The Neocatechumenal Way

NECESSARY PREMISE FOR THOSE WHO KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE NEOCATECHUMENAL WAY

The history of the Neocatechumenal Way

The Neocatechumenal Way began in 1964 among the barracks of Palomeras Altas, in Madrid, thanks to Francisco (Kiko) Argüello and Carmen Hernández, who at the request of those poor people with whom they lived, began to proclaim the Gospel to them, naturally in the the way the Roman Catholic Church announces it. 

And with the passage of time this preaching was transformed into a catechetical itinerary based on the Word of God, the Liturgy and the Community, an itinerary of rediscovery of Baptism and permanent education in the faith, proposed to the faithful who wished to revive richness of Christian initiation, following this path of conversion and catechesis'. 

This experience met with the favor of the archbishop of Madrid who encouraged its diffusion in the parishes that required this Way. And so the Way spread in the archdiocese of Madrid and in other Spanish dioceses. In 1968 the founders of the Way arrived in Rome and settled in the Borghetto Latino and with the permission of Cardinal Angelo Dell'Acqua the Way was undertaken in the parish of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and Canadian Holy Martyrs. From that date on, the Way has spread to dioceses all over the world.

The Way - whose itinerary is lived in parishes, in small communities made up of people of different ages and social conditions - is at the service of bishops and priests and has the purpose of rediscovering lukewarm and secularized Catholics, that is, those who they are removed from their Mother Church, the value of baptism received as infants, baptism which as we know is considered by the Roman Catholic Church as a fundamental and necessary sacrament for salvation together with that of confession. But the Way is also an instrument for the 'Christian initiation' of adults who are preparing to receive Baptism.

The Vatican approved the Statute of the Neocatechumenal Way, confirming its practice in over 105 nations for more than thirty years. The decree of approval was solemnly delivered on 28 June 2002 to the initiators of the journey, Kiko Argüello and Carmen Hernández together with the priest Mario Pezzi, by Cardinal Stafford, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, the Dicastery to which John Paul II entrusted the task of guiding the drafting of the Statute.

Paul VI and John Paul II on various occasions praised the Neocatechumenal Way, here are some of their statements.

Paul VI said: '(...) How much joy and how much hope you give us with your presence and your activity! We know that in your communities  you work together to understand and develop the riches of your Baptism  and the consequences of your belonging to Christ. (...) Living and promoting this awakening is what you call a form of "after Baptism" which will be able to  renew in today's Christian communities those effects of maturity and deepening, which in the primitive Church were realized during the period of preparation for Baptism. You bring it later: the sooner or later, I would say, is secondary. The fact is that you aim at the authenticity, fullness, coherence, sincerity of the Christian life. And this is a very great merit, I repeat, which comforts us enormously and which suggests and inspires us the most abundant wishes, wishes and blessings for you, for those who attend you '(Paul VI to the Neocatechumenal Communities, Vatican (audience) 08 / 05/1974).

John Paul II said: ' The name is also beautiful: neocatechumenal, neocatechumenal community. Because that name makes us think of the catechumens who once prepared for Baptism (...) Now we are missing this in a certain sense because Christians are baptized small (...) That institution of the primitive Church is missing a little, that is that of the preparation that commits us in Baptism. Baptism becomes a done thing but not a matured thing. Then the neocatechumenal movements try to complete, to do a little 'what we lack ' (Visit of John Paul II to the parish of St. John the Evangelist in Spinaceto, 18/11/1979), and also: ' You have made a journey to discover your faith, to discover the divine treasure that you carry within you, in your souls. And you made this discovery by discovering the mystery of Baptism. It is true that there are many baptized in the world. (...) Among these baptized, I do not know how many are those who are aware of their Baptism, not simply of being baptized, but of what it means to be baptized, of what Baptism means. (... Here, discovering the profound dynamics of our faith is discovering the full content of our Baptism. If I understand correctly, your path consists essentially in this: discovering the mystery of Baptism, discovering its full content and thus discovering what it means to be a Christian, a believer. (...) The Sacraments make way for the Holy Spirit who works in our souls,in our hearts, in our humanity, in our personality, it builds us anew, creates a new man. Here, this journey, the journey of faith, the journey of rediscovered Baptism, must be a journey for the new man'(Visit of John Paul II to the parish of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and the Canadian holy martyrs (Rome) 02/11/1980

Objectives and practices

Here are some statements taken from the Statute of the Neocatechumenal Way that clarify its purposes and its practice.

