The Arrow's Path

 I had I question posed:  I’m in OCIA right now and was assigned a sponsor. I guess I don’t understand the purpose of the sponsor. Is this a requirement and a normal part of OCIA? (Author's note for Non-Catholics: OCIA used to be called RCIA. It stands for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. It got rebranded and retooled a few years back . It is the process in which adults are brought into the Catholic Church. Usually it follows the pattern of an adult catechism class for a school year, with the goal of bringing in someone to join the Church at Easter through baptism or reception. Exceptions can be made, and local churches have quite a bit of discretion in altering the process to fit the needs of the would-be convert. )     My response to the question:   Think of the role of sponsor or godparent as a form of lay apostolic succession. We often think of this as only for clergy and bishops being ordained by people who were ordained by clerg...

 I had someone query about being on the journey to join the Church but was afraid if she died before being Confirmed and receiving the Eucharist, she might go to hell. She was baptized in her current Protestant denomination, but still battles with the dread doubt that she might not be saved even when validly baptized. She asks if she is crazy for thinking this way.  This is my response: No, you are not crazy at all. In fact, this very topic is one of the major driving factors that fueled the early Reformation. One of the, I think, quite valid criticisms of the Medieval Church on the practical day-to-day ground level in normal parish life was a lack of catechism and understanding amongst the everyday laity about certain central topics like Salvation. This was not true all over Christendom. Some places were better at catechizing and preaching everyday people better than others. But, it was a big enough problem that large groups of people were living in perpetual fear a...

 An assistant priest at my parish wrote this very amazing piece about the death of his nephew that he got to baptize before he died. It is worth a read. It was basically the homily he preached for Good Friday this year.