By Julie Godfrey Miller
Catholic Herald
Rite of election, call to continuing conversion held at cathedral
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Sheila Johnson takes a pen from Fr. Gabriel Baltes, OSB, and gets ready to write her name in the book of the elect during the rite of election and call to continuing conversion ceremony at the Cathedral of Christ the King March 5. (Catholic Herald photo by Julie Godfrey Miller) |
SUPERIOR -- Despite wet, slippery snow, people from around the diocese gathered at the Cathedral of Christ the King March 5 to celebrate the rite of election of catechumens and the call to continuing conversion of candidates.
Bishop Raphael M. Fliss presided at the ceremony, assisted by Deacon Michael Cullen. Music was provided by the Diocesan Chorale.
Following an opening hymn and a liturgy of the word, Fliss began his homily by explaining the significance of the ceremony.
He said, "The word 'election' in usual language, makes us think about politics; about our hopes and fears for the people of Iraq; about the future of our country and the constant bickering between politicians; about the democratic process -- choosing leaders, people to govern us.
"'Election' today means something different. It means being called and chosen. It means recognizing the call, responding to it, acknowledging who it is that calls us and, in doing that, consenting freely and joyfully to the call that has come to us through the church. The call and the election is ultimately a call from God, but it is mediated through the church We respond to this call by coming into full communion with the church."
He added that the church is the living presence of Christ in the world. "Belonging to Christ and belonging to the church are inextricably linked," he said.
Fliss said he was impressed by the vitality and vibrancy of life in the parishes. "Even if the newspapers and the media are more interested in our bad news, we know that we have good news and you who are candidates and catechumens today are part of the good news."
Catechumens are people who have not been baptized. Candidates are those who have been baptized in the Christian faith but not confirmed in the Catholic Church.
For the celebration of election, the catechumens and their godparents gathered in a semi-circle in front of the altar and Cullen presented them to the bishop. The godparents affirmed that the catechumens were sufficiently prepared to be enrolled among the elect, had begun to walk in God's presence and had joined their Christian brothers and sisters in prayer. The congregation affirmed that they were ready to accept the testimony about the catechumens and include them in their prayers and affection.
The catechumens expressed their wish to enter fully into the life of the church through the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist. Each came forward to write his or her name in the book of the elect.
The candidates then came forward and were presented toÊFliss. Their sponsors also affirmed that the candidates were prepared to share fully in the sacraments of the church. Fliss, in the act of recognition that followed, recognized their desire to have a place at Christ's eucharistic table.
With incense rising from a large brazier placed beside the altar, Fliss led intercessions for the elect and the candidates and then prayed over them.
By A.M. Kelley
Catholic Herald
Hudson woman takes important step toward membership in Catholic Church
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This is the third in a series of articles about the RCIA process. The first was a brief introduction in the Nov. 17 issue of the Catholic Herald. The remainder of stories in the series follow Sheila Johnson, of St. Patrick Parish in Hudson, on her journey to full participation in the Catholic faith. SUPERIOR -- Sheila Johnson is one of the adults who formally announced at the Cathedral of the Christ the King on March 5 a desire to be baptized into the Catholic Church. It is traditional for this ceremony, the rite of election and call to continuing conversion, to be held on the first Sunday of Lent. Of the total of 112 adults who plan to enter into full communion with the church, 26 are catechumens -- not baptized in any Christian faith, and 86 are candidates -- baptized but not members of the Catholic Church. Not all were able to attend Sunday's ceremony. Johnson, 20, belongs in the former category. She grew up the youngest of eight children of Dorothy and Malcolm Johnson in Leroy, Minn. The family attended a nondenominational church but Johnson said she was never schooled in Christianity. "I grew up not really knowing what I believed," she said When she had questions, she was told that religion meant that a person must have faith. "I wanted to know that there's more than just having faith," she said. Up until a year and a half ago, her contact with Catholicism was limited to vague ideas about its ceremonies and beliefs. That's when she met Isaac German. He is now her sponsor in the conversion process, known as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), and he is also her fiance. They plan to be married on July 15 at St. Patrick in Hudson, their home parish. Johnson's instructor in the RCIA process is Sr. Bernadette Kalscheur, SSSF, who has a class of 10. "Sheila is very sincere," Kalscheur said, "and never misses a lesson." Johnson lives in Hudson and works with mentally handicapped adults for Acceptance Communication Relationships Homes (ACR) in Roseville, Minn. Other participants in the rite were Daniel Levine and Heidi Miller, both of Medford. Levine, 21, is from Sitka, Alaska, where he and his father were commercial fishermen. He met Miller online. Her whole family traveled to Alaska to meet Levine when their relationship got serious. Now Levine lives in Medford and works at a window factory. He and Miller are engaged and plan to be married at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Medford on Aug. 5. Miller is a baptized Catholic but was never confirmed, and Levine's religious education was almost non-existent. "We never really talked about religion in my own home," he said. The couple has been studying the RCIA program together. "I wanted to make my relationship with my fiancee stronger and make my life better for the both of us," Levine said. Following the rite of election, the next steps in becoming Catholics for Johnson and Levine will be baptism, confirmation and First Communion. These ceremonies will take place in the home parishes of the catechumens and candidates during the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday.
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2006 |