Article 5:

[Recipients]

1. The Neocatechumenate is an instrument at the service of the Bishops for the rediscovery of the Christian initiation of baptized adults. Among these we can distinguish:

1st. those who have strayed from the Church;

2nd. those who have not been sufficiently evangelized and catechized;

3rd. those who wish to deepen and mature their faith;

4th. those who come from Christian confessions not in full communion with the Catholic Church. 2. Clerics and religious who wish to revive the gift of Baptism through the Neocatechumenate, and thus even better serve it, pursue it with respect for their own vocation and charism, and in the fulfillment of the tasks assigned to them by the diocesan Bishop or, in the case of religious, by the Superior. For religious, the consent of their superior is also required. Art. 6 [The Neocatechumenate takes place in the parish] 1. The Neocatechumenate, as an itinerary of rediscovery of Christian initiation, is usually carried out in the parish, "the ordinary environment where one is born and grows in faith", a privileged place where the Church, mother and teacher, generates in the baptismal font the children of God and "deeds" them to new life. 2. Since the pastoral care of Christian initiation is vital for the parish, the parish priest is at the center of the implementation of the Neocatechumenal Way, exercising, also with the collaboration of other priests, the pastoral care of those who walk it. 3.The Neocatechumenal Way will aim to promote in its recipients a mature sense of belonging to the parish and to foster relationships of profound communion and collaboration with all the faithful and with the other components of the parish community. Article 7 [The Neocatechumenate takes place in a small community] 1. Within the parish, the Neocatechumenate is lived in a small community - called the Neocatechumenal community -, since the complete or common form of Christian initiation of adults is the community one. 2. The model of the Neocatechumenal community is the  Holy Family of Nazare t, a historical place where the Word of God, made Man, becomes an adult growing "in wisdom, age and grace", being subject to Joseph and Mary. In the community the neocatechumens become adults in the faith, growing in humility, simplicity and praise, subjected to the Church. Art. 8 [Initial catecheses, Neocatechumenal itinerary, "tripod" and team of catechists] 1. The Neocatechumenate consists of the initial catecheses (Chap. II) and the Neocatechumenal itinerary, articulated according to the three phases of Christian initiation: pre-catechumenate, catechumenate and election, divided into stages, marked by passages marked by some celebrations (Chap. IV ). 2. The initial catecheses and the Neocatechumenal itinerary are based on the three fundamental elements ("tripod") of Christian life, highlighted by the Second Vatican Council: Word of God, Liturgy and Community (Chap. III). 3. At the center of the whole Neocatechumenal path there is a synthesis between kerygmatic preaching, change of moral life and liturgy. 4. The Neocatechumenate is guided, in communion with the parish priest and under his pastoral responsibility, by a team of catechists (Title V), in compliance with the provisions of art. 2. 5. Said team, with the initial catecheses, initiates a process of gestation to the faith in which communities are formed and returns periodically, usually once a year, to conduct the various passages of the Neocatechumenal itinerary and give the necessary indications for the development of the various phases and stages. Art. 9 [Kerigma and celebrations] The Neocatechumenate begins in the parish, at the invitation of the parish priest, with kerygmatic catecheses, called initial catecheses, contained in the Directory. They take place over two months, in fifteen evening meetings, and end with a three-day cohabitation. In order to experience the Tripod: Word, Liturgy, Community, on which the Christian life is based, the initial catecheses are divided into three parts: 1st. The announcement of the kerygma that calls to conversion: the good news of the death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ; "in fact ... it pleased God to save those who believe through the foolishness of the kerygma" (1 Cor 1:21). This "word of salvation" calls to conversion and faith, invites us to recognize ourselves as sinners, to accept God's forgiveness and gratuitous love and to set out on the path towards one's own transformation into Christ, through the power of the Spirit. Conversion is sealed by the celebration of Penance, according to the rite of reconciliation of several penitents, with individual confession and absolution. This sacrament, celebrated periodically, will support the journey of conversion of individuals and of the community. 2nd. The kerygma prepared by God through the history of salvation (Abraham, Exodus, etc.): the hermeneutical keys necessary for listening to and understanding Sacred Scripture are given: seeing in Jesus Christ the fulfillment of the Scriptures and putting the facts of one's own history under the light of the Word. This initiation into Scripture is sealed in a celebration of the Word, in which the participants receive the Bible from the hands of the Bishop, guarantor of its authentic interpretation, as a sign that Mother Church from now on along the Way will feed them weekly at this table. , living source of catechesis. 