Christ calls, Asians respond

William Grimm

Let catechumens lead you to Easter

Baptism is the sacrament by which we are united with the crucified and risen Lord and so the ancient custom is to celebrate that mystery at the Easter Vigil with the baptism of adults.

Baptisms at other occasions later became common, but the Church’s return to more ancient insights and liturgies since Vatican 2 is bringing us a restoration of the ancient practice.

Lent is the season when catechumens prepare for the Sacraments of Initiation and the Church prepares to welcome them.

UCA News will mark Lent with a special series of profiles of men and women throughout Asia who look forward to being baptized at Easter this year.

In a part of the world where the Christian community is a frequently misunderstood minority, these catechumens have responded to Christ’s call to move into a new way of life that will involve many breaks with their personal, societal, and cultural past.

How has that invitation from Christ come? Why have they agreed to become his disciples? What does their example teach us who are already baptized? How are they likely to make the Catholic Church increasingly catholic, not merely Western?

We invite you to join us in hearing their stories. May those stories be a source of reflection and renewal for all of us who celebrate the new life promised us in Christ’s resurrection.