Mystagogical Catechesis

“Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of the bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.”
— St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Along with a renewal of OCIA, the Church has called for a renewal of Mystagogical Catechesis.

The Church's great liturgical tradition teaches us that fruitful participation in the liturgy requires that one be personally conformed to the mystery being celebrated, offering one's life to God in unity with the sacrifice of Christ for the salvation of the whole world. For this reason, the Synod of Bishops asked that the faithful be helped to make their interior dispositions correspond to their gestures and words. Otherwise, however carefully planned and executed our liturgies may be, they would risk falling into a certain ritualism. Hence the need to provide an education in eucharistic faith capable of enabling the faithful to live personally what they celebrate.

(Sacramentum Caritatis, 64)

The “education in eucharistic faith capable of enabling the faithful to live personally what they celebrate” is what “mystagogy” is meant to be.

Mystagogy is a way of being led into a participatory awareness so that one can engage more fully and personally in the liturgical life he or she has been called to, welcomed into, transformed by and sent forth from.

A liturgical life is an integrated life, a life lived with sacramental/liturgical intentionality, wherein a Catholic is able to engage with the whole of reality—that which is seen and that which is unseen—every day of his or her life.

Mystagogy makes living such a life possible.

Mystagogy infuses the “ordinary” with the revelatory meaning and value of Ordinary Time. No time is strictly ordinary, i.e. without an exceptional weight, purpose, dignity, etc. of its own. No time is without the presence of God, the promise of His grace, or the Gift that is His Spirit.

We exist to serve parishes:

Consultation

Pastoral staff are skilled, and faithful. They are also tasked with much that impedes their ability to dedicate attention on one particular aspect of ministry, no matter how essential that is. Consultation enables a dedicated effort with a refined, specific, persistent focus to take hold in parish life. We believe that consultation is a much-needed process of advocacy which inquires, persists, and inspires along with a community so that it can bear an intentional witness to mystagogical renewal.

Mentorship

Consultation runs the risk of being a flash in the pan, extrinsic corrective to perceived issues or needs in a parish. Renewal happens within. With this in mind, consultation must be ordered toward mentorship and accompaniment lest it become a thought-provoking process without the capacity to take hold from within a parish. We believe this can only happen through mentoring, equipping, and accompanying leaders who share a vision and are committed to seeing it through.

Sustainability

The result of a year-long process of consultation and mentorship/accompaniment is a set of leaders ready to take on the responsibility of mystagogical praxis as mystagogues and as mystagogue instructors. With this in mind, the mystagogical praxis is rooted in a shared apostolate under the pastor’s governance and the ongoing discernment, election, and training of new mystagogues. We believe this is the only way to instill a cultural turn toward mystagogy from within a parish family that will hold.

  • Paschal Mystery

    A Liturgical Pedagogy which leads the faithful to engage with questions of ultimate meaning—of identity, vocation, and destiny—in a personal, experiential manner.

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Questions?

  • Since we really want to see culture-building practices thrive within parishes, we hope to establish yearlong partnerships.

  • Consultation with the parish begins the process, and is ongoing throughout the year-long partnership (including discussion about communicating the mystagogical vision to the parish as well as implementing it within the larger catechetical process). Two mystagogue-candidates are discerned, and invited to begin formation. These mystagogues will meet with Criterion staff throughout the year for training, mentorship, and leadership formation. The work will be carried out in a hybrid fashion (both remote and on-site). As well as virtual meetings, Criterion staff will visit the parish for in-person meetings as well as retreats/days of reflection.

  • We are hoping to offer our services at a cost below the average consulting rate for the projected hours of work done in/on behalf of the parish. Please contact us for further information

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