3ª. The kerygma in the sacraments and koinonia: the catecheses culminate in living together with the celebration of the Eucharist. This celebration, prepared by appropriate catechesis, helps to rediscover the paschal splendor highlighted by the Second Vatican Council and to experience communion among the brothers. In fact, "it is not possible for a Christian community to be formed if not having as its root and hinge the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, from which any education tending to form the spirit of community must therefore begin". The celebration of the Eucharist will accompany the community throughout the itinerary. Art. 10 [Birth of the Neocatechumenal community] 1. On the last day of living together, the Sermon on the Mount is proclaimed, the design of the new man, and the Neocatechumenal itinerary is presented as a journey of gestation, in the image of the Holy Virgin Mary. 2. Through the preaching and celebrations made in the initial catecheses, the Holy Spirit invites men and women of different ages, mentalities, cultures and social conditions to undertake together a journey of conversion, based on the progressive rediscovery of "the immense and extraordinary wealth and responsibility of Baptism received ", to bring about the gradual growth and maturation of faith and Christian life in them. At the end of the coexistence, the neocatechumenal community is formed with those who accept the call to follow this post-baptismal catechumenate. 3. The Neocatechumenal community is entrusted to the pastoral care of the parish priest and the presbyter appointed by him (cf. art. 27). Furthermore, the community indicates, by means of a vote, a lay responsible and some co-responsible persons, who are confirmed by the parish priest and the team of catechists. They collaborate with the presbyter to ensure that the community follows the itinerary of the Neocatechumenal Way, according to what is established in the  Statutes  and in the  Directors or, and to take care of the organizational aspects. 4. The team of catechists, having concluded the initial catecheses, illustrates to the presbyter, who presides over the community, and to the team of leaders the typical ways of the Neocatechumenal Way in the preparation of the celebrations of the Word and of the Eucharist and in the carrying out of monthly cohabitation. , indicating the biblical themes of formation for the celebration of the Word. Art. 11 [Weekly celebration of the Word] 1. Each Neocatechumenal community has a weekly celebration of the Word of God, usually with four readings, according to the themes indicated by  the Catechetical Directory of the Neocatechumenal Way  for each stage. 2. In the celebration of the Word of God, before the homily, the presbyter invites those present to express briefly what the proclaimed Word has said to his life. In the homily, which has a privileged place in the instruction of the Neocatechumenate, the presbyter prolongs the proclamation of the Word, interpreting it according to the Magisterium and making it current in today's journey of faith of the neocatechumens. 3. Each celebration of the Word is carefully prepared, in turn, by a group of the community, with the help, whenever possible, of the presbyter. The group chooses the readings and songs, prepares the monitions and arranges the hall and the liturgical signs for the celebration, zealously caring for their dignity and beauty. 4. To deepen the Scriptures "with the intelligence and the heart of the Church", the neocatechumens make use above all of the reading of the writings of the Fathers, of the documents of the Magisterium, in particular of the  Catechism of the Catholic Church , and of works by spiritual authors . Art. 12 [Easter Vigil] 1. Hinge and source of the Christian life is the paschal mystery, lived and celebrated in an eminent way in the Holy Triduum, whose radiance irradiates the entire liturgical year with light. It therefore constitutes the fulcrum of the Neocatechumenate, as a rediscovery of Christian initiation. 2. "The Easter Vigil, the center of the Christian liturgy, and its baptismal spirituality are the inspiration for all catechesis". It is for this reason that, during the itinerary, the neocatechumens gradually began to a more perfect participation in all that the holy night means, celebrates and realizes. 3. In this way the Neocatechumenate helps to gradually form a parish assembly which prepares and celebrates the Easter Vigil on Holy Night, with all the richness of the liturgical and sacramental elements and signs desired by the Church. Art. 13 [Eucharist] 1. The Eucharist is essential to the Neocatechumenate, as a post-baptismal catechumenate, lived in a small community. Indeed, the Eucharist completes Christian initiation. 2. The neocatechumens celebrate the Eucharist in the small community to be gradually initiated into full, aware and active participation in the divine mysteries, also according to the example of Christ, who in the multiplication of the loaves made men sit "in groups of fifty" ( Lk 9:14). This custom, consolidated in the over thirty-year practice of the Way, is fruitful. 3. In consideration also "of specific formative and pastoral needs, taking into account the good of individuals or groups, and especially of the fruits that can derive from it for the entire Christian community", the small Neocatechumenal community, with the authorization of the diocesan Bishop, he celebrates the Sunday Eucharist, also open to other faithful, after the first vespers. 