Lenten instructions • Rite of Election • Diocese of Trenton annual financial report

DURING THE DAYS AND WEEKS OF PENANCE THAT LIE AHEAD — from Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22, until Holy Thursday, April 6 — the Catholic Church throughout the world commemorates the penitential season of Lent ending with the Sacred Triduum of Holy Week. The model Jesus gave us for “these 40 days” was his own experience in the desert and the temptations that followed him there where he encountered Satan face to face. And yet, Jesus, there in the desert — alone, fasting and in intense prayer — beat back the devil and triumphed over temptation, as strong and as unrelenting as it was throughout those 40 days.

We enter the desert of Lent like Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit, to face our devils, our temptations head on. But we are not alone. The Lord Jesus Christ is with us. And so, too, is the Church, the entire community of faith observing Lent. HERE is what the Catholic Church in the United States requires of us as baptized Catholics.

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THE RITE OF ELECTION, AN ANCIENT CEREMONY OF PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE for those women and men journeying toward full initiation in the Catholic Church, will be celebrated at 3 p.m. Feb. 26, in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, 61 Georgia Rd., Freehold, with Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., presiding.

The Rite of Election, a rite celebrated before sponsors, family, godparents, and the broader community of believers, is held on the First Sunday of Lent. It marks an important milestone for those adults, known as catechumens, who wish to receive the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist at the Easter Vigil, which this year is April 8. This year, there are 102 catechumens in the Diocese of Trenton.

The Rite of Election is traced to the Christian practice for those preparing to be initiated into the Church to declare their intention at the start of the Lenten season. The “Election” refers to the covenant by God with his chosen people of Israel. The rite is the beginning of the final phase of preparation for those participating in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, the process through which adults enter the Catholic Church.

Read more about the Rite of Election in the Diocese of Trenton HERE.
 

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EACH YEAR, THE DIOCESE OF TRENTON UNDERGOES AN AUDIT of
its financial statements by an independent public accounting firm.

The financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, were audited by WIPFLI LLP. The 2022 audit report included an opinion that the financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, are fairly presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.

Read the full report HERE.