PROVIDENCE — Though Lent is a penitential season, joyful anticipation filled the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul on Sunday, Feb. 18, as candidates and catechumens attended the annual Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion with Bishop Richard G. Henning. This ritual involves those wishing to be initiated into the Church publicly professing before the bishop their desire for baptism, first Communion and/or confirmation, and receiving moral guidance and blessings on the final steps of their journey to Catholicism.
After the Scripture readings were proclaimed, Bishop Henning addressed those gathered. In his homily, the bishop framed the journey of the individual person towards increased holiness within the broader view of salvation held by Scripture.
“God establishes a series of covenants, where the Lord makes promises to his people, and asks of them that they respond with faithfulness; that they observe his law; that they act with justice, one towards another; that they give due worship to God,” Bishop Henning said.
“As you know, if you pay attention to Scripture, what you see over and over again is how human beings consistently fail in this. So, we have a contrast between the steady fidelity, faithfulness, goodness of God, and then, on our side, sin and failure and infidelity. You can get a little depressed reading the story, until you meet the person of Jesus Christ, and learn that God has been preparing a surprise for us, really from the beginning.”
Bishop Henning then pronounced with gladness: “God Himself is now intervening. God sends us His heart in the person of Jesus, who will reveal God’s presence and God’s will, and not only reveal the nature of God, but reveal to us our own nature, made in the image and likeness of God.”
He also noted that in Jesus, the covenant relationship between God and humanity is restored and that the spiritual effects of Jesus’ saving mission are communicated through the sacraments and life of the Church.
“All He asks of us is that we partner with Him, Jesus Christ, that we participate in the life of grace that He establishes for us, that we find strength and wisdom and compassion in the gift of the sacraments and in the communion of the Church,” the bishop said.
After the homily, the catechumens and candidates, together with their sponsors, publicly professed their desire and readiness to enter the Church. Their sponsors testified to the candidates’ sincerity as they requested to receive the sacraments of initiation. Candidates and catechumens were then instructed to write their names in a book laid out before the sanctuary, a symbolic gesture hearkening back to the words of Revelation and Philippians that describes the faithful as those whose names are written in the heavenly book of life.
These men and women seeking full communion with the Church came from a variety of parishes throughout the state. Each had their own unique story surrounding their conversion. Some, such as Tom Glazier, asserted that their conversion was born out of a desire to deepen their relationship with God.
“I always believed in God, but I didn’t know what to do with that,” Glazier said. As he began to explore various topics connected with theology, he began to attend Mass at St. Brendan Parish in East Providence in late 2023, and became convinced of the truths of Catholicism.
Others had a similar but more complex set of experiences. Such was the case with Seth Russell. Russell, who grew up in a nominal Protestant family, stopped attending church at a young age. Around that time, he started taking an interest in politics, but eventually became disillusioned by the inability of political discourse to address some of life’s deepest questions.
“It kind of went nowhere for me. I [eventually] got more into philosophical arguments, and topics of morality,” Russell noted that in his study of philosophy, he began to examine arguments for the existence of God, in particular Catholic philosopher and apologist Dr. Edward Feser. This eventually led him to study theology and apologetics, looking deeply at the various arguments for the historicity of the Resurrection. The teachings of the Church Fathers convinced him of the truths of Catholicism.
Russell’s girlfriend, Brittany Miranda, had a very different story.
“I was baptized Catholic, but my family, growing up, never really was practicing,” Miranda said. She said that her interest in religion was sparked by her interest in art. Seeing the beauty of Christian art, Miranda began to study the larger cultural and historical backdrop to this art, and eventually became enthralled by the beauty of Catholicism. This was only solidified when she began to read various theological and apologetic works in defense of the Catholic faith, most notably, the Church Fathers.
These and similar testimonies demonstrate the ability of divine grace to draw humanity closer to God, as each Catholic is called to do so through the Lenten observance, committing themselves to increased holiness. Witnessing these spiritual brothers and sisters convert or return to the Church serves as a source of encouragement during this Lenten season.
