Rite of Election

Tomorrow evening, the candidates and catechumens are going to take part in the Rite of Election at the Cathedral Basilica. I am very excited for them, especially my sponsee, because I remember going last year when I myself was in RCIA, and it was a wonderful experience!

When I went to the Rite of Election last year, it was neat to meet the bishop and I was astounded by the size and glimmering beauty of the building, but the most amazing part was seeing the candidates and catechumens from other RCIA programs in the archdiocese. I hadn't ever realized that there were so many people in the process of becoming Catholic, and it was fascinating to see so many groups from all over St. Louis. There were RCIA programs of all sizes, from big groups like the CSC to small groups of 2 or 3 people from parishes. And yet we were all taking the same step towards Easter Vigil!

I wanted to lean over the pew and ask random strangers: how did you come to be doing this? who are the people that influenced and inspired you towards this decision? how do you understand the church we're entering into on Easter? are you at all scared to be heading towards confirmation?

It struck me as rather funny that I should feel in solidarity with so many random people in the pews of a Midwestern cathedral. After all, there were a million little contingencies that could have gone another way... what if I had stayed in California for college, what if Wash. U didn't have a CSC, what if Catholic people had been really rude or unwelcoming, what if my sponsor didn't write a letter of recommendation to the bishop, etc. But somehow life had taken this particular path and there I was, part of the elect. We met the bishop, our names were called, and we stood at the front of the basilica.

After the rite was finished that evening, my older sister happened to call me since we hadn't talked in a while. I wanted to tell her how happy I was, but I couldn't figure out a way to explain it without sounding crazy. Words like "rite"and "gold basilica" and "elect" sound very foreign and cultish without the proper context. So I just told my sister I'd had a really productive evening working on an English essay, which wasn't true but made my life a lot easier.

Now that I'm more settled in the Catholic church, however, I think I understand why going to the Rite of Election meant so much to me. I liked seeing the other candidates and catechumens because it felt like I was meeting future family members. Maybe step-siblings feel this mix of excitement, curiosity, hope and nervousness about each other when they meet for the first time: We may not have anything in common yet, but we will soon.

Sometimes I wonder about all those elect I saw introduced with me last year. What was their experience of Easter Vigil at their parishes last year? Where are they now? Are they glad they did what they did? Maybe one day I'll be talking to somebody in Timbuktu and by chance we'll happen to realize that we both became Catholic in 2008 in St. Louis and that we were at the same Rite of Election... and then I can find out what's been going on in one of my Catholic sibling's life!

In the meantime, though, I'm just really excited for the current candidates and catechumens all over the world who are discerning their faith and taking this step towards baptism or confirmation. God bless them!