Rite of Election a sign of the fruits of evangelization

During this year’s Rite of Election on Feb. 26, 156 catechumens from 50 faith communities in the diocese moved a step closer to receiving the sacraments of initiation — baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist — in their respective parishes during the upcoming Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, April 8.

On the first Sunday of Easter, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney presided over the Rite of Election at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, where he formally selected — or elected — the catechumens. This special rite formally sets them on the path toward full sacramental unity with the Church. They are now known as “the elect.” Those in attendance represented a much larger number of those who will become full-fledged members of the Body of Christ this Easter. They include adults, teens, and children.

“The sun was shining through the beautiful stained-glass windows, and the light of faith was shining in the full cathedral,” Bishop Sweeney said in a post on his Instagram account in describing the Rite of Election that Sunday afternoon.

At the Rite of Election, the catechumens were presented to Bishop Sweeney. Both their sponsors and the congregation made an official affirmation of their worthiness for reception of the Sacraments of Initiation. Then, the enrolled names were presented to the bishop in the Book of Elect. The bishop asked the catechumens if they “wish to fully enter the life of the Church through the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and Eucha­rist?” They each said, “Yes!”

The catechumens have been studying the tenets of Catholi­cism through their parish’s Rite of Chris­tian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) program, the Church’s official process by which new members are prepared for sacraments of bap­tism, confirmation, and Eucharist. They begin with a process of catechesis and accompaniment, which usually lasts one to two years and leads to a time of final preparation to be fully initiated into the Church, Bishop Sweeney explained in his column last week in The Beacon.

“The RCIA journey is one of the ways that we continue, as the Church, to be ‘missionary disciples.’ We can share in the work of evangelization and share the Good News of the Gospel in many ways; welcoming new members is a very clear sign that we are continuing the mission and ministry of Jesus,” Bishop Sweeney said.

In addition, many parishes have adult “candidates,” either who were baptized as infants or children but never received the sacraments of Holy Communion or Confirmation or who were baptized in other Christian denominations. They, too, will be fully received into the Church at Easter.

Also, the children in the process of RCIA will be baptized, while some will also receive first Holy Communion.

At the end of the Rite of Election, the bishop dismissed the newly elected to go back to their parish communities to reflect more deeply on the Word of God with the assurances of the prayers of the diocesan Church. Afterward, the newly elected were invited to meet the bishop and have a photo taken with him.

“As we pray for them in a special way during this Lenten season, we also pray for and thank their sponsors, catechists, pastors, and parish communities for welcoming these ‘new’ brothers and sisters as they become members of our diocesan Church,” Bishop Sweeney said.