The Christian Initiation Masses in the Missale Romanum

Paul Turner

Texts for the masses of Christian initiation have undergone a few changes with the publication of the third edition of the Missale Romanum.  The English translation will not be ready for some years, but the main changes can already be noted in the Latin publication.  There have always been some inconsistencies between the Missale and the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, but the two books largely support each other.

The sacramentary (the second edition of the Missale)

The current sacramentary is the English translation of the second edition of the Missale Romanum.  The parts pertaining to Christian initiation are in the Ritual Masses, the Easter Vigil and the Octave of Easter.

The first group of Ritual Masses is called “Christian Initiation,” and it includes election, the scrutinies, baptism and confirmation.  The sacramentary does not include the texts for the rite of acceptance into the order of catechumens, the presentations of the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, nor the preparation rites of Holy Saturday.

The rite of acceptance is commonly celebrated at a parish mass today, but sacramentaries have never contained presidential prayers for it.  The Missale Romanum could have presented new texts for such a mass, but it does not.  For the rite of acceptance, one uses the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and the prayers of the mass of the day.

The presentations of the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer as well as the preparation rites on Holy Saturday take place apart from mass.  The Missale is primarily a book for mass, so those rituals have never appeared there.

For these reasons the first mass in the sacramentary for Christian initiation is the Rite of Election.  Ironically, dioceses generally do not celebrate this rite at mass.  The Rite of Election is held at cathedrals and principal churches around the Catholic world.  Catechumens in attendance would be dismissed after being named elect.  The faithful have participated in Sunday mass at their parishes.  Consequently, most Rites of Election happen apart from mass.  Nonetheless, the mass texts are in the sacramentary.

These texts include the opening prayer, prayer over the gifts and prayer after communion.  Antiphons for the introductory rites and communion rite are also supplied.  All these texts may be replaced by those for the mass of Friday of the fourth week of Lent.  There is no obvious reason why.

Prayers for the scrutiny masses come next.  These presidential prayers replace those for the Third, Fourth and Fifth Sundays of Lent when the scrutinies are celebrated at those masses.  Only one entrance antiphon is given for all three weeks.

In Eucharistic Prayer I, the priest mentions the godparents by name.  He prays for the elect as a group a few paragraphs later.  The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults implies that this is done with any of the Eucharistic Prayers (156, e.g.), but there are no other texts.

Ritual Masses for baptism and confirmation follow next.  The prayers for baptism accompany a Sunday in Ordinary Time whenever infants are baptized at mass, and when the rare adult baptism occurs apart from the Easter Vigil.  In addition to the presidential prayers and antiphons, this mass includes special petitions for the newly baptized inserted into Eucharistic Prayers I-IV.  As in the scrutiny masses, the godparents are named individually in Prayer I, but the baptized are always prayed for as a group.  This makes more sense at a scrutiny when the elect are dismissed prior to the Eucharistic Prayer.  Still, the naming aloud of godparents indicates how seriously the sacramentary regards their role.

The confirmation texts are used when that sacrament is celebrated at a mass apart from baptism.

The sacramentary’s masses for Christian initiation include no texts for first communion.  They never have.  First communion developed as a grassroots custom, not from the top down.  Liturgical books were largely composed for use by bishops.  First communion masses were generally led by priests in parishes, and bishops had little need for such texts.  The lectionary now refers to first communion by referencing the votive mass for the holy Eucharist.  Even though first communion is a major event for families and among the best-attended masses at parishes, there are no texts for them in the sacramentary.

Turning from the Ritual Masses to the Triduum, one finds the liturgy of baptism at the Easter Vigil after the homily.  It includes the litany of the saints, the blessing of water, the renunciation and profession of faith, baptism and confirmation.  The particulars are in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, but the presider must turn back to the Ritual Masses for Christian Initiation to find the inserts for Eucharistic Prayers I-IV that concern the godparents and the newly baptized.

During the Easter octave, the presidential prayers frequently refer to the newly baptized.  The opening prayer on Monday praises God for “adding new members to your family.”  The prayer after communion on Tuesday prays for “the people you have renewed in baptism.”  Thursday’s opening prayer concerns “all who are reborn in baptism.”  The same prayer on Friday refers to “the new birth we celebrate.”  Saturday’s opening prayer says, “you increase the number of those who believe in you,” and prays for those “who have been born again in baptism.”  On the Second Sunday of Easter, the prayer praises God this way: “you wash away our sins in water, you give us new birth in the Spirit, and redeem us in the blood of Christ.”  Other words in these prayers allude less directly to the newly baptized.