4. Each celebration of the Eucharist is prepared, when possible under the guidance of the presbyter, by a group of the Neocatechumenal community, in turn, who prepares short monitions for the readings, chooses the songs, provides the bread, the wine, the flowers, and he takes care of the decorum and dignity of the liturgical signs. Art. 14 [Penance, prayer, liturgical year, practices of piety] 1. "The sacrament of Penance contributes in the greatest degree to sustaining the Christian life". In their itinerary of conversion, the neocatechumens periodically celebrate it according to the rite for the reconciliation of several penitents with individual confession and absolution. They are also educated to approach the sacrament of Penance assiduously according to the rite for the reconciliation of individual penitents. 2. The neocatechumens are gradually initiated into liturgical prayer and prayer. Parents are instructed to transmit the faith to their children in a home celebration, held during the Sunday Lauds. The children are prepared for First Communion and Confirmation in the parish and after the age of 13 they are invited to start the Neocatechumenal Way. 3. The Church progressively initiates the neocatechumens to the spiritual and catechetical riches of the liturgical year, in which she "celebrates the whole mystery of Christ". To this end, before Advent, Lent and Easter, the catechists make a preparatory announcement. 4. The neocatechumens are also gradually instructed in Eucharistic worship outside Mass, in nocturnal adoration, in the recitation of the Holy Rosary and in the other practices of piety of the Catholic tradition. Art. 15 [Community dimension and coexistence] 1. Education in community life is one of the fundamental tasks of Christian initiation. The Neocatechumenate educates them gradually and constantly through insertion into a small community, as the body of the risen Christ, open to the life of the parish community and of the whole Church. 2. A particular moment of this education is the monthly day of coexistence of each Neocatechumenal community. In it, after the celebration of Lauds, the experience of what the grace of God is doing in one's life is communicated and any difficulties are manifested, respecting the freedom of people's consciences. This favors mutual knowledge and enlightenment and mutual encouragement, in seeing the work of God in the history of each one. 3. The community helps the neocatechumens to discover their need for conversion and maturation in the faith: diversity, defects, weaknesses highlight the inability to love the other as he is, destroy the false ideals of community and they make it known that communion (koinoni a) is the work of the Holy Spirit. Art. 16 [The experience of  koinonia  and the fruits of the community] 1. To the extent that the neocatechumens grow in faith, the signs of koinoni begin to manifest  themselves : non-judgment, non-resistance to the wicked, forgiveness and love for the enemy. Koinonia is also visible in helping the needy, in solicitude for the sick, for the suffering and for the elderly and in supporting, as far as possible, those who are on mission, as indicated in the  Directors o. The neocatechumens are gradually formed in an ever deeper spirit of communion and mutual help. 2. The Neocatechumenate thus progressively forms in the parish a set of communities which make visible the signs of love in the dimension of the cross and of perfect unity, and in this way call those who are far away to faith and prepare non-Christians to receive the announcement of the Gospel. 3. The Neocatechumenal Way is therefore offered as an instrument capable of helping the parish to fulfill ever more the ecclesial mission of being the salt, light and leaven of the world, and to shine before men as the visible Body of the risen Jesus Christ, universal sacrament of salvation. Art. 17 [Initiation into the mission] 1. "Catechesis makes the Christian fit to live in community and to participate actively in the life and mission of the Church". The neocatechumens have begun to "be present as Christians in society" and "to lend their cooperation in the different ecclesial services, according to each one's vocation". 2. The neocatechumens collaborate "actively in evangelization and the building up of the Church" first of all by being what they are: their intention to live the Christian vocation in an authentic way is translated into an effective witness for others, in a stimulus to the rediscovery of Christian values ​​that might otherwise remain almost hidden. 