HOMILY FOR THE RITE OF ELECTION OF CATECHUMENS AND CANDIDATES
ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL, SYDNEY, 22 FEBRUARY 2026
“Always check the terms and conditions.” It’s sage advice that hardly anyone follows. Our world is riddled with fine print, endless scrolls of legalese that, if you are anything like me, get accepted without a second glance every time we download an app, sign up for a streaming service, or enjoy free Wi-Fi. We race to tap those all-important words: “Agree.”
Some might think this irresponsible. But perhaps we do it out of necessity. Back in 2008, a study found that the average adult would need about 244 hours per year just to read the privacy policies of everything they accept;[1] add the non-privacy stuff we consent to as well, and multiply the number of apps and deals we consent to these days, and I suspect we would now need to spend more than 500 hours (or 20 days) per year! In reality this means clicking ‘accept’ is just hoping everything is OK and that we aren’t consenting to anything criminal or troubling. Those making the contracts with us know that full well.
“What about the Christian life?” I hear our catechumens and candidates wondering, “What are its Ts and Cs?” There’s both good news and challenging news on that front. You’ve read the Catechism or at least the Compendium already. You hear the preaching at Mass and you’ve been catechised in the RCIA. You’ve had the witness of some faithful people to imitate. You already have a pretty good idea what is expected of Christians.
So, the good news is that it won’t take you 500 hours to get through all the Ts & Cs before you press ‘Accept’ today. The challenging news is that it will instead take you a lifetime to live those Ts and Cs. Jesus isn’t one to fudge this. He told His would-be followers what kind of self-sacrifice His kind of life requires. Interested in the comfortable life? Well, here’s the cross instead: take that up if you want to follow me, He says (Mt 16:24).[2] Ready for mediocrity? Well, I’m asking heroic virtue of you. I want you to live a principled life in a culture of relativism, to live the commandments, beatitudes and parables. To give and forgive, worship and pray, lead and serve. Put simply: to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). It’s not fine print hidden on page 200, it’s there on page one in bold!
But for the last six years in a row, year by year, more and more people have been saying Accept at the Rite of Election here in Sydney. Our 338 catechumens awaiting baptism represent a 35% increase in just one year; our 119 candidates for full communion, a 95% increase! That’s not just happening here in Sydney, but in many parts of the world right now, as more and more people say their Yes to God. There are many other signs of this, even if there are contrary declines at the same time. Each of you today, having examined the terms and conditions, is about to say “I’m in”—even if some of this Christian thing is pretty demanding.
Why on earth would you press ‘Accept’ in this day and age? When I asked one of you why you’d would want to become a Christian this Easter, you told me you were lost and you knew it. You didn’t know what you believed or wanted out of life. You lacked direction, purpose, hope. You told a girlfriend, who suggested you come to Mass with her that Sunday. “What? You mean, like, Catholic Mass?” you responded incredulously. “Sure, what have you got to lose?” And you came here to Mass.
“It was soooooo beautiful!” you said to me. The cathedral, the community, the music, the mystery, the message. “I’ve been going to Mass every Sunday since,” you said, “and now I want to be baptised.” The intellectual and spiritual conversion came later. What drew you in at first was a hunger for beauty and a friend’s encouragement. What drove you in was a culture not providing you with the answers, inspiration, happiness you craved. It was God’s grace giving you the courage to step towards Him. There are thousands, millions like you, each with their own story.
In our Gospel today (Mt 4:1-11) the newly baptised Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness for forty days of trials. Aware of Christ’s humanity, Satan focuses on common human weaknesses: the lures of material comfort—Jesus is tempted to turn stones into bread; the lure of power—He is offered kingship over the world; the lure of despair—He is provoked to throw Himself from the Temple roof. In other words, the Devil focuses on our ordinary human appetites: for sex, money, freedom; for admiration, revenge, control; for influence, comfort, security. Each is his trick to keep you from fulfilling God’s will and your own best instincts. He offers you the answers of this world, the satisfactions of the culture, but you know that these leave you empty, fatigued, dissatisfied.