Throughout the same week, special inserts referring to the newly baptized may be used with Eucharistic Prayer I.

The sacramentary thus presumes that the newly baptized are present every day of the Easter octave.  However, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults never recommends it, even though the history of the catechumenate shows that mystagogy happened during the Easter octave.  The newly baptized participated in the Eucharist each day that week, clad in their white garments, hearing instruction on the sacraments from the bishop.

Missale Romanum (the third edition)

The third edition of the Missale Romanum repeats most of this material, but there are a few distinctions.  Some are editorial - Longer phrases have been broken into sense lines.  Others are more noteworthy.

The ritual masses for Christian initiation are still divided into four parts: election, scrutinies, baptism and confirmation.

The Rite of Election carries a new introduction explaining that the ceremony usually takes place at mass on the First Sunday of Lent.  If for pastoral reasons it happens at another time of year, these texts are used and violet vesture is worn.  The preference for this rite to be celebrated at the cathedral by the bishop is not noted in the Missale Romanum.  (This preference was strengthened in the American edition of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults [127]).  The prayers and antiphons of the third edition are identical to those in the second.  The puzzling suggestion reappears: the texts may be exchanged for those from Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent.  All the Missale’s masses of Lent include a suggested Prayer over the People to expand the final blessing.  The Prayer over the People for the Rite of Election could be drawn from either the First Sunday of Lent, Friday of the Fourth Week, or elsewhere.

The scrutiny masses now carry a longer introduction.  The texts are for Sundays Three, Four and Five of Lent, when the scrutinies are celebrated for “catechumens who will be admitted to the sacraments of Christian initiation at the Easter Vigil.”  Even though the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults no longer calls them “catechumens” but faithfully calls them “elect”, the Missale uses a circumlocution, probably intending clarity.  The introduction also states that the scrutinies may be celebrated on weekdays if they cannot be held on Sundays, and that if baptism takes place apart from the Easter Vigil, the scrutinies may precede: the gospels of the woman at the well, the man born blind and the raising of Lazarus are proclaimed, and violet vesture is worn.

The scrutinies have been separated into three distinct masses in the third edition of the Missale, making it much easier to see which texts fit which days.  The presidential prayers and communion antiphons are the same as those in the current sacramentary.  But all three masses now have their own opening antiphon.  The first offers a choice of texts: Ezekiel 36:23-26 (“I will pour clean water on you,” which formerly served for all three Sundays, and Isaiah 55:1 (“Come to the waters”).  The second uses Psalm 24:15-16 (“My eyes are always on the Lord”).  The third calls for Psalm 17:5-7 (“The groans of death surround me”).  Allusions to the gospels are clear.

For the eucharistic prayer, the godparents may still be named during Prayer I.  And now inserts for Prayers II and III are supplied.  In Prayer II, after the prayers for the pope, the bishop “and all the clergy,” this follows: “Remember also, Lord, your servants who will be the godparents of these elect at the font of rebirth.”[1]  In Prayer III, after the prayers for the pope, the clergy and “the entire people your Son has gained for you,” this follows: “Help by your grace, we ask, Lord, your servants, that they might lead these elect by word and example to new life in Christ, our Lord.”[2]  No insert is recommended for Prayer IV, which has its own preface and is not used at scrutinies.  No insert is recommended for the Eucharistic Prayers for Masses of Reconciliation, which is lamentable, because they are appropriate for Lent, and their prefaces may be exchanged for seasonal ones.

None of these masses carries a Prayer over the People, now expected daily during Lent.  Those wishing to use one would turn back to the Lenten Sunday, where they would also find the preface.

In the Ritual Masses for baptism, a longer introduction says more plainly that the customary time for the Christian initiation of adults is the Easter Vigil.  This mass is used in exceptional circumstances for adults and for the baptism of infants.  The Kyrie and the Creed are to be omitted, but the Glory to God is included.  The Missale recommends the second Easter preface, concerning new life in Christ, and the first Ordinary Time preface, treating the paschal mystery and the people of God.

The inserts for Eucharistic Prayers I-IV and the other texts are all the same, but an “alleluia” concludes the antiphons when this mass is celebrated during the Easter season.

