The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – January 25, 2026
There is one more ritual you might want to consider celebrating before Ash Wednesday, either today or next Sunday. That is the optional Rite of Sending Catechumens for Election.
The Rite of Election is “the focal point of the Church’s concern for the catechumens” (OCIA 107) because it is the turning point in their journey toward baptism. Taking place at the beginning of Lent, Election is usually celebrated by the bishop at the cathedral. The United States’ optional Rite of Sending allows the local parish the opportunity to give public testimony and prayerful support for their catechumens whom they desire to send for Election.
Through ritual, word, and action, these new catechumens who seek the Lord with us will be nourished by the living Word of God for the next full liturgical year as they taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
In the Rite of Sending, the godparents affirm the readiness of their companions through a series of questions to which they respond publicly. These questions as well as the godparents’ responses can be adapted so that the presider invites them to speak from the heart using their own words. For example, instead of simply responding with “They have” to the question of “Have they given evidence of their conversion?” it is so much more powerful to hear something like this: “Alice, as the godparent to Mary, please tell us how you have seen the Holy Spirit changing her heart and how she has responded.” If it’s possible, you could even invite other prepared parishioners to add their own testimonies.
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