The inspiring Rite of Election
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
Around the world the First Sunday in Lent brings about a most encouraging thing. In every diocese those who are preparing for Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist at the Easter Vigil gather with the bishop of the local Church for the Rite of Election.
Having been “sent” from the Rite of Sending that takes place in their parishes, the catechumens then come together as the Church gathered sees that they have written their names in the Book of the Elect. It is a truly joyful occasion shared with family members and friends, as the catechumens’ catechists, look on proudly. Together, we celebrate the fact that even with all the bad press, even with all the attacks against the Church, even with people saying that the Church is shrinking, here are men, women and teens freely choosing the Church for themselves as the means to grace, happiness and salvation.
In our beautiful cathedral, a full house of family, catechumens, catechists and sponsors prayed with Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M. for these people preparing for Easter. It is a shame that a wider audience doesn’t get a chance to see the joy in the faces of those people who have freely chosen to study, to pray, to encounter God in Scripture, and to promise themselves during this Lent to fulfill their preparation to enter the Church.
Looking around the cathedral there was a real sense of faith being strongly proclaimed by those preparing and those who prepare them. On this particular Sunday roughly 150,000 attend this rite across the country, a number that does not include those already baptized in another ecclesial community who are coming into the Church or those who are completing their Sacraments of Initiation. One of the highlights of the rite comes immediately after the bishop declares the catechumens to be members of the elect. In the words that follow he says, “God is always faithful to those he calls: now it is your duty, as it is ours, both to be faithful to him in return, and to strive courageously to reach the fullness of truth, which your election opens up before you.”
How often do we think about the fact that it is our duty to be faithful to God, and to strive courageously to reach the fullness of truth? So often faithfulness comes and goes. We often rather look for truths of our own choosing, and our striving for real truth is sometimes less than courageous.
As these catechumens prepare for Easter they give us the gift of walking with them in this last part of their journey, before they join us at the altar. We can see in them the eagerness for truth, the faith that is so alive in them and the enthusiasm that many of us wish we had for our faith.
At the Easter Vigil we all renew our baptismal promises. During this Lent I hope we learn from our catechumens how to take those promises more seriously, and to those now elect, we offer you a heart-felt welcome!
Father Freer serves the diocese as vicar for Catholic education.
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Around the world the First Sunday in Lent brings about a most encouraging thing. In every diocese those who are preparing for Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist at the Easter Vigil gather with the bishop of the local Church for the Rite of Election.
Having been “sent” from the Rite of Sending that takes place in their parishes, the catechumens then come together as the Church gathered sees that they have written their names in the Book of the Elect. It is a truly joyful occasion shared with family members and friends, as the catechumens’ catechists, look on proudly. Together, we celebrate the fact that even with all the bad press, even with all the attacks against the Church, even with people saying that the Church is shrinking, here are men, women and teens freely choosing the Church for themselves as the means to grace, happiness and salvation.
In our beautiful cathedral, a full house of family, catechumens, catechists and sponsors prayed with Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M. for these people preparing for Easter. It is a shame that a wider audience doesn’t get a chance to see the joy in the faces of those people who have freely chosen to study, to pray, to encounter God in Scripture, and to promise themselves during this Lent to fulfill their preparation to enter the Church.
Looking around the cathedral there was a real sense of faith being strongly proclaimed by those preparing and those who prepare them. On this particular Sunday roughly 150,000 attend this rite across the country, a number that does not include those already baptized in another ecclesial community who are coming into the Church or those who are completing their Sacraments of Initiation. One of the highlights of the rite comes immediately after the bishop declares the catechumens to be members of the elect. In the words that follow he says, “God is always faithful to those he calls: now it is your duty, as it is ours, both to be faithful to him in return, and to strive courageously to reach the fullness of truth, which your election opens up before you.”
How often do we think about the fact that it is our duty to be faithful to God, and to strive courageously to reach the fullness of truth? So often faithfulness comes and goes. We often rather look for truths of our own choosing, and our striving for real truth is sometimes less than courageous.
As these catechumens prepare for Easter they give us the gift of walking with them in this last part of their journey, before they join us at the altar. We can see in them the eagerness for truth, the faith that is so alive in them and the enthusiasm that many of us wish we had for our faith.
At the Easter Vigil we all renew our baptismal promises. During this Lent I hope we learn from our catechumens how to take those promises more seriously, and to those now elect, we offer you a heart-felt welcome!
Father Freer serves the diocese as vicar for Catholic education.
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