From our Pastor’s Desk

Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily at the two Rite of Election ceremonies that took place on March 9, 2025, at St. Mary Cathedral. The Rite of Election marks the start of the most profound period of preparation for those who will receive the sacraments of initiation—Baptism, Confirmation, and Communion—into the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil.

Today’s Gospel tells of Jesus’ own temptation in the desert, where he fasted and prayed for forty days.

Because he was truly human, like us, Jesus was tempted; but unlike us, he didn’t sin. However, it is precisely because he shared in our struggle with temptations that we can share in his victory over sin, death, and the devil. And this is what Baptism promises us—for if the wages of sin is death, in Baptism, we die with Christ to sin, so that, freed from the snares of Satan, we can rise with him to new life.

Jesus, being human like us, was tempted—but he did not sin. And through Baptism, by dying with Christ and rising with him in the baptismal waters, he forgives our sins and gives us new life. Baptism is a gift because it makes us friends of God—but this friendship implies a “yes” to the friend and a “no” to everything that is incompatible with this friendship. It implies a “metanoia,” that is, a conversion of life—a “yes” that we are called to live for our entire lives.

Well, today, you are enrolled in the number of the elect, those chosen to become friends of Christ. With your enrollment in the Book of the Elect, you are saying that you want to be saints.

Baptism is a gift—the gift of life, everlasting life. But as a gift, it must be accepted, it must be lived. You may remember that old New Orleans jazz anthem:

Oh when the saints, Oh when the saints go marching in, Oh when the saints go marching in, Oh I want to be in that number When the saints go marching in.

Well, today, you are enrolled in that number—the number of the elect, those chosen to become saints in Christ. By your enrollment in the Book of the Elect, you are saying that you want to be holy.

The word “saint” simply means a “holy one.” In Haitian Creole, the language in which I preached every day for almost twenty years, “saint” is translated as Zanmi Bondye—a friend of God. This is a beautiful and, I might add, a most appropriate translation because the saints are friends of God—and only one who is holy can claim to be a friend of God.

And that is what Baptism makes of us—friends of God, reconciled to Him through the suffering, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, in whom we are baptized and through whom, and through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, we enter into the holiness of God.

To accept a gift of friendship implies a “yes” to the friend and a “no” to all that is incompatible with this friendship, to all that is incompatible with the life of God’s family, with true life in Christ. This is what is implied in the word metanoia, or conversion.

Conversion means a turning to and a turning from—a turning to the Lord and a turning from sin. But this does not end with Baptism; as Catholics, we believe that conversion is our life’s work. Our earthly pilgrimage must always be lived as a continuous turning to the Lord, and therefore, a continuous turning away from sin. In the desert, Jesus says “no” to Satan and to his false promises of power, pleasure, and vain riches. And, of course, before you make that profession of faith on Holy Saturday evening, you will be asked to renounce Satan and all his works and all his empty promises. In the desert, Jesus says “no” to Satan and to his false promises of power, pleasure, and wealth. And before you make your profession of faith on Holy Saturday night, you will be asked to renounce Satan and all his works and all his empty promises.

For you, catechumens, Lent is a time of final preparations for that day—the day of your rebirth in Christ. Lent for you must resemble in some way the desert experience of Jesus. As Jesus prayed and fasted for 40 days, Lent must also be, for us, a time of prayer and fasting so that when Holy Saturday comes, you will be ready to have your sins forgiven in the waters of Baptism. By your fasting and mortifications, you will learn—as all of us must learn—to say “no” to ourselves and to the sinful inclinations of our fallen human nature so that we might be more ready to say “yes” to God.

As the day of Baptism draws nearer—the day in which your conversion, your turning to God and turning away from sin, is solemnized in the Rites of Christian Initiation—remain steadfast in prayer and know that your Catholic brothers and sisters are praying for you and awaiting with great joy your entry into the Church.

Remember the words spoken over and over again in the Scriptures and repeated to us so often by Pope St. John Paul II: Be not afraid. Don’t be afraid to walk through life as a friend of God.

Remain firm in prayer and in various Lenten practices so that you may say “yes” to God and journey through this life as friends of Christ and members of His Catholic Church. Do not be afraid to live according to the Good News of Jesus.

Oh when the saints, Oh when the saints go marching in, Oh when the saints go marching in, Oh I want to be in that number When the saints go marching in.

The Archdiocese of Miami
Archbishop Thomas Wenski