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Daffodil
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| Joined: | Sat Apr 21st, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 88 |
| First Name: | Daffodil | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | not attending church, New Age, Episcopalian, Catholic |
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Posted: Wed Nov 7th, 2007 06:28 pm |
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| What is the difference between the Rite of Acceptance and the Profession of Faith? I asked my priest if I was a Candidate or a Catechumen, and smiling he put his hands on my head and declared me a Candidate. Now I am reading some things, and while I have been living as if I were already Catholic to the best of my abilities, I am wondering if I have missed something. I ask because I recently committed to getting married in December for various reasons, so we will have to get married outside of the Church (Father requires 6 months of counseling with us both in the same locale and my fiance is deployed, and I do not live in the same country as his home base). I am worried that I might have committed myself to doing something (changing the wedding date) when I shouldn't have. I will also be seeking Father's guidance on this, but I value your insights very much. I have not made a profession of faith during Mass, but I have told Father privately that I was 100% sure of the Church. I get so mixed up between the two terms, I know that Father mentioned one happening the day before Confirmation, but I cannot remember which.
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My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior....
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CajunRick
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5457 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Wed Nov 7th, 2007 09:07 pm |
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Daffodil wrote: What is the difference between the Rite of Acceptance and the Profession of Faith? I asked my priest if I was a Candidate or a Catechumen, and smiling he put his hands on my head and declared me a Candidate.
Let's get some basic definitions.
A catechumen is a person who is not baptized, and the process by which this person is brougnt into the Christian faith and the Catholic Church is known as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, or RCIA. This person is an inquirer until the Rite of Acceptance, which normally takes place on the First Sunday of Advent. At the Rite of Acceptance, the unbaptized person is accepted as being on the path to the Catholic faith and is then considered an uninitiated Catholic. A catechumen is called to the Rite of Election normally on the First Sunday of Lent, at which time the catechumen declares to the bishop his intention to join the Church. The catechumen signs the Book of the Elect, and is known through the rest of Lent as an Elect of the Lord. The catechumen is baptized, confirmed/chrismated, and receives Eucharist on Holy Saturday during the Easter Vigil. For the next year, the new Catholic is known as a neophyte.
A candidate for full communion is a baptized Christian who wishes to become Catholic. If the same timetable is followed as RCIA, the candidate participates in a Rite of Welcome on the First Sunday of Advent, and a Call to Continuing Conversion on the First Sunday of Lent. The candidate makes a Profession of Faith at the Easter Vigil and receives the remaining sacraments (usually Confirmation/Chrismation and Eucharist). A candidate does not technically participate in RCIA since he is already a partly initiated Christian, and the procedure and Profession of Faith may take place at any time of the year.
A candidate does not participate in the Rite of Acceptance or Rite of Election (or, for that matter, RCIA) because a candidate is already a Christian. They do not need to be accepted into the Christian faith because they are already a believer, and they do not need to sign the Book of the Elect because they are already counted among the Lord's Elect.
I ask because I recently committed to getting married in December for various reasons, so we will have to get married outside of the Church (Father requires 6 months of counseling with us both in the same locale and my fiance is deployed, and I do not live in the same country as his home base).
As you have not yet made your profession of faith, you are not bound by the marriage laws of the Church. When you do make your profession of faith, it is quite possible your marriage will be recognized by the Church (you didn't give enough information to make that determination, although I think we've discussed it before). Talk to your priest for specific information regarding your own case.
I have not made a profession of faith during Mass, but I have told Father privately that I was 100% sure of the Church. I get so mixed up between the two terms, I know that Father mentioned one happening the day before Confirmation, but I cannot remember which.
The profession of faith properly takes place during mass in front of the congregation (although that's not technically required). When you make your profession of faith, you will typically also make your first communion, and you will have had to go to confession first. The normal timetable (if done separately from RCIA) is that you would go to confession a day or two before, and then make your profession of faith and first communion at a weekend mass. Confirmation may take place at that mass (with the bishop's permission) or at a later date when the bishop is in your parish.
There is quite a bit of flexibility to the procedure, so bishops have established norms for their own dioceses. Trust your priest. If he doesn't know the answer, he knows who in your diocese he can call to get it.
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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Daffodil
Member
| Joined: | Sat Apr 21st, 2007 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 88 |
| First Name: | Daffodil | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | not attending church, New Age, Episcopalian, Catholic |
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Posted: Thu Nov 8th, 2007 05:09 pm |
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Thanks, Rick! 
____________________
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior....
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