SAN DIEGO — “It is God’s initiative (that) has brought you here. It is God who has called you by name.”
Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Pulido addressed these words to catechumens and candidates on March 8 at one of six Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion liturgies celebrated that weekend in the San Diego Diocese.
Held during the Lenten season, the rite is a diocesan liturgy where those enrolled in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) process are presented to the bishop and declared ready to receive the sacraments of initiation at their parishes during the Easter Vigil.
Collectively, 77 parishes were represented at the six liturgies, one of which was held March 7 at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Imperial, three on March 8 at Good Shepherd Parish in Mira Mesa, and two more on March 9, also at Good Shepherd.
Along with Bishop Pulido, Auxiliary Bishops Ramon Bejarano and Michael Pham took turns as the presider at this year’s liturgies.
There were 433 adult catechumens, or those who have never been baptized, and 1,020 adult candidates, or baptized Christians who are seeking the sacraments of confirmation and First Holy Communion. There were also 139 children catechumens and candidates. Joined by sponsors and godparents, as well as parish OCIA team members and guests, that brought to more than 4,700 the total number of those in attendance.
This year, the San Diego Diocese exceeded its pre-pandemic numbers of catechumens and candidates.
During the liturgy, the bishop declares the catechumens are no longer catechumens, but “members of the elect, to be initiated into the sacred mysteries” at Easter, and he urges the candidates to “hear the Lord’s call to conversion and be faithful to your baptismal covenant.”
Kevin Perez, a 21-year-old catechumen from St. Margaret Parish in Oceanside, was raised as a Seventh-day Adventist and formerly had been strongly anti-Catholic.
But studying history opened his mind to the possibility that “the story of Christianity is far more grand and broad than just this (Seventh-day Adventist) denomination that started in the 1700s.”
“From there, my very hardened heart towards Catholicism started to melt a little bit,” said Perez, who overcame “the last little bit” of his hardness of heart after visiting a Catholic church “on a whim” three years ago.
Since then, he has found in the Catholic Church “a definitive authority that guides and guards the faith” – something that “these other scattered denominations … really can’t claim.”
In the weeks remaining before the Easter Vigil, he said he is focused on baptism. Having been “dodging” baptism for years, because he didn’t want to receive it while his faith was in “a shaky place,” he said, “Now, I can say that I don’t have any hesitation.”
Lawrence Nesbitt, a 61-year-old candidate from St. Margaret Parish, is “a pastor’s child.”
“I grew up in a very wonderful, beautiful Christian household, and then, I’ve been involved off and on with different churches my whole life,” he said.
After leaving his last church, he embarked on a search for “what I truly believed in.”
“That led me to going back to the early Church and the Apostolic Fathers,” said Nesbitt. “And when I did study that, I found that the true Church established by Jesus Christ was the Catholic Church.”
Having “always loved” Catholics, Nesbitt is “very anxious for this coming Easter, when I can call myself a Catholic and be in full communion with the Catholic Church.”
Nicholas Cruz, a 45-year-old candidate from St. Pius X Parish in Chula Vista, never stopped believing in God, but he “lost touch” with practicing his faith after joining the U.S. Navy.
Reflecting on his experience at the Rite of Election, he said, “It just felt good. It felt right, giving myself up to God.”
“I’m looking forward to the Eucharist, taking the body of Christ,” said Cruz, who has yet to receive his First Communion and confirmation, adding that he also has been curious “what the … wafer tastes like.”
Blanca Comagon, another candidate from St. Pius X Parish, was baptized and has already received her First Communion.
But the 54-year-old said that she later experienced “a big old downfall” and fell away from the Church for a few years. She was inspired to return after having gone through some tough times and feeling that Jesus was calling her back.
“I just came back, and it’s wonderful,” she said. “I came back to Jesus, and it just opens my whole perspective of life.”
“I’m not going to let him (Jesus) go anymore,” she said. “It’s a new beginning for me.”
Comagon said that her 38-year-old son is also a candidate this year.
“It means a lot to me in my spirit. It feels so — I’m over-happy,” she said of being able to share this journey with her son. “It’s hard to describe what I feel.”
Angel Hernandez, 38, was baptized Catholic before his family left the Church for nondenominational Christianity.
“We did the Christian church for a little bit, and then, I guess life happened,” said Hernandez, a candidate at St. Pius X Parish. “So, I kind of just stepped away from the church.”
He “dabbled in churches here and there” since then. But, he said, what he had encountered in those particular faith communities “wasn’t really my thing.”
His wedding, set for this June, provided impetus to take his faith more seriously.
With the Rite of Election, Hernandez feels as if he is “embarking on my journey to live a life closer to God and closer to the Bible.”
