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On Saturday 21 February, at two celebrations over the course of the day, over 250 Catechumens preparing for baptism and Candidates preparing for reception into the Church or confirmation this Easter gathered with their godparents and sponsors, friends and families at Arundel Cathedral for the Rite of Election. This annual liturgy, celebrated on the first weekend of Lent each year, marks a key moment for those journeying towards full sacramental initiation into the Catholic Church. Canon Jonathan Martin, recently elected as Diocesan Administrator, to lead and serve the Diocese until Pope Leo appoints a new bishop, presided and preached at the Rite of Election.

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Dear friends,

In the life of our diocese, this is one of the most significant moments in our annual calendar: the celebration of the Rite of Election. And exactly what we are doing this afternoon also happened this morning, so you are twice as large a group as you might even imagine, looking around the cathedral. And the Rite of Election is happening in every Catholic cathedral throughout the world on this day or tomorrow, so the numbers are vast.

We've read about these numbers on the blogosphere, in the newspapers. We've heard all sorts of people talking about these statistics, which baffle the secularists. Why should these people want to become Catholics? Why should they be seeking baptism? They cannot get their heads around it. And people speculate about what is driving people towards the Church, and some come up with one idea, and some come up with another idea. But it's not really to do with a matter of ideas, and nor is it really to do with statistics:

You are, each of you, an individual, willed by God, created by God, called by God to be His own. And it is in being His own, and claimed as His own, becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ, that, as human beings, we truly discover the fullness of our dignity.

I want to speak very personally for a moment, and that is to tell you a bit about my own story of faith, because it is very similar to many of yours. I was baptized in my late teens, by my choice, and in my mid-twenties converted and became a Catholic. So I am, like those of you who are seeking reception into the Church, a convert; and like those of you who are choosing baptism for yourselves, one who has done the same thing as you.

All of this happened over 30 years ago — 33 years ago, I think, if my maths is correct, but my maths never was very good. But that doesn't matter. What I want to tell you is that my decision to answer the call of Jesus Christ, to follow Him, to seek baptism, and subsequently to seek full communion with the Catholic Church, has brought me untold joys, increasingly. I'm happier now, 33 years on from my choice to become a Catholic, than I was on the day of my reception, which was a joyful occasion, of course. It took place at Our Lady of Ransom, Eastbourne, if any of you are here from Our Lady of Ransom, Eastbourne. So I always think of that as my Catholic home, really.

You never know where the Lord is going to call you or to what ministry He will call you, but He will be calling you even now. And I promise you that He will always give you whatever you need to do whatever He is asking of you. That is His promise, that the Church proclaims loud and clear. So take courage and draw real strength from this encounter with one another and this moment when you are formally accepted as a candidate or as a catechumen, becoming the Elect of the Church.

This Rite of Election always takes place at the very beginning of Lent. Lent is naturally, as you will know, a season of preparation for Easter, and you are preparing in a very particular way for the celebration of Easter, for the reception of these great sacraments of Christian initiation. Right at the beginning of this season of Lent -- you'll hear it again tomorrow at Mass, and you'll hear it repeatedly throughout the season of Lent, these 40 days -- we hear the words that Jesus quotes to the devil as He Himself is tempted: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

If even now you're wondering what you might do for your last bit of preparation as you get ready for Easter, or if you're thinking, “What shall I do in order to mark the season of Lent?” then take those words: “We do not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Spend time with the Scriptures. Just each day, perhaps through some app — Universalis or Magnificat — sit with the Gospel of the day and allow the Word of God to speak to you. Because there is always something fresh, always something new, often something challenging, often something affirming, but always a personal word that God has for us through the Scriptures for each and every day of our lives.

So 30 years on from the day of my ordination, on this spot, when I open the Scriptures in the morning -- familiar text  -- but there is always something new and always something fresh that the Lord wants to give to us. But the most important thing is that it's through the Word of God that we discover the incarnate Word of God, the person of Jesus Christ. And that is the One — He is the One — whom we need to know.

You are being called not to follow a set of rules, though there are rules; not to follow a booklet of constitutions, though of course there are constitutions. You are being called to follow the person of Jesus Christ. “Follow Me,” says the Lord. “Follow Me.”

So to know the One who is calling you to follow Him, you have to discover Him, and to discover Him anew every single day for the rest of your lives. So spend time with the Scriptures and hear the Lord speaking to you.

When He calls us to follow Him, He is calling us individually and calling us for a purpose. He calls us to be ambassadors, to be missionaries, to be witnesses to Him. And people will ask you, I promise you, people will ask you, “What made you become a Catholic?” Actually, they might say, “What on earth made you become a Catholic? What on earth possessed you to seek baptism?” Then just tell them. If it was that you just felt a kind of stirring in your heart or something moving in your intellect, if it was through the example of someone else or a passage of Scripture that you discovered, just tell them the story. If they are asking you that question, they're not looking for a great theological treatise or a philosophical sort of argument. The most convincing thing for them will be your own personal story. So just be confident and tell them your story.

I said that God never leaves us empty if He calls us to do something particular. So in calling you to discipleship, He will give you everything that you need to be a disciple. And in that discipleship, to be part of the mission to proclaim the Good News, which is essentially the person of Jesus Christ, He will also give you everything that you need. So that wherever you are, in whatever circumstances you find yourselves, you can simply breathe deeply the gift of the Spirit that is to be given to you in the Sacrament of Baptism and Confirmation.

We hear in the first reading about the creation and how God breathed life into the pinnacle of His creation, into you and to me. God continues to pour this gift of life into us so that it is the Spirit Himself who is animating us, guiding us, strengthening us, and even speaking within us. Jesus Himself says, “Do not worry about what you have to say. The Spirit Himself will be active within you.”

So listen to His voice. Do not listen to the hiss of the serpent that will even now perhaps be trying even more to dissuade you from baptism. Cling to your sponsor. Cling to your faith. Hear again every single day the call to follow Jesus Christ, and He will never let you down. Trust Him always.

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Canon Jonathan Martin
Diocesan Administrator

21 February 2026