Rite of Welcome - Part 1

Today we had a Rite of Welcome and a little mini-retreat. There were eight of us there who will be received into the Church at the end of November. It was a really neat thing. We got there and they gave us a very brief overview of what would happen in Mass, basically when we would go up to the front and that we would have to tell everyone our names. So then we went over to the church and sat in the first two rows. We went through the Liturgy of the Word part like normal. Then after the homily, they called us and our sponsors to stand up at the front. They welcomed us and had us say our names as a sign of our desire to continue deciding if we want to be received into the Church. Then the congregation as asked if they would support us on our journey, and of course responded that they would. Then we turned and faced our sponsors and as the priest read, our sponsors made the sign of the cross over out senses, our heads, ears, eyes, mouths, heart, hands, and feet. Then they gave us crucifix necklaces to wear. Then Mass continued on as normal.

We talked about it afterwards while we were eating breakfast. I said that for me, it played a big part in making this all very real. I'm almost there! We have hit the home stretch. And it is getting more and more exciting by the day! Only 28 days to go!