“I’ve always looked for that direction, and I feel like I finally have it,” he said. “That’s what this journey, that’s what this meant for me.”
Anton Maroun, a 31-year-old candidate at St. Margaret Parish, is the son of a Jewish mother and Catholic father. His family rarely attended Mass.
“I found myself actually kind of yearning for … the Holy Spirit, something I really couldn’t articulate at the time,” he recalled.
When he was in middle school, he began attending a Protestant church at the invitation of friends. He was baptized there and, for the first time in his life, became a regular churchgoer for a few years before lapsing.
Later, a good friend introduced him to the Catholic Church, where he made other friends.
Maroun met “a really good group of Catholic dudes” and, “through good friendship, they brought me to the Catholic Church.”
“Out of all the churches and all the religions, I feel like the Catholic Church is the Church where you can question the most,” he said, “and there is always an answer to your questions. Whereas other churches, they don’t really want you to question, it seems.”
“I’m really looking forward … to dive deep into the faith and keep discovering new things and learning more about the Church,” he said.
Emelia Johnson, 25, grew up in various Christian denominations, including United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ.
Her fiancé, Nicholas Gorden, accompanied her to the Rite of Election. A cradle Catholic, he had fallen out of the practice of attending Mass regularly during the pandemic. But when he resumed his Mass attendance around the beginning of last year, Johnson accompanied him.
“We lost a very dear family member to us, and we knew that we needed God to help us through it,” she said. “And, when we found God, we also found everybody else in the Church. And I needed that, I needed a community, and it was just a beautiful experience.”
Both Johnson and Gorden immediately felt at home at St. Gregory the Great Parish in Scripps Ranch, where she is a candidate. She said that this felt like “a huge sign from God” that they were “supposed to be here.”
“And it’s been like that ever since,” she said.
In his homily, Bishop Pulido described the Rite of Election as “one of the most powerful manifestations of the Holy Spirit alive and at work in our community” and “a visible sign that women and men, young and old, from all walks of life, are continuing to respond to the Lord’s invitation: ‘Come and follow me.’”
“Remember that you have been touched in a very special way by the power of the Spirit,” the bishop told the catechumens and candidates. “You are making this journey not just on your own, but because God has touched your heart.”
Bishop Pulido recounted the origins of the Christian hymn “Amazing Grace,” which was written by John Newton, a former slave trader in the 18th century who experienced a profound conversion.
“To you who are about to be baptized at this upcoming Easter Vigil, your life and your spirit will be transformed forever. … Candidates for full communion, you will receive the Holy Eucharist, who will sustain you in times of trials and difficulties, and be confirmed in the life of the Church.”
Bishop Pham began his homily by recalling the 2002 film “Spider-Man.”
Reminding the congregation of the eponymous superhero’s credo — “With great power comes great responsibility” — the bishop told the catechumens and candidates that they, too, had received power.
“We have been given power: the power to choose, the power to make decisions,” he said. “That is free will that God has given to us, the power to choose what’s right and what’s wrong.”
With that power, he said, comes the responsibility “to choose the right thing.”
Referring to the Gospel reading for the day, the account of Jesus’ temptation in the desert just prior to the beginning of his public ministry, Bishop Pham noted how Jesus quotes Scripture in response to the devil’s temptations.
“He used the Word of God as the power to overcome temptations, and that is the lesson for all of us,” he said. “We have been given that power.”
Bishop Pham added that, in the Catholic Church, we also have access to the sacraments as “a vehicle to help us endure on the journey.”
In his own homily, Bishop Bejarano reflected on the value of Lenten disciplines and the fact that God’s assistance is always available in moments of temptation.
The bishop compared Lenten discipline to boxing training, which he took in the past.
“I’m a terrible boxer, so please don’t challenge me after the service to prove it, okay?” he joked.
More seriously, he said, “The discipline of Lent is precisely a training for the spiritual life. Fasting like Jesus did (prior to his temptation) helps us to control our pleasure and desires.”
The Gospel account, he said, also shows us that “we don’t have to face temptations alone.”
“Jesus did not go alone into the desert. The Spirit led Jesus into the desert, but then didn’t say, ‘Okay, Jesus, goodbye. … I’m leaving you.’ No, the Spirit remained with Jesus in the desert.”
And the same is true for us, he said.
“The Holy Spirit that each one of us receives at our baptism and confirmation will remain always in each one of us,” he said. “Jesus and the Holy Spirit will never leave us … They are always there to help us to be on guard when temptation comes.”
“This journey that all of you are taking as catechumens and candidates, this Lenten desert, is going to strengthen the faith in you,” Bishop Bejarano said.
“These 40 days are going to be, for all of you, a more intense training, so that you may always hope in Christ,” he said. “I know that your hope in Christ will never disappoint you.”
