Diocese celebrates Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion

Friday, Mar. 22, 2019

SALT LAKE CITY — This year at Easter the Diocese of Salt Lake City will welcome 334 new members of the Church as the Elect receive the Sacraments of Initiation.

In preparation for Easter, the 227 catechumens and 107 candidates underwent the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion at the Cathedral of the Madeleine. 

To accommodate them, their sponsors, their families, friends and parishioners, Bishop Oscar A. Solis presided at three celebrations, two on March 9 and one on March 16. The rite in the morning of March 9 was celebrated for the Wasatch Deanery; in the afternoon it was for the Eastern, Northern and Southwestern deaneries. The rite on March 16  was celebrated for the Salt Lake Deanery.

Deacon John Kranz assisted at all the celebrations.

Welcoming those at each celebration, Bishop Solis said, “Today is a joyful moment in the life of our faith community as we celebrate the Rite of Election and the Call to Continuing Conversion.” 

He explained that the rite is a “further step in continuing your journey toward full communion into the Catholic Church at the Easter vigil.”

The word election comes from the Latin word “to choose,” and “this is a reminder of how God, in his mysterious ways, has chosen each one of you,” he said, alternating between English and Spanish as he spoke.

The catechumens and candidates have each responded “yes” to God’s call, and “your response means that you have chosen to enter the community of faith called the Catholic Church,” the bishop said. “Your election by God is the result of his free and generous gift and your own generous response. We thank you for making that choice. Congratulations to each one of you for making the decision for this important day in your life and in the life of the Diocese of Salt Lake City.”

However, “your ‘yes’ must not be just a ‘yes’ of words but a sign of the conversion of your heart to the essence of a Christian life in order to become true disciples of Christ,” he said.

During each celebration he spoke briefly of the readings for that weekend’s Mass. The Gospel reading for March 9 was on the Temptation of Christ. 

“Like Jesus, we face many temptations daily,” but unfortunately people easily give in to temptation, Bishop Solis said. “However, there is hope.” 

Referring to the second reading, he said, “St. Paul teaches us that by calling on the name of the Lord we will be saved from sin. And Jesus in the Gospel proved that the temptation of the devil can be overcome. We can rely on God’s help and power when tempted to sin. Let the words from the scriptures be a source of courage and strength to remain as faithful believers.” 

Reflecting on the Gospel reading for March 16, about the Transfiguration, Bishop Solis said, “My dear friends, many times in our life we miss seeing the glory of God because we are asleep spiritually. So Lent is a wonderful occasion to wake us up, to renew our faith and transform our lives” to conform them to the Christ in his suffering, death and resurrection. 

Concelebrating at the May 17 rite were Father Martin Diaz, the cathedral rector; Dominican Father Jacek Buda, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena/Newman Center; and Father Joseph Delka, the cathedral’s parochial vicar.

During the celebrations, Bishop Solis said he was grateful to the sponsors, priests and parish representatives who have helped form the elect in the faith. He asked those present to pray for the catechumens and candidates as they complete their preparations to be received into the Church so that “together we will be renewed by one another’s efforts and together come to share in the joys of Easter.”

He also told the Elect, “I am excited and look forward to seeing you as full members of our Catholic Church. It has been quite a long journey, but the days are coming when finally all of us as one community of faith can gather around the altar of the Lord in order to celebrate the great mystery of our salvation in the holy Eucharist, where we receive the Body and Blood of Christ as a sign of salvation from our sins.”