{"id":1396,"date":"2011-03-14T09:19:43","date_gmt":"2011-03-14T15:19:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/?p=1396"},"modified":"2011-03-14T09:19:45","modified_gmt":"2011-03-14T15:19:45","slug":"rite-of-election-a-journey-toward-discovering-a-worldwide-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/03\/14\/rite-of-election-a-journey-toward-discovering-a-worldwide-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Rite of Election: A Journey Toward Discovering a Worldwide Family"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I went to the Rite of Election yesterday.<\/p>\n

I love this aspect of the RCIA. I love the ancientness of it. People entering the Church were doing this same thing 1700 years ago.<\/p>\n

The ancient Rite of Election<\/h2>\n

Interestingly, many people in\u00a0the Church at that time were not baptized. They joined the catechumenate but delayed baptism until much later. Some even waited until their death beds!\u00a0They were kind of like the nominal Catholics of today.<\/p>\n

When\u00a0people did decide to take the plunge<\/strong> at Easter (literally!) and get baptized, they enrolled themselves on\u00a0the first day of Lent.<\/strong> The bishop\u00a0would preside over the ceremony. He sat in the cathedra, the official chair that conveys the bishop’s authority, and questioned the godparents and neighbors of the candidate. He asked what kind of life the candidate led. Did he lie or cheat? Was he a drunkard?<\/p>\n

In other words, has he converted? Had the instruction changed him? Had the Christian life taken hold? Faith, a living and active faith displayed by his life was\u00a0the criteria for acceptance to the elect. It wasn’t automatic!<\/p>\n

If he was accepted, the bishop\u00a0would write down the person’s name. If rejected, he was told to go back and change his life!<\/p>\n

The Rite of Election today<\/h2>\n

Essentially, the same thing happens today. At\u00a0the climax of the rite, the bishop asks these questions to\u00a0the godparents and sponsors, “Have they faithfully listened to God’s word proclaimed by the Church? Have they responded to that word and begun to walk in God’s presence? Have they shared the company of their Christian brothers and sisters and joined\u00a0with them in prayer?”<\/p>\n

For me, this is the\u00a0destination of the RCIA process. All the instruction and programming are lead to these three questions.<\/p>\n

The rite changes the candidates<\/h2>\n

It’s funny, the Rite of Election is a very simple thing, but it’s always powerful for the candidates. Their names are called, godparents and sponsors are asked to affirm their readiness, they are accepted and greeted by the Bishop. There’s not much to it, but it\u00a0changes them.<\/p>\n

It’s partly\u00a0because there’s something bonding\u00a0about a road trip. It’s like an adventure. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

But I think it’s more the majesty of the whole thing<\/strong>. The cathedral is an awesome building! The Bishop has a presence. There’s a huge pipe organ,\u00a0incense, Knights of Columbus and hundreds of other catechumen and candidates from all over the diocese.<\/p>\n

The Rite of Election gives them a\u00a0sense of the Church<\/strong>–a sense of the magnitude that makes up a worldwide Church.\u00a0So far they’ve only seen their classmates. There’s the tendency to think narrowly, like their the only ones doing this.<\/p>\n

The Rite of Election explodes that myth.\u00a0When they see the multitude on the same spiritual journey, making the same trek to the bishop, it changes things.<\/p>\n

For the first time they’re part of something larger than themselves–larger than their individual experience or local community.\u00a0They are part of a worldwide family!<\/strong> That’s sobering and comforting all at\u00a0the same time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Rite of Election is a simple yet powerful aspect of the RCIA. 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