The introduction to the mass for confirmation says the vesture may be red, white or a festive color.  A reference to celebrating confirmation before or after mass is deleted.  The Glory to God is included, but the Creed is omitted.

The first preface for the Holy Spirit is recommended.  New inserts for Eucharistic Prayers II and III are given, to pray for the newly confirmed.  The other texts have not changed, but the rubrics concerning the extension of hands and the triple blessing given by a bishop are clarified.  Antiphons carry an alleluia during the Easter season.

For the Easter Vigil, several changes should be noted.  The first reference to the procession to the font comes not at the end of the liturgy of the word, but at the beginning of the baptismal liturgy.  This has no practical effect; it simply keeps all the baptismal information in part three of the vigil.

The baptismal texts refer not just to adults, but also to children under catechetical age.  Explicit references to the baptism of adults and children together can be found in the document that most influenced the restoration of the catechumenate, the 3^rd-4^th century Apostolic Tradition.  The Rite of Baptism for Children today promotes baptizing infants at the Easter Vigil, and now the Missale explains how.

“Catechumens” (not baptized as in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) are presented by godparents, and infants are carried by parents and godparents.  (The Rite of Baptism for Children has parents holding the infants.)  All are called to the front of the assembly.

The priest addresses everyone with fewer words than before (cf. RCIA 220).  He now says something like, “Dearest friends, let us together aid the blessed hope of our brothers and sisters with our prayers, that the almighty Father might lead those going to the font of rebirth with all the help of his mercy.”[3]

If there is a procession to the baptistery, a minister with the paschal candle leads the way and those to be baptized follow with their godparents, then the ministers, the deacon and the priest.  The litany is sung and water is blessed.  There is no procession if baptism takes place in the sanctuary.

The Missale refers the presider to the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults for the renunciations.  Then follows the most dramatic change in the liturgies of initiation.  If the anointing with the oil of adult catechumens was not done Holy Saturday morning, it happens at this moment – between the renunciations and the profession of faith.  This sequence appeared in the Apostolic Tradition.  In the United States, catechumens are anointed during the period of the catechumenate, not on Holy Saturday.  But this anointing may be repeated.  Presumably, if the catechumens were anointed at all, they need not be anointed at the Vigil.  Still, an anointing with the renunciations joins the oil of catechumens with its exorcistic function.  Oil seals the exorcisms.  Following the renunciations, the anointing completes the work of the scrutinies.  The forces of evil have been driven out, and the elect are sealed tight before the rush of water in the font.

The priest asks the adults individually to profess their faith, and parents and godparents to profess faith on behalf of the infants.  If the number of baptisms is large, all the baptized may renew their promises at this time.  Then the adults and children are baptized.

The priest anoints the infants but not the adults with chrism.  All are dressed in white.  The priest or deacon holds the paschal candle while the candles of the neophytes are lit.  The ephphetha for the infants is omitted.

If the baptisms took place apart from the sanctuary, the procession returns there, led by the newly baptized or parents and godparents bearing the candles.  The adults are then confirmed.

After the all have renewed their promises and been sprinkled, the newly baptized are brought to their place among the faithful.  If a special vessel of water had been prepared so that baptisms could take place in the sanctuary, the deacon and ministers reverently carry it to the font.

After the prayers of the faithful, the gifts may be brought forward by the newly baptized, or by the parents and godparents of the infants.

During the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest mentions the newly baptized and godparents according to the formulas provided.  Before saying, “This is the Lamb of God,” he instructs the newly baptized about the first communion they will receive, and of its mystery, which is the climax of initiation and the center of the whole Christian life.  The neophytes, godparents, parents, Catholic spouses and lay catechists should all receive under both forms.  Indeed, everyone may do so.

A solemn blessing is provided for the Easter Vigil, but a formula from the Rite of Baptism may be used.

The texts for the Easter octave are virtually unchanged.  However, the sacramentary currently specifies, “The Profession of faith is not said,” on each of the weekdays.  That rubric is missing in the new Missale.  The weekdays of this octave rank with those days that call for the creed.  But if the creed were expected, the Missale would probably have said so here for clarity.  There is a tradition behind reciting the creed each day of the octave.

These changes in the masses for Christian initiation show the church’s concern that our prayer reflect the care we show to those who seek baptism.