CV NEWS FEED // The Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS) has announced that thirteen U.S. military personnel from the Washington, D.C. area have just undergone the Rite of Election.
According to an AMS press release, thirteen catechumens celebrated the Rite of Election on the first Sunday of Lent in Washington, D.C. The celebration took place at the Edwin Cardinal O’Brien Pastoral Center, which is the global headquarters of the Archdiocese.
Included among the catechumens are members “of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps based at four U.S. Military installations throughout greater Washington, including Fort Belvoir, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, the U.S. Naval Academy, and U.S. Marine Corps Base Quantico,” according to the release.
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who prayed over the catechumens, called the Election Rite “the solemn beginning of the final stretch to the fullness of Christian initiation in the Easter sacraments.”
He continued:
What helps us stay on course? With eyes and hearts fixed on the destination, the analogy to Jesus’ 40 days in the desert, before beginning his public ministry, is clear: the whole of Lent invites us to reflect on the immense gift of baptism—you, the catechumens, your re-birth into eternal life, and your adoption by a loving Father who calls you to walk in the newness of life through a continued process of conversion.
Broglio encouraged the catechumens to approach Lent as soldiers, armed with “the spiritual weapons of Lent,” stating that “our prayer, self-denial, and works of charity make us more faithful to God’s word in imitation of what Jesus did in the desert.”
One catechumen, Capt. Sean Anderson Harper (USMC) shared that though he had grown up Catholic, his experiences overseas led him to the Church. “I was never baptized and confirmed in the Church, and through my experiences, especially overseas, it was just kind of a journey of faith for me […] ultimately I decided that this was right.”
The thirteen catechumens are preparing to receive the sacraments of initiation at Easter.
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