Called by name

The Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Next Sunday, catechumens around the world who have been deemed ready for initiation will be sent to their local cathedral to give their names to their bishop and thus be chosen for baptism this coming Easter. The Catechism says, “God calls each one by name. Everyone’s name is sacred. The name is the icon of the person. It demands respect as a sign of the dignity of the one who bears it” (#2158).

At the Easter Vigil, revere the names of your elect by including their names in the Litany of Saints (see Roman Missal, The Easter Vigil, #43). If their name is a saint name or if they have chosen a patron saint, include it in the saints section. If their name is not a saint name, include it at the intercession that begins, “Bring these chosen ones to new birth….” For example, “Bring N., N., N., N., and N., your chosen ones to new birth….”

At the Easter Vigil, revere the names of your elect by including their names in the Litany of Saints. If their name is a saint name or if they have chosen a patron saint, include it in the saints section. Share on X

Honor their name again at Communion, which is the “climax of their initiation and the center of the whole Christian life” (RCIA #243). The Roman Missal (The Easter Vigil, #64) and the RCIA (#243) direct the priest, before he says, “Behold, the Lamb of God…,” to say a few words to the newly baptized “about receiving their first Communion and about the excellence of this great mystery.”

This post was first published in “GIA Quarterly: A Liturgical Music Journal.”

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Image credit: Karolina Szczur, unsplash, CC0.