Rite of Election homily by Most Reverend Patrick C. Pinder, S.T.D., C.M.G.

"Even now, says the Lord,
Return to me with your whole heart,
With fasting, and weeping, and mourning:
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the Lord your God."  (Joel 2:12-13)

These words you recognize as words from the Prophet Joel.  They are from the first reading for Ash Wednesday.

With these words of Joel to orient us, the Church invited us to embrace this adventure we call Lent.  Lent is a journey of 40 days, a journey in the image of the Exodus.  It is a journey of personal renewal which brings us closer to God, deeper into holiness and further and further away from our own selfishness.

Lent is also a period of preparation for Easter.

The 40 days of Lent are seen as having their root is the 40 days of Jesus spent in the desert preparing for his public life and ultimately for his crucifixion and glorification.

On this journey and adventure of Lent, the Church advises us to use the traditional practices of penance, namely prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

So during these weeks of Lent we are encouraged to put greater emphasis on our prayer life.  Many express this by including daily Mass attendance as a part of their Lenten discipline.  To that we may add daily, prayerful, reading of scriptures.  It need not be more than ten minutes each day.  Take up and reflect on the readings of the day, each day, in Lent and you will discover how for the first half of the Lenten season, the scriptures emphasize the need for conversion in our lives.

After that the theme shifts to the mystery of Jesus Christ, Son of God, who is the healer and life giver.  He it is who gives life through his confrontation with death.

This then is the season to expand our prayer life, to increase our daily mass attendance and to make time for and spend time with the Lord in Sacred Scriptures.

Lent is most importantly a period of preparation for Baptism.  In that regard we have gathered here this Evening.  In Catholic cathedrals around the world, on the First Sunday of Lent, the faithful, including Catechumens and Candidates, gather around their Bishop to celebrate the Rite of Election.

The extraordinary times, in which currently we find ourselves, have caused a change in our usual scheduling of this liturgy.

Catechumens join their communities each Sunday but only for the Liturgy of the Word after which they withdraw to pray and reflect on the words of scripture proclaimed.  When the time approaches for their full initiation into the life of the church, they are presented to the Bishop as you are today.

You will come and inscribe your names in the Book of the Elect.  What is the meaning of your signing the Book of the Elect?  It is your public declaration that you intend to live as one who follows Christ.  You will now be referred to as the Elect and you will now enter the stage of formation known as the Period of Purification and Enlightenment.

The whole church continues to pray for you.  The church prays for both you the Elect and the Candidates who will also accompany you this Easter as they complete their initiation into the Church.

The Season of Lent which began with Ash Wednesday will end as we begin the Easter Triduum with the Mass of the Lord's Supper, on the evening of Holy Thursday.

The Ashes with which we begin these 40 days, remind us that we are mortal.  We will die.  "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return."  The Ashes also remind us that we are to prepare for that day being fully aware that in Baptism we die with Christ to rise with him to the newness of life, to the fullness of life. 

From Ash Wednesday to Pentecost is the richest period of our Liturgical Calendar.  As you continue to prepare for Easter, along the way, in your parish, you may already have experienced three Scrutinies.  You should be presented with the Our Father Prayer and the Creed.


Here in this Cathedral at the Chrism Mass I will bless the Holy Oils used in your Baptism and Confirmation this Easter.  The liturgies of Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with Easter Sunday are the highest point of our entire Liturgical Year.  You will celebrate those liturgies and the Sacraments of Initiation in your parish. 

Finally, before the Easter Season concludes at the Feast of Pentecost, we will gather here in the Cathedral once more for a celebration of the Eucharist with the Bishop.

As we now continue our Lenten journey and adventure, I invite you to join the entire church in hearing those words of Joel which are intended to orient us during these weeks of Lent.  Hopefully this is a time of true spiritual renewal for us all.

In particular, Catechumens and Candidates, during the remainder of this Lenten season, may you be granted the grace to arrive at the font of Baptism, receive the Oil of Chrism in Confirmation and share in the Eucharist with heart and mind enlightened and renewed.

I take the liberty to repeat here the "Prayer Over the People" for the First Sunday of Lent which says:

"May bountiful blessings, O Lord, we pray,
come down upon your people,
that Hope may grow in tribulation,
Virtue be strengthened in temptation,
And eternal redemption be assured.
Through Christ our Lord.

To that end, may God bless you as we now continue this Rite of Election.