Implementation in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults has sparked interest in the roots of this rite. Father Mazza delves into the stage of the rite known as mystagogy, which has always been used in a sacral context and has meant "to teach a doctrine," therefore "to initiate into the mysteries."

At the end of the fourth century, a distinct form of mystagogical catechesis emerged in the homilies of Ambrose of Milan, Cyril of Jerusalem, John Chrysostom, and Theodore of Mopsuestia.

In his interesting study, Father Mazza presents the material we have on these homilies and that material's application to the instruction of the newly baptized today.