The “second step” is titled “Election or Enrollment of Names.” Eleven numbered sections (118-128) give the background on this liturgy, the entrance of the catechumens into their Lenten experience.
The first section reads:
118. The second step in Christian initiation is the liturgical rite called both election and the enrollment of names, which closes the period of the catechumenate proper, that is, the lengthy period of formation of the catechumens’ minds and hearts. The celebration of the rite of election, which usually coincides with the opening of Lent, also marks the beginning of the period of final, more intense preparationfor the sacraments of initiation, during which the elect will be encouraged to follow Christ with greater generosity.
This rite involves an enrollment of names, an act that in times of persecution was a potentially fatal act that tied particular people with a particularly unfavorable religious movement.
I’ve known a few unfortunate circumstances in which people celebrated election, only not to be initiated at the end of Lent because of an unresolved canonical issue. Needless to say, election is seem as the point of commitment for both the Church and the newcomer. Keep in mind also that baptized Christians are already members of the “elect.” This rite is not for non-Catholic Christians.
25 January 2010 at 7:55 am
[...] of catechetical age. For the basic principles and discussion, the Rite of Election is covered in RCIA 118 and through to section [...]