Electing to become Catholic

Andrew JUnker/CATHOLIC SUN

Nancy File, a member of Our Lady of the Angels at the Franciscan Renewal Center, presents Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted with her parish’s Book of the Elect. File joined with hundreds of other catechetical leaders and those entering the Church Feb. 21 at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral for the annual Rite of Election.

Church welcomes more than 1,100 people on journey to Catholic faith

For those not born into the faith, the process to become a Catholic can make for a long journey. This year, 1,130 men, women and children will complete that journey at the Easter Vigil.

More than 120 out of that group gathered at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral Feb. 21 for the annual Rite of Election.

The Rite of Election consists of some scriptural readings and a brief homily by the bishop. Then, parish representatives process down the nave and present the bishop with their parish’s Book of the Elect, which contains the names of their catechumens — those who will be baptized on Easter.

The bishop then signs the books on the altar, which changes the catechumens into the elect. It can be an emotional night for the catechumens, who have been meeting and preparing for baptism for many months.

“It is a sign that God is very much at work in the Church to see such a full cathedral,” Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted said at the beginning of the liturgy. The church was packed and people lined the walls.

“God says to each one, ‘I have called you by name. You are mine,’” he said. “It is God who calls and it’s God Who gives this courage and spark of interest to follow that call.”

Bishop Olmsted told the congregation that just because they are entering the Church doesn’t mean challenges to their faith will end. He said that Lent provides the perfect opportunity to strengthen faith and ward off temptation.

“You’ve been helped to understand the costs of following Jesus Christ. One of the costs of belonging to Christ is the duty of resisting the devil,” he said.

“To resist the temptation of the devil we need to be fed not on earthly food. We need to be fed on every word that comes from the mouth of God,” he said.

Growing anticipation

Dennis Graviss has led catechumens and candidates at St. Francis Xavier Parish for the past five years. This year, that parish has 19 men, women and children receiving all the sacraments of initiation, including baptism. St. Francis also has 13 candidates — those who have been baptized, but are now fully entering the Church.

He said that the numbers are up this year at the parish, something he’s heard is true across the diocese. Some of the men and women are coming over from other Christian denominations, primarily Episcopalians and Lutherans.

“I also think it’s in times that are economically difficult,” Graviss said. “People have to ask big questions when they’ve lost a business or a job.”

Participating in the Rite of Election is one of the more thrilling aspects of the RCIA process whether the catechumen is young or old, Graviss said.

“I have a second-grader; he and his mother are becoming Catholics. He said the bishop is ‘the bomb.’ I didn’t know what it meant, but it’s second-grader for ‘awesome,’” he said. “Afterwards he got to shake the bishop’s hand and he blessed his forehead. The kid was just awed by the bishop.”

Graviss said the Rite of Election kicks off a time of increased excitement and anticipation for the candidates and catechumens. They’ve been leaving Sunday Mass after the homily for months and can hardly wait until the day they receive the Eucharist.

The RCIA class offers its members a small community, which is then enlarged when they enter into full communion. That’s something the bishop reflected at the end of his homily.

“I hope you feel at home here,” he said, “like a true son or daughter."