RCIA and Christ the King

Those of you who know me from the States know that I taught RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) at St. Timothy's in Norwood. Over the years it has been a source of great joy to see people converting to Catholicism and being a part of that as they come closer to Jesus by coming closer to His Church.

When we first arrived on Andros there was one man here in Fresh Creek who had made the decision to join the church but had been waiting for several years for someone to be here and teach him. We also met someone on the AUTEC Base who had been considering converting and, after talking with him, he too decided to begin formation. Not to be outdone, a woman in Cargill Creek approached me and said her grandchildren had moved in with her and they had never been baptized - could I do it. Well the grandchildren are 17 and 18 and, rather than a simple infant baptism, at that age, RCIA is more appropriate as they make the journey to the adult decision to join the church.

So - over the past year and a half these 4 people have been learning about the church. The teens, as part of our Confirmation program; the adults meeting with Ginni and I weekly. As we get closer to Easter (when they will recieve the Sacraments) the RCIA program has a 'Rite of Welcoming or Rite of Acceptance' where the individual stands before the community and confirms their intent to go forward, and their sponsors, with the community, confirm their willingness to help them on their journey.

Well, a few weeks ago was the Feast of Christ the King and we did the Rite on that Sunday - in 3 different churches. At AUTEC, Kenny and his wife came forward and the community was all grins as Kenny, with his wife at his side as sponsor, affirmed his intention to continue formation towards reception of the Sacraments. At St. John Chrysostom it was Moses, with his wife by his side, who was welcomed with applause. Finally, at Christ the King, our two teenagers bravely came forward with their grandmother. Here too the church errupted in applause but this was especially powerful because it was also the Feast of Christ the King.

To celebrate their patron parishioners had decorated the church building with balloons from the rafters, a banner in front of the altar, and a huge pile of fruit and vegetables before the altar as well, symbolizing how God had blessed us over the past year.

After services were finished the fruit and vegetables were distributed among the people and we all marched to the end of the street where there are some tiki huts, benches and tables. The women of the parish had cooked up a storm and there was ham, chicken, peas and rice, macaroni salad, macaroni and cheese, soft drinks, punch, and the list goes on and on.

Everyone had a great time but the highlight for me was eating raw sugar cane for the first time in my life. The children were surprised to hear I had never eaten 'cane'. A little girl handed me what looked like a 4" piece of bamboo and all the children gathered round. One of the ladies came over with a knife and split it down the middle (not something offered to the kids who basically gnawed through to the middle). The technique as pretty simple, just take this piece of wood and bite out the sweet center piece. So I take bite - my front teeth digging into the wood (call it cane if you want, but basically its wood). I dig out a good-sized chunk and once I have it in my mouth I suck on it, then nibble on it to break it down a bit, then chew on it - and yes, its kind of sweet, but basically I now have a mouthful of splinters.

I smiled, handed my 4" piece of cane back, told everyone how good it was, but that I'd rather have a lollipop. I ended up spitting my splinters into a bush and rinced out my mouth with a Diet Coke to get rid of the fragments.

All in all the celebration was a great success and to bring 4 people closer to full communion with the Church was a joy.

Till next time.