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Four members of the Boston College community participating in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) received the sacraments of initiation last Sunday at Trinity Chapel on Newton Campus.
The sacraments of initiation are baptism, First Holy Communion, and confirmation. "Those who participate in the program look forward to taking part in one or all of those sacraments after a period of reflection," said Sister Mary Sweeney, SC, minister for retreats for Campus Ministry, who leads the RCIA program at BC.
Christian Van Derslice, BC '94, and Lisa Wang, BC Law '05, received all three sacraments. Jacquelyn Shea, CSOM '07, and Andrew Smith, A&S '06, were confirmed and received First Holy Communion. Rev. Joseph O'Keefe, SJ, interim dean of the Lynch School of Education, led the Mass. Van Derslice, Wang, Shea, and Smith were joined by friends and family, as well as sponsors who assisted them throughout the process.
The RCIA program followed the two semester academic schedule. Sweeney said that she met with the group of four participants every Wednesday evening for two hours. The sessions included a time for prayer, discussion of questions the participants had on the Catholic faith, and reflection on the next Sunday's scripture readings.
"It's a program for their hearts and for their heads," said Sweeney, citing the program's twofold purpose of a deepening the participants' relationship with God, as well as they understand of Catholicism.
"I originally thought that two hours a week was a lot. Sister Mary made the process easy," said Shea. "Our main goal was to nourish our relationship with God, with ourselves, and with others."
Sweeney said that while Campus Ministry publicizes its RCIA program through advertisements and announcements at Mass, many people who participate approach Campus Ministry independently.
"Some people know what they're looking for. They just need to find the avenue," she said.
Shea, who was baptized a Catholic but had never received First Holy Communion or been confirmed, said that she wanted to become a more complete Catholic. "I would go to church every now and then, and I felt like something was missing," she said. "I felt like I wanted to be a bigger part of the community at Mass." Shea said that she began considering receiving the sacraments when she was a senior in high school, but waited until she got to BC. "I thought it would be a great thing to do on campus," she said. "It would create a great sense of community."
The small size of the group was conducive to the goal of the program, said Shea. "We were able to get to know each other really well," she said. "It was a very diverse group, but we were able to come together for one purpose."
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