Dear brothers and sisters in our Lord,
One of the most powerful and
inspiring manifestations of the Holy
Spirit alive and at work in our
community is unfolding today during this
Rite of Election and the call to
continuing conversion and as Archbishop
I have the privilege of presiding at this
ceremony and there was another one just
like this last week with the same huge
number of catechumens and those
candidates for full participation in the
life of the Church and your sponsors and
Godparents and friends, all part of
this journey, that will
bring you not only to the Easter
sacraments but to a full and living
participation in the life of the Church.
Your call to conversion is a visible sign
and that's why it's important in
the course of this afternoon's celebration
to look around and see how many are here
and keep in mind that we had the exact
same number last week how many are here
as a visible sign that women and men
young and old from all walks of life are
continuing to respond to the Lord's
invitation,
Come. Come follow me,
come see where live,
come share with me the life of the Spirit.
Jesus continues to invite and in
this ceremony today you'll be invited to
step forward into the sanctuary as you
do that
remember you have been touched in a very
special way
by the power of the Spirit. You're making
this journey not just on your own but
because God's Holy Spirit has touched
your heart. Each of you each of you
seeking to to come and see where Jesus
is, to come and follow Him, to enter His Church.
Each one has a different experience of
what brings you here.
The Spirit worked through a witness for
example a family member, a spouse, a fiancé
friends, co-workers, neighbors, someone in
your parish who invited you,
who encouraged you, who now prays with
you as you make this journey.
We're reminded that that work of everyday
evangelization is what brings people to
Jesus and what strengthens our own faith
and conviction in Jesus. In a moving part
of the Rite of Election, Godparents are
asked to place their hand on the
shoulder of the catechumen, those who are
going to be baptized and receive
Confirmation and Eucharist at the Easter
Vigil and
they will then affirm your readiness.
Moments later I will declare the
catechumens to be members of the elect
meaning they are now that select group
who have been called publicly to come
forward at Easter. Then moments later
we will invite all of those who are here
to indicate their intention to go
forward with the Easter sacraments and
complete their initiation. At the end of
that I conclude by saying I now declare
you a part of this this effort,
declare you ready to continue on. I ask you to
see in these signs, these visible and audible
actions something that isn't seen,
something you can't touch or hear.
The grace of God working in your heart.
That's what this is all about. This whole
Rite of Election is all about a public
affirmation of something you know deep
down in your heart is taking place,
God's call, the Holy Spirit touching you.
Today you're being invited to see with
the eyes of faith because the Easter
sacraments only makes sense when seeing
with the eyes of faith. The water washing
away anything that would keep you from God.
The Chrism,
the sign of the Holy Spirit and His
gifts coming down upon you and the bread
and wine, the body and the blood of our Lord.
As you the elect and the catechumens
continue your Lenten journey remember
you never walk alone and if you need
confirmation of that today
just watch all the people who come up
into this sanctuary with you -
the Godparents of the elect, the sponsors
of the candidates represent just one
small part of this Church that is
welcoming all of you. As you step forward
I will have the privilege of greeting
each one of you in the name of the
Church, welcoming you personally into the
life of the Church. That simple greeting
is meant to express the joy of all of us
that you're here, that you're ready to
complete the journey, you're ready to
make the final steps that will bring you
into that love and life of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Your journey of faith
reminds all of us of that great great
gift that is God's Spirit and so let us
now proceed to the Rite of Election and
the call to continuing conversion and
let all of us together make this our
prayer, Come Lord Jesus. Come into my heart,
come into my life and let me continue my
journey, my journey with all of the
members of the Church to that moment
when at Easter I can become a part of
that community of belief, that
community of faith, that body of Christ
that is God's Holy Church
here on Earth, the presence of Christ with us.