3. After a certain time of the Way, each Neocatechumenal community indicates by vote some brothers to carry out the task of catechists. These, if they accept this designation, and after approval by the parish priest and the catechists who lead the community, together with the presbyter and the person in charge of the community, constitute a team of catechists, to evangelize and guide new communities, both in their own and in another parish, or in another diocese, in which the respective parish priests or diocesan Ordinaries request it. 4. The neocatechumens collaborate in the missionary and pastoral action of the parish and diocese. Before the  "Redditio symboli", taking into account their maturity of faith, those who wish to offer their cooperation; afterwards, as an integral part of Christian initiation, the neocatechumens participate in the different ecclesial services, according to the vocation of each one. Art. 18 [Initiation and formation to the priestly vocation] 1. The Neocatechumenal Way, like any true itinerary of catechesis, is also a "means to arouse priestly vocations and vocations of particular consecration to God in the various forms of religious and apostolic life and to kindle the special vocation in the hearts of individuals missionary. " 2. The Neocatechumenal Way is also an instrument that offers itself at the service of the Bishops for the Christian formation of candidates for the priesthood. 3. The diocesan and missionary seminaries "Redemptoris Mater" are erected by the diocesan bishops, in agreement with the international Responsible Team of the Way, and are governed by the norms in force for the formation and incardination of diocesan clerics and according to their own statutes, in implementation of the  Ratio fundamentalis institutionis sacerdotali s. In them the candidates for the priesthood find in the participation in the Neocatechumenal Way a specific and basic element of the formative process and, at the same time, they are prepared for the "genuine presbyteral choice of service to the entire People of God, in the fraternal communion of the presbytery". 4. It is for the diocesan bishop to appoint, upon presentation of the international Responsible Team of the Way, the Rector and the other superiors and educators of the diocesan and missionary seminaries "Redemptoris Mater". The Rector, in the name of the Bishop and in close connection with him, supervises the studies of seminarians and their formative itinerary, and ascertains the suitability of candidates for the priesthood. Art. 19 [1st phase: post-baptismal precatechumenate] 1. The first phase of the Neocatechumenate is the  post-baptismal precatechumenate , which is a time of kenosis  to learn to walk in humility . It is divided into two stages: 1st. In the first stage, which goes from the initial catecheses to the first scrutiny of passage to the post-baptismal catechumenate, and which lasts about two years, the neocatechumens learn the biblical language, celebrating the Word of God every week, with simple themes that run through the whole of Scripture , such as: water, rock, lamb, etc. The  Word of God , the Eucharist  and the  community  gradually help the neocatechumens to empty themselves of the false concepts of self and God and to descend to their reality as sinners, in need of conversion, rediscovering the gratuitousness of the love of Christ, which forgives and loves them. In the final celebration of the  first ballot passing through the post-baptismal catechumenate, after the inscription of the name, they ask the Church to be helped to mature in faith in order to carry out the works of eternal life, and they receive the sign of the glorious cross of Christ, which illuminates the salvific role it has the cross in everyone's life. 2nd. In the second stage, of similar duration, the neocatechumens celebrate the great stages of the history of salvation: Abraham, Exodus, Desert, Promised Land, etc., and they are given a time to prove to themselves the sincerity of their intention to follow Jesus. Christ, in the light of his Word: "You cannot serve God and money" (Mt 6:24). In the final celebration of the  second ballot passing through the post-baptismal catechumenate, they renew their renunciation of the devil before the Church and manifest the will to serve only God. Later they study and celebrate the main biblical figures: Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Noah, etc. of Christ. 2. The ballots help the neocatechumens in their path of conversion, respecting the conscience and the internal forum, according to the canonical norms, the OICA  and the  Catechetical Directory of the Neocatechumenal Way e. Art. 20 [2nd phase: post-baptismal catechumenate] The second phase of the Neocatechumenate is the  post-baptismal catechumenate and, which is a time of spiritual battle to acquire  simplicity  interior of the new man who loves God as the only Lord, with all his heart, with all his mind, with all his strength and his neighbor as himself. Supported by the Word of God, the Eucharist and the community, the neocatechumens are trained in the fight against the temptations of the devil: the search for security, the scandal of the Cross and the seduction of the world's idols. The Church comes to the aid of the neocatechumens by giving them the necessary weapons, in three stages: 1ª. "The spiritual battle of the Christian's new life is inseparable from the battle of prayer" which leads to intimacy with God. The Church carries out a first initiation of the neocatechumens into liturgical and personal prayer, even at night. which culminates with the catechesis of the Gospels on prayer and with the celebration of the consignment of the book of the  Liturgy of the Or e. Since then they begin the day with the individual prayer of Lauds and the Office of Readings and learn to make a time of silent prayer and prayer of the heart. The neocatechumens, scrutinizing the psalms in small groups, are initiated into the assiduous practice of the  "lectio divin a" or  "scrutatio scriptur æ", "in which the Word of God is read and meditated on to transform itself into prayer". Indeed, "ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ". 