At its core sin is rebellion against God: my will over His. We heard that struggle powerfully narrated in our first reading today (Gen 2:7-9; 3:1-7). Formed from the earth of God’s creation and animated by the breath of God’s own Spirit, our first parents enjoyed abundance in a garden paradise. Yet enough is never enough. The culture whispers that we can be gods, that we can decide for ourselves what is right and wrong, or that, frankly, it doesn’t matter.
How do we guard against such temptations in the garden of this world or in the desert of our trials? How do we overcome those forces both external and internal that would lead us away from God’s will? Jesus offers us a template. As God, He could simply have vanquished the Adversary, but He endured the trials so we might hear His answers and defeat sin ourselves. He fasted. He prayed. He reverberated the Word of God. “Man does not live on bread alone… You must not put the Lord your God to the test… You must worship the Lord your God and serve him alone.”
My dear friends, this is our Lenten blueprint. Forty days of penance with Christ in the desert reminds us to master our appetites rather than be their slaves. Forty days of prayer with Christ allows us to reframe our lives, so we rely on God’s strength more than our own. Forty days of charitable works with Christ will recast our hearts for love and communion rather than selfishness and domination. Forty days of studying God’s Word with Christ will shape our thinking so that we “put on the mind of Christ” (Phil 2:5). To be sure, such practices are counter-cultural today. Our newcomers to the Church know that only too well. But Christian faith must sometimes go against the grain. It’s costly. But its reward is eternal life.
And here’s the clause at the heart of the contract: where sin abounds, grace abounds the more (Rom 5:20), for love is stronger than death (Song 8:6), Christ has come that you might have life, life to the full (Jn 10:10). Now each of you is invited to carry forth this great gift to others; to give witness to Christ’s transformation, mercy, healing power in your life.
Now dear catechumens and candidates, you’ve read the terms and conditions, you’ve counted the cost, and you are ready to tick ‘Accept’. In return today, Christ and His Church say ‘Accept’ to you!
Words of Thanks After Rite of Election
Dear catechumens and candidates: my congratulations to you on reaching, by God’s grace, another milestone in your spiritual journey! I pray that your current zeal for Christ and His Church flourishes in the years to come, and that you become the face of Christ to others, sharing the Good News with others yourselves.
I thank Simon Yeak and the archdiocesan and local RCIA teams, our pastors and catechists, godparents and sponsors, relatives and friends—all those who have influenced you or accompanied you to this day or will do so in the years ahead.
Welcome to the Catholic Church! God bless you at Easter.
[1] Aleecia McDonald and Lorrie Cranor, “The cost of reading privacy policies,” https://lorrie.cranor.org/pubs/ readingPolicyCost-authorDraft.pdf
[2] Also Mt 10:38; Mk 8:34-38; Lk 9:23; 14:27. Cf. Lk 9:57-62; Gal 2:20; 6:14; Rom 12:1.
INTRODUCTION TO THE RITE OF ELECTION OF CATECHUMENS AND CANDIDATES
ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL, SYDNEY, 22 FEBRUARY 2026
Welcome to St Mary’s Cathedral as we begin the Lenten season of spiritual preparation for the life-giving mysteries of Easter.
Today is a cause for great celebration for the entire Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, for all involved in the R.C.I.A.: especially for our 338 catechumens who offer themselves for Baptism and are elected by us; and also for our 119 candidates who seek full communion with the Church and are validated by us as ready. Your presence is a profound sign of the growth and vitality in our local Church and proof that the Holy Spirit is alive and active in our city.
Along with you all I welcome your godparents and sponsors, priests and catechists, relatives and friends, all those who have influenced your journey of faith. I salute our 222 or so catechists, accompanying you in the RCIA: your service to God’s Church is a great blessing.
It’s often said that parishes without catechumens don’t fully experience Lent and Easter. Well, bishops without catechumens don’t fully experience episcopacy either—for in the ancient tradition bishops played an important part in instructing those preparing for Baptism at Easter. Most of what we know about the early catechumenate is in fact from those instructions to catechumens that have survived to this day. So, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to be part of your Rite of Election today. And with me, all the members of Christ’s body the Church walk with you in joy on your Lenten progress into God’s family. A very warm welcome to you all!
