In the Rite of Welcome , participants ask to be formally enrolled into the Catechumenate . The word comes from a Greek term meaning to teach by word of mouth . During the Catechumenate phase, candidates for the sacraments attend Mass regularly with the community, share discussion on the Sunday scriptures and continue to learn and reflect on Catholic belief. They participate in the parish s ministry and its social life. On the first Sunday of lent, the Catechumenate ends, and the Rite of Election is celebrated.
Election refers to choice and call.
When we elect someone to office, we choose that person and call him or her to service of the community. Similarly, the Church calls the members of the Catechumenate to the Easter sacraments, affirming that God has called them to a deeper relationship which they will live out as Catholic Christians. Lent, the forty days before Easter, is a special time in the Catholic Church. It focuses on nurturing our spirituality, our relationship with God and the community. We are called to examine our lives to see what is standing in the way of living a full Christian life.