2nd. The Church hands over the Creed to the neocatechumens (" Traditio Symboli ")," compendium of Scripture and faith ", and sends them to preach it, two by two, to the parish houses. They study and celebrate the Apostolic Symbol article by article and return it to the Church (" Redditio Symbol i "), confessing their faith and solemnly proclaiming the Creed before the faithful during Lent. 3 rd. The Church carries out a second initiation of the neocatechumens into liturgical and contemplative prayer, which culminates with catechesis on the Lord's prayer and with the celebration of  delivery of the "Father nostror "," synthesis of the whole Gospel ". Since then, on the holidays of Advent and Lent, they begin to celebrate in the parish community in the parish, before going to work, Lauds and the Office of Readings, with a time of prayer The neocatechumens have begun to make themselves small and to live filially abandoned to the paternity of God, protected by the maternity of Mary and of the Church, and in fidelity to the Successor of Peter and to the Bishop. To this end, before the delivery of the "Our Father" , the neocatechumens make a pilgrimage to a Marian shrine to welcome the Virgin Mary as a mother, profess the faith at the tomb of St. Peter and make an act of adherence to the Holy Father. In this stage the neocatechumens systematically study the individual petitions of the "Father our"and themes on the Virgin Mary: Mother of the Church, New Eve, Ark of the Covenant, Image of the Christian, etc. Art. 21 [3rd phase: rediscovery of the election] 1. The third phase of the Neocatechumenate is the rediscovery of the  election , "the cornerstone of the whole catechumenate". It is a time of enlightenment in which the Church teaches the neocatechumens to walk in the  lodge , "flooded with the light of faith", that is, to discern and fulfill God's will in history to make their lives a  liturgy of holiness . They study and celebrate the individual passages of the Sermon on the Mount. 2. After having shown with the works that in them the new man described in the Sermon on the Mount is being realized, despite his weakness, who, following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, does not resist evil and loves the enemy, the neocatechumens  they solemnly renew their baptismal promises at the Easter Vigil and, presided over by the Bishop. In this liturgy they wear white robes in remembrance of their baptism. 3. Then, during the Easter fifty, they celebrate the Eucharist solemnly every day and make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land as a sign of the wedding with the Lord, retracing the places where Christ realized what they lived throughout the Neocatechumenal itinerary. 4. After the election, the post-baptismal Neocatechumenate ends. Art. 22 [Ongoing education in the small community] 1. The Neocatechumenal community, after having completed the itinerary of rediscovery of Christian initiation, enters the process of permanent education of the faith: persevering in the weekly celebration of the Word and the Sunday Eucharist and in fraternal communion, actively inserted in the pastoral care of the community parish, to give the signs of love and unity, which call contemporary man to faith: "Ongoing education of the faith - affirms the  General Directory for Catechesis - is addressed not only to each Christian, to accompany him on his journey towards holiness, but also to the Christian community as such, so that it may mature both in its interior life of love for God and brothers and in its openness to the world as a missionary community . Jesus' desire and prayer to the Father are an incessant appeal: "That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I in you, may they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me "(Jn 17:21). To draw near, little by little, to this ideal requires, in the  community , a great fidelity to the action of the Holy Spirit, a constant nourishment of the  Body and Blood of the Lord  and a permanent education in the faith, in listening to the  Word ". 2. The Neocatechumenal Way is thus an instrument at the service of the Bishops to carry out the process of ongoing education of the faith required by the Church: Christian initiation, as the General Directory for Cateches I reiterates  , "is not the final point in the ongoing process. of conversion. The baptismal profession of faith is placed at the foundation of a spiritual edifice destined to grow "; "adherence to Jesus Christ, in fact, initiates a process of permanent conversion, which lasts a lifetime". Art. 23 [A path of renewal in the parish] 1. In this way the Neocatechumenal Way contributes to the parish renewal hoped for by the Magisterium of the Church to promote "new methods and new structures", which avoid anonymity and massification, and to consider "the parish as a community of communities", which " they decentralize and articulate the parish community ". 2. The team of catechists who guided the community during the Neocatechumenal itinerary, in a similar way to the godparents of baptism, remains available for the needs of evangelization and ongoing education. Art. 24 [Catechumens] 1. The Neocatechumenal Way is an instrument at the service of the Bishops also for the Christian initiation of the unbaptized. 