290 celebrate Rite of Election in Diocese of Salt Lake City

Intermountain Catholic

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Alex Guzman (left), the director of religious education for Saint Joseph Parish in Ogden, oversees the enrollment of names during the Rite of Election March 13.

As the Church began its observance of Lent, local catechumens and candidates took another step toward joining the faith community in the presence of their friends, sponsors, and the Most Rev. John C. Wester, bishop of Salt Lake City.

The Rite of Election of Catechumens and the Call to Continuing Conversion of Baptized Candidates was held March 12-13 in the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

For catechumens, who have been discerning the call to the Catholic faith for the past year, "the ritual is a transitional point," said Timothy Johnston, director of liturgy for the Diocese of Salt Lake City. "This ritual marks that they have discerned within the catecumenate that yes, they want to be baptized."

For the community, the rite is a way to recognize those who are asking to join the Church. "It’s not that we are doing something to them, it’s that we’re recognizing that God is continuing to work in them," Johnston said. "God has called them into a relationship; God has already named them as his own, even though they may not have been attentive to that before they entered into the RCIA."

After the ritual, which included signing their names into their parish’s Book of Elect, the catechumens became known as the elect.

Inscribing their names is an allusion to the Book of Revelation, which calls all the baptized ‘the elect,’ or those who have been chosen by God.

"It shows their commitment to join this faith community and, soon, fully share in the life of the Church," Johnston said.

Traditionally, parishes display the Book of the Elect in the entryway of their church as a reminder to parishioners to pray for the elect, Johnston said.

For the elect, the next few weeks before Easter will be a time for prayer, retreat and reflection as they prepare for the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist.

In general, the difference between a catechumen and a candidate is that a candidate already has been baptized in a Christian faith.

During the rite, the bishop affirmed that the people of the diocese promise to walk with the candidates on their journey toward joining the Catholic Church.

In his remarks during the ceremony, Bishop Wester reflected on the readings, about the fall of Adam and Eve and Jesus’ temptation in the desert, which show that humans have the ability to choose between the path of goodness and redemption, and the path of sinfulness and destruction.

"We make our choices – our free will – in union with God and grounded in love," Bishop Wester said. "My dear candidates and catechumens, soon to be elect, you come here today because you have the power to choose, because you are taking responsibility in your own lives, and because you discern God working in you. And so you are calling upon God to be one with you in your journey of faith. And, of course, unity with Christ means unity with his Church. The risen Christ is made present in his Church."