Continuing

By Christopher Donahue Editor-in-Chief

METUCHEN — For Catholics, February 26 marked the first Sunday of Lent, but for 92 catechumens from 33 parishes in the diocese, the day held special significance.

On that day, they reached a milestone in their Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) formation process as they became members of the Elect. For the next three weeks, their formation will continue with the Scrutinies, during which they are presented with the “Creed” and the “Lord’s Prayer.” Together, with their parish, they will focus on a deeper conversion and examination of their lives in light of the Gospel.

At the Easter Vigil, the Elect are baptized, confirmed and make their first holy Communion, which makes them full members of the Church.

After that, they are known as neophytes — known in English as ‘new sprouts’ — for the first year of their new life in Christ.

On February 26, the catechumens, joined by their families, godparents, sponsors and catechists, gathered at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi for the Rite of Election. There, they publicly declared their intention to become fully initiated in the Catholic Church at the

Easter Vigil in their parish.

Bishop James F. Checchio presided at the liturgy, during which the catechumens signed the Book of the Elect. In his homily, Bishop Checchio told them they have shown enough discipline and dedication that “today your godparents and your catechists judge you worthy, judge you ready…disciplined enough to advance, to become one of the Elect.”

Bishop Checchio noted how in the Gospel, Jesus was tempted by Satan during his 40 days of prayer and fasting in the desert. And, the bishop added, it is a reminder that Satan tries to tempt the faithful to this day.

“It’s not a chance meeting,” the bishop said about Jesus’ encounter with Satan. “When we think of temptation, almost universally we think in terms of trying to entice someone to do something wrong or seeking to seduce someone into sin or perhaps trying to persuade them to take the wrong path, but one interpretation of the word tempt is test. So rather than it always being negative, it could mean something more neutral – a test which could go well or poorly.

“If we use the word tempt in that context in today’s Gospel,” he continued, “then we can call this Gospel the testing of Jesus instead of the temptation of Jesus. After his baptism, he immediately

At top, catechumens joined by their families, godparents, sponsors and catechists filled the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen, Feb. 26 for the Rite of Election. Above, far left, Bishop James F. Checchio, who presided at the liturgy, processes to the altar. During the liturgy, the catechumens publicly declared their intention to become fully initiated in the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in their parish. In his homily, Bishop Checchio told the catechumens their godparents and catechists had judged them worthy and disciplined to advance in their faith journey and become one of the Elect. Each catechumen then signed the Book of The Elect in the sanctuary and greeted the bishop. — goes into the desert to test himself. As he is about to begin his three years of public ministry, was he strong enough, disciplined enough to embark on his public mission? Could he encounter the most difficult of circumstances and challenges and stay faithful to the Father’s mission for him? In this sense, what we call the temptations in the Gospel today is not meant to make us sin but rather it’s meant to enable us to conquer sin.”

After the liturgy, Brodie Decker, a member of the Elect who is participating in the RCIA process at St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish, Kendall Park, said about reaching this stage of his faith journey, “It feels great. It is beyond enlightening.

“I grew up in and out of churches, no real strong feelings,” he continued, “and the process of learning every week has been really great…giving me a greater sense of being.

“For someone who reads the news, there is a lot of instability out there. I feel like this is providing stability.”

Decker, who was baptized a Mormon, will be baptized again at the Easter Vigil. When asked what might have surprised him or a challenge to overcome during RCIA, he replied, “It sounds dumb, but the Eucharist definitely sticks out — I did not realize what was said in the Bible. Reading more about it, it made sense.

“Even though it is hard to understand from the outside, if you can believe anything about Christ, the Eucharist should be one of the smallest things that is tough to understand.

“The other thing that I did not know coming into it, because I had no knowledge at all, is that Christ was the founder of the Catholic Church. It sounds so obvious, but as an outsider, it makes you wonder, what was I looking anywhere else for?”

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Passover, the Jewish feast commemorating that day when God delivered his Chosen People from Egyptian slavery, begins on Wednesday night. At the Seder, before anyone eats, someone at the table, usually a child, asks one of the elders, “why is this night different from all others?” This sparks a teaching on the origin of the ritual which, for some, is new, for others it’s a review. Once completed, everyone knows why they do what they do — and all give thanks to God for Israel, for being his Chosen People, for the gift of life.

On Good Friday, Christians gather to remember the Passover of Christ. Jesus, the Pascha, or Lamb of sacrifice, is responsible for our deliverance, not from Egyptian slavery but from our bondage to sin and eternal death. Following the Jewish model of explaining why Passover is different from all other nights, I’d like to explicate the significance of Good Friday.

From the earliest times, the liturgy of Good Friday was quite simple. The altar is bare because, before Communion, it was just this way in the Church of the early Christians. Before the opening prayer, the priests and deacons do not genuflect rather we prostrate ourselves on the floor as did the clergy in the early Church, begging

God to forgive us our sins.

In the first part of the liturgy, have a Service of the Word, because, up until the second century—there were no daily Masses. Christians celebrated Mass only on Sunday. On Wednesdays and Fridays, however, there were religious services, which consisted solely of readings and prayers.