2. The participation in the initial catecheses and in the first phase of the Neocatechumenal itinerary - according to their own condition - of those who have to go through the catechumenate according to the norm of law, guarantees that what is ordered by OIC A is adequately realized . In particular: 1st. The Christian initiation of catechumens is done "within the community of the faithful who, meditating together with the catechumens on the importance of the paschal mystery and renewing their conversion, encourage them by their example to respond more generously to the grace of the Holy Spirit ". 2nd. "The people of God, represented by the local Church, must always be convinced and must concretely show that the initiation of adults is their task and the commitment of all the baptized ... Every disciple of Christ ... must therefore help candidates and catechumens in everything the course of initiation, from the precatechumenate to the catechumenate, at the time of mystagogy ". 3rd. "The time of that evangelization" must not be omitted, from which "faith and initial conversion originate", nor "the time of the precatechumenate" necessary "for the serious will to follow Christ and to ask for Baptism to mature" . 4th. Before admission to the catechumenate, it is necessary that the candidates "have begun to have a sense of penance, to invoke and pray to God, to have the first experience of community and Christian spirituality". 5th. "The catechumens, whom the Mother Church surrounds with her affection and care as already her children and related to her, belong to the family of Christ: in fact they receive from the Church the nourishment of the Word of God and are supported by the help of the liturgy" . "To their advantage appropriate celebrations of the word of God are arranged, indeed they can already access together with the faithful the liturgy of the word to better prepare themselves for future participation in the Eucharist". 6th. "When they participate in the assembly of the faithful, they must be kindly dismissed before the start of the Eucharistic celebration". This is done in the Neocatechumenal Way through a special blessing, after which they receive "an appropriate catechesis" prepared on the basis of the  Catechism of the Catholic Church , which "leads catechumens not only to a suitable knowledge of dogmas and precepts, but also to all 'intimate knowledge of the mystery of salvation ". 7th. "The catechumens should also learn to collaborate actively in the evangelization and building of the Church". 3. To complete the preparation for baptism, and to celebrate it on Easter night, it is usually convenient to wait for the conclusion of the second ballot, approximately 4 years. The decision is made by the parish priest, together with the team of catechists. Art. 25 [Neophytes] 1. At the end of the period of preparation, in agreement with the parish priest and with the appropriate communication to the diocesan bishop, the catechumens receive the sacraments of Christian initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist), and thus come fully integrated into the Church. 2. Those who wish to do so will continue to participate in the life of the Neocatechumenal community with which they have hitherto walked as catechumens, and will follow the other two phases of the Neocatechumenal itinerary: "the community, together with the neophytes, continues its journey in meditation on the Gospel , in participation in the Eucharist and in the exercise of charity, grasping ever better the depth of the paschal mystery and translating it ever more into the practice of life ". This constitutes a precious help to neophytes to overcome the difficulties inherent in the first years of Christian life '. MY JUDGMENT  The Neocatechumenal Way is a wrong path that does not lead to the salvation that is in Christ Jesus. I tell you this because this path proposes nothing other than to convert to Catholicism all those Catholics who have received baptism but who live a habitual Catholicism and who live immersed in a secularized world. I could say that this journey tends to make those who are either lukewarm or cold become fervent Catholics. And converting to Catholicism means, among other things, converting to the cult of Mary, the goddess Mary, yes I call her that because this is how the Roman Catholics consider Mary the mother of Jesus, and therefore to idolatry. Here is what Arguello says by commenting on the following words that Nicodemus said to Jesus: "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? "(John 3: 4): ' This sentence illustrates the spirit of the Neocatechumenal communities: to return to the bosom of the Church, to return to our Mother, to the Virgin, so that she may generate and make grow in us the seed of Baptism that we carry within. gestation and growth call neocatecumenato '(from a speech by Kiko Arguello, founder of the Neocatechumenal way, held in the plenary assembly of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in April of 1983). and Article 20 of the their Statute confirms it in these terms: 'The neocatechumens have begun to make themselves small and to live filially abandoned to the paternity of God, protected from the motherhood of Mary  and the Church, and in fidelity to the Successor of Peter and to the Bishop. To this end, before the delivery