, heart, shoulders, hands and feet at the appropriate promptings from the priest. This was all new to me. Since Steve is about nine feet taller than me + 1 for the stair step it took a stretch to reach his facial features, particularly the forehead. But there was no need to bring forth the Holy Step-Stool of Jericho which, according to tradition, belonged to Zaccheus.

From there the Mass proceeded as usual which, for the most part, is the same as any Mass in the world with minor differences. Now as it happened, in this massive church, I was the first one in line for communion since the front pews were reserved for those in the Rite. As you might have read from my previous post, this is not a good arrangement since, as a Born Again Orthodox Roman Catholic newbie, I like to observe the pattern of the liturgy played out in other parishes first. It is quite common to knell before receiving the Eucharist at my home church[2] and this I did only to look into the annoyed features of the priest when I arose. Did I do something wrong?

Later, after sitting down, I realized that to the side were deacons holding chalices with the consecrated wine. Apparently, this was a Catholic Church that presented both “species” of bread and wine for the faithful. But not everyone went up for the wine which made my gaff look honest. {Aside: I actually think offering both species is a good thing but I understand why many churches don’t do it. Logistically it’s a bit complicated and with a shortage of hands it may not be possible}.

All kidding aside, this was a great day and I am extremely honored to be part of it—and I’m not even a Catholic for an entire year! How awesome is that! I know that my sister and brother-in-law will be exceptional Catholics and I know that the two of them will set the world on fire: Steve with his vast theological knowledge and Janet who won’t suffer heretics long. Indirectly, they were influential in my own odyssey toward Catholicism. Strange? Yes– but that’s another story.