Lent has begun - the time of enlightenment and purification for those preparing to enter the Church.

On the First Sunday in Lent, February 18, 2018, our three RCIA candidates travelled to the Cathedral of Fort Wayne to be received by the bishop, Kevin Rhoades. Our candidates for the sacraments of confirmation and Eucharist are Brenda Lehman, John Lehman and Christopher Harrington. They are seen here with their sponsors Frank Swenson, Rose Nelson and Laura Harrington, as well as our RCIA coordinator Jan Swenson.

The ritual is called the Rite of Election, because through this ceremony the bishop expresses his approval of the sacraments we will celebrate in the local parish. It is also called the Rite of Enrollment, because the candidates' names are entered into a record book. The ritual is part of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) by which adults are received into the Roman Catholic Church.

Over 125 candidates for reception from more than 20 parishes gathered at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for the ceremony, which was also attended by many sponsors, catechists, clergy and other faithful. The same ceremony is repeated in South Bend, because the cathedral cannot accomodate all at once the many hundreds of adults who become Catholic each year in our diocese. (Here is the article in Today's Catholic)

Chris, John and Brenda will be received into the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil on the night between March 31 and April 1, 2018. The Easter Vigil is the most important Mass of the year. The candidates (who are already baptized) are received through the reception of the holy sacraments of confirmation and the Eucharist. Please keep them in your prayers.

My daughters and I were blessed to be given the opportunity to participate in the March for Life on Washington D.C. 2018. Thanks to the Knights of Columbus for offering us a partial scholarship to cover the cost of the trip.
 
My daughters Katherine and Sarah took the initiative to get us to attend, and I was thrilled to be along. My girls had been asking me for months to go on this trip. I wasn't sure we could go and hadn't heard much about it so I didn't plan anything very far in advance. Once I decided to try to get us on a bus, I called Stan Fisher from the K of C and he directed me to a K of C bus in Indianapolis with 4 empty seats left.
 
We drove down to Indianapolis and boarded the nice, large travel bus arranged by the Knights. We were thankful that the trip was so well planned. We slept on the bus, then departed for breakfast with a little time to tour the various monuments in D.C. before checking in at our hotel.

The next morning, we rode the same bus to the march itself and collected our lunches and signs – prepared as well by the Knights of Columbus, who had gathered from all over the USA. The turn-out was enormous. The Knights led us to our positions and we listened to the National Right to Life Committee president give a brief, moving speech.
 
Then we began our one-mile march next to all the other pro-life marchers. One group said the rosary, another sang hymns. We passed a few bands who played uplifting songs. Before we knew it we had completed the march. The whole trip went so smoothly from the beautiful weather to the wonderful people.
 
Sarah said she wants to go next year already; but the next time she would like to go with the youth group so she can participate in the rally at the stadium.
 
If you would like any of the prayers or literature we prayed and handed out, ask Father Bob and we will get you a copy.
 
God Bless,
Shannon, Katherine, and Sarah Schlosser