"Rite" Away!!

I always have the best of intentions... sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. For instance, I had challenged myself to blog 3 times a week... this is the first week that I have accomplished that goal (what's the phrase - better late than never?). Second example is this blog posting - I meant to blog about last week's rites right away, but again... better late than never.

Last Sunday, March 1, we had our second and third rites of the RCIA program. The Rite of Sending took place at our parish, St. James, at the 9:00 AM mass. At this Mass the priest asked each our sponsors several questions about our journey - had we been taking things seriously? are we prepared to go to the Bishop? etc. They then "sent" us to the Cathedral to be welcomed by the Bishop. For many the trip to the Cathedral truly was a pilgrimage. For us, it was down the street. :)

The Rite of Election took place at the Cathedral. Catechumans (people who are not baptized yet) and Candidates (people who are baptized) from around the diocese gathered to meet the Bishop. Bishop Boland gave a short address to the Catechumans and one to the Candidates. The Catechumans were asked to sign a book at the Cathedral to link them to the church (Candidates are already linked to the church through their baptism). It was a beautiful ceremony. However, my favorite part came from the Bishop with his address to the Candidates, to me. He told us to reflect upon our baptism. He told us to hold our baptisms dear to our hearts for we are truly part of Christ's church no matter what denomination had baptized us. It made me feel welcomed and accepted by the Catholic Church and that my Christian life so far is also accepted. That is important to me. I do not want to feel like protestants are wrong because protestants are not wrong - we are still God's children.