A call to conversion

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This week, the church enters the Season of Lent, a time of solemn preparation for the celebration of Easter.

As the faithful everywhere begin prayer and fasting, others will be preparing to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ as full members of the Catholic Church for the first time. These individuals are preparing to take their final step into full communion with the church through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults.

The RCIA is marked by several stages and steps by which converts are instructed in the faith and welcomed into the church community. The rite was restored in 1988 at the Second Vatican Council. The bishops also decided to reinstitute the term "catechumenate," which finds its roots in an ancient Greek term meaning "to echo anew." Therefore, the church refers to the unbaptized as catechumens. Those baptized but not yet fully initiated into the church are called candidates.

Catechumens and candidates navigate the steps to full communion with the church under the guidance of the RCIA team, which is composed of trained leaders who share and teach the Catholic faith. The first stage is the inquiry period when adults explore their relationships, perceptions and questions about God and community. The second stage is the catechumenate. During this stage, the catechumens and candidates are immersed in Scripture and the church's rich tradition. They learn the practices of the faith and examine different forms of prayer.

This Sunday, Feb. 25, marks the beginning of the third stage of the adults' journey. The catechumens and candidates will gather at 3 p.m. in the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul for the Rite of Election, to be celebrated by Bishop Thomas J Tobin. The ceremony will mark the group's final period of preparation. The catechumens will write their names in the Book of the Elect as a symbol of their choice to prepare to receive the sacraments at Easter. Also during the celebration, candidates will participate in the Rite of the Call to Continuing Conversion.

Colleen Corproam, of St. Paul Parish, Cranston, will be among the catechumens gathered at this year's Rite of Election. Colleen attended Mass as a child with her neighbor but never participated in the sacraments. After witnessing her son Gabriel receiving his first sacraments, she decided to join him as he prepared for confirmation. Mother and son are now preparing together to be fully welcomed into the church.

Gabriel attends his CCD classes on the same night in which his mother attends RCIA meetings. "We talk in the car on the way home." she said. "I ask him to tell me what he's learned because we're both at different places."

Colleen will receive confirmation before her son and she hopes to be his sponsor as he prepares to become an adult in the church.

She is excited to be welcomed into the faith. "It's really feeling that sense of community. I never, quite frankly, felt it before," she said. "Now I understand that we're a network for each other."

Husband and wife, Bill and Gilda Brown of St. Rocco's in Johnston will be joining Colleen at the celebration. Bill is a catechumen and Gilda is a candidate preparing to receive confirmation. The couple is making the journey together.

"Years ago I tried to get him to go to church with me," said Gilda. "That's one of the reasons I fell away from the church."

Now they have decided to make the commitment together. "I can tell that the classes have helped us communicate. It's been a good experience," said Bill. "I've finally made the step to become Catholic after 30-something years."

Gilda grew up Catholic, but never settled into one faith denomination. She is excited to return to the church and receive the Sacraments. "I like the commitment in the Catholic faith," she said.

The couple appreciates the guidance they have received from their RCIA coordinator Passionist Sister Rose Alfieri. "She's taught us a lot. She goes over the details and makes sure we understand everything," said Gilda.

"Sister Rose is great," added Bill. "She's accommodated us to the fullest." The couple attends class every Thursday night at St. Rocco's.

Colleen is similarly grateful for the instruction of her coordinator, Notre Dame Sister Mary Ann Rossi. "It's more than I expected as far as the content we're learning," she said. "It's your own individual process."

The elect and candidates will prepare for the reception of the Sacraments of Initiation (baptism, Eucharist and confirmation) according to their need. They will receive these Sacraments in their parish communities at the Easter Vigil Celebration. During Lent, they prepare for the Sacraments by acts of charity, fasting, prayer, and reflection. The community prays for the elect and candidates; they support all those preparing for the Sacraments so that they can be received fully into the church at Easter.

This is the first of a three-part series.

(This article originally appeared in The Providence Visitor)