of the "Our Father ", the neocatechumens make a pilgrimage to a Marian shrine to welcome the Virgin Mary as their mother,  profess the faith at the tomb of St. Peter and make an act of adherence to the Holy Father. In this stage the neocatechumens systematically study the individual petitions of the "Our Father"  and themes on the Virgin Mary: Mother of the Church, New Eve, Ark of the Covenant, Image of the Christian, etc. '  Once again, therefore, with impudence Christ and his work are obscured and put in a corner by the worship of Mary, and by all the lies that are told about the mother of Jesus. What kind of spirit can therefore be the spirit that hovers in the neocatechumenal communities , which moves and impels the neocatechumens, if it wants to make people go to Mary so that she may generate and make grow in them the seed of baptism considered the sacrament of salvation? But do you realize what you are being taught or taught or made to believe? May you, through a post-baptismal catechumenate, step by step, step by step, - obviously with the help of the omnipresent Mary - be able to rediscover baptism as an indispensable sacrament of salvation. In other words, they would like to make you believe that when you were sprinkled with water as a child you were born again, you were made a child of God by the Church, you were saved from your sins, and that with this journey you will rediscover all this. In short, they would like to make you believe lies that have nothing to do with the truth. No, when you were sprinkled with the so-called holy water, you received absolutely no purification of your sins, you did not become a child of God at all. The purification of sins is obtained when one believes in Jesus Christ, and thus also the power of to be called children of God. The teaching of the Roman Catholic Church is grossly wrong because it does not know the Scriptures. But that of the doctrine of baptismal regeneration is not the only lie they want you to rediscover; other lies, are the confession through which they want you to believe that the priest is able to absolve you of your sins committed against God and reconcile you with God, which is not true because only God can forgive man's sins through faith in Christ Jesus; and closely related to confession they want you to rediscover the lie that you can be forgiven and you can obtain eternal life through good works, which is false because one is justified only by faith without works and because eternal life is the gift of God in Christ Jesus; they want you to rediscover the Mass as a repetition of Christ's sacrifice,which is false because the sacrifice of Christ has been made once and for all and cannot be absolutely repeated but only remembered or announced; and then, of course, there are the lies of the pope's primacy as Peter's successor; and many others that I have systematically refuted in my refuting book on the Roman Catholic Church  which I therefore invite you to read. Obviously, even if those who follow this path want to be 'baptized' for the first time, things do not change because even in this case, the lies that they will be led to believe are the same.Listen, if you want to know the Lord Jesus Christ, if you want to know the truth and be saved from your sins and perdition, you have to BE BORN AGAIN, beware I'm not telling you that you have to rediscover the NEW BIRTH you have received - according to the doctrine Catholic - as a newborn with the sprinkling of water done by the priest of your parish, no because you did not experience any new birth that day, I repeat none. With that sprinkling of water, however, you received no one  baptism  because baptism is by immersion and ministered to people who have believed. And to be born again you must first recognize yourself as a sinner before God, no matter how many sins you have, recognize yourself as a wretched sinner before God; then repent of them and confess them to the Lord ( and not to a priest ) asking him to forgive you, and believe with all your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose again for our justification.  I assure you that the moment you do all this you will feel BORN AGAIN, you will feel fully forgiven by the Lord, fully washed of your sins with his blood, you will feel saved and certain of having eternal life so you will be sure that when you die you will go directly in heaven, and not in  purgatory  to atone for so-called residues of guilt. And when you are born again, your eyes will open and then you will begin to see so many things differently than you do now. The  cult of Mary  and  the saints  will consider it an abomination, as well as  the to Mass  because it claims to be the repetition of Christ's sacrifice, you will begin to understand that true baptism is received by adults after believing and that practiced by the Catholic Church romana is a false baptism; you will begin to abhor crucifixes, medals,  statues and images , etc. because you will understand that they are idols to beware of. You will begin to consider  the pope no longer as the vicar of Christ but as an antichrist, a false prophet who deceives people. But above all you will understand that  salvation is by grace  and not by works as the Roman Catholic Church teaches. So what will you have left to do? Leaving the Roman Catholic Church to join an Evangelical Church where you will have to get baptized immediately.