Mystagogy

I love to travel! You know what I like best? Looking at the pictures! The pictures of the people, the cultures, their rituals and symbols help me remember the trip and allow me to reflect not only on where I have traveled, but on how the journey affected me, how it moved me, and what difference it made in my life.

Our newly initiated members take the time after their initiation to reflect on their faith journey, in particular, on the celebrations of Holy Week and the experience of the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. This process of reflection, officially called mystagogy, is a way of helping them to deepen their understanding of their experience. In the ancient Church, it was a way of teaching not only the newly initiated, but the whole community about the mysteries of faith.

Mystagogy isn’t only for the newly initiated. It is a powerful tool for everyone that can help us understand our faith in new ways. Try it yourself or with others the next time you go to Mass. Here are a few questions to get you started: What did you see, feel or hear? What one word or phrase captured your attention? What did you remember most?  What symbol spoke to you and why?  What did it mean to you?  What did that word or symbol or ritual say to you about God, the Church, yourself?  How did it change or challenge your perspective?

A recent visitor to our parish engaged in mystagogy without knowing it. He noticed that we prayed for those on death row. He was a lawyer who was all too familiar with criminal punishment. He was deeply moved by the prayer. It spoke to him about the abundance of God’s love and motivated him to seek a deeper understanding of our beliefs on capital punishment. His perspective about who Catholics are and what we believe was challenged and changed.

Mystagogy shows us how the liturgy teaches, reinforcing a key concept of the Second Vatican Council. Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy:

“Although the liturgy is above all things the worship of the divine majesty, it likewise contains rich instruction for the faithful.” Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy 33

The liturgy teaches us a lot about our faith, but it requires that we come to Mass with eyes and ears wide open, with attentiveness and presence, ready to be amazed, challenged and changed.