The annual Rite of Election was a joyous occasion for the 186 candidates and catechumens making the trip to Brentwood Cathedral to meet Bishop Alan. They came from around 40 parishes across the diocese, from Romford to Clacton, from Walthamstow to Westcliff, from Chadwell Heath to Colchester, and represent a proportion of those who will join the Church at Easter.
Their journey had begun with a Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) programme in their individual parishes and will come to fruition at the Easter Vigil. They were supported at the service by their priests, sponsors, families and friends. Each had been presented to their parish communities, accepted and elected.
Bishop Alan Williams sm received the Book of the Elect, signed by those making the commitment to become Catholics, during the service. Then the parish groups were introduced to the Bishop by those who have guided them through the RCIA journey, so that he could personally welcome each individual.
Graham Hillman, who was taking photographs, was impressed by the atmosphere: “People were really moved and pleased to shake the Bishop’s hand.”
In his homily, Bishop Alan talked about choice: the choice those attending were making and the choice of the Church for them. “The Solemn Rite of Election announces the Church’s choice of you. But none of this would be possible without a much greater and mysterious choosing. God so loved the world that he sent his only son – and Jesus chose to become human – for our sakes. That is an astonishing choice.”
This Lent, he said, we go through the journey with Christ, of Christ and for Christ. “Our world is not a very nice place – and it never was. We find people are not perfect – and we are not either. We live in a world of uncertainty, difficulty and sin. Jesus became man to walk and live beside us in this world of sin. What we do know is that by his living, his suffering, his dying on the cross, his burial and his resurrection, he transformed everything.”
He said: “St Paul talks a lot about God becoming man so that we humans could become like Christ. It is a miraculous, wonderful exchange far beyond our imagination. We have the reality of redemption.”
He invited the candidates and catechumens and everyone present to do two things: repentance and conversion. “To recognise sinfulness and to become different. Why? Because then by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we might be raised from the dead, might enjoy eternal life. Life is good; Christ came to give us life to the full; eternal life is the best of all. We are called to eternal life by repentance, conversion and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
He said he always wishes people a happy Lent. “It is a season of great grace. So if you have something you want to change in your life, there is something that binds you to this earth, something you don’t really like about your life and want to be free of, Lent is about forgiveness of sins and the conversion of God’s people. As catachumens, all of us are called to journey with Christ to freedom, to journey with Christ to eternal life.”
He concluded: “Enjoy the sunshine, enjoy this afternoon. I wish you all a very happy and blessed Lent.”
Fr Dan Mason, who attended the Rite with candidates from his Billericay parish, said: “The Rite is important because it enables those who have been meeting weekly in parishes to get a sense of being part of the wider Catholic Church. It is often the first time people have been to the Cathedral or have met the Bishop. The breadth of those being received, from so many different walks of life, reflects the universal Church and enables them to feel part of that.”
Rite of Election images
