In the late hours of March 30, catechumens and candidates across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will enter full communion with the Church at the Easter Vigil.
Mahalia Marcelin, director of discipleship at Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul, said it is essential that all the faithful support and accompany them before and after they enter the Catholic Church.
“We must be the light of Christ for them,” Marcelin said. “You could speak about the faith, but if you don’t live it out for that person to really feel the love of God through you, then it is in vain.”
Marcelin would know. She grew up Catholic but abandoned her faith in college. After seven years, she came back “like a prodigal daughter crying and asking for my Father to forgive me.”
She said that those around her supported her in her journey back to the Church.
“It was so beautiful to be welcome,” she said. “(God) gave me the love that I could not even imagine.”
Now Marcelin has dedicated her life to supporting others in a similar way.
Marcelin said that when people consider entering or re-entering the Church, they simultaneously experience desire and fear.
“There is that deep longing in their heart that they can’t quite grasp. They know they want it, but they have no idea what they’re stepping into,” she said. “There is nervousness and fear … ‘I don’t know all the prayers. I don’t know when to sit, when to stand.’”
Marcelin said it is important to “give them that comfort that they don’t need to be perfect.”
“They don’t need to know everything. All they need to have is an open heart to the word of God,” she said.
To hear more from Marcelin about how to accompany catechumens and candidates in their journeys of faith, tune into “Practicing Catholic” when it airs at 9 p.m. March 29 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM, or when it repeats at 1 p.m. March 30 and 2 p.m. March 31.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes a discussion with George Weigel about his friendship with St. John Paul II and his April 17 lecture at the St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul. Also, Archbishop Bernard Hebda shares some of the graces of the sacrament of confirmation.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
