On the day after Lent began on Ash Wednesday, Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory celebrated a Mass for students and staff members in the Catholic community at American University and talked about the journey of faith that people take during the Lenten season. Following Mass, the cardinal answered a variety of questions from the congregants.
Among the celebrations during the Lenten season are the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion, for those looking to convert to Catholicism or those who are baptized and wish to receive any missing Sacraments of Initiation. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is a program for those interested in becoming full members of the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil.
Entering the Church was a theme in Cardinal Gregory’s homily, as he compared joining the Catholic Church to applying for college.
“You had to tell the university that you were serious about being a student in this community,” Cardinal Gregory said at the March 3 Mass. “And you had to tell them in so many ways, and demonstrate in so many different ways that you were worthy to be a member of this academic community, and then you received that wonderful notice that you had been accepted.”
Although applying to college and joining the Catholic Church both require a process to join, Cardinal Gregory said the Church does not reject anyone.
Students interviewed afterward responded positively to Cardinal Gregory’s message to them, and they said his homily was relatable and insightful.
Julia Hoover, a sophomore studying literature philosophy at American University, sang during the Mass with the music ministry.
“It was a great homily, I appreciated how he came out and talked to us, he was very colloquial and was trying to relate to us,” Hoover said. “I think it’s true, we have to give everything for the Lord.”
After Mass, the dinner portion of the evening included several speakers from the university’s AU Catholic campus ministry program.
The testimonials and remarks were followed by Cardinal Gregory answering questions from the audience. During his Q&A, the cardinal discussed living out one’s vocation, his experience as a cardinal, and how the students can navigate their Catholicism after graduation.
One student asked the cardinal how he felt about the issue of denying Communion to people.
“No,” Cardinal Gregory said, before referencing a remark by Pope Francis in 2021. “Francis said, ‘I have never refused Communion to anyone.”
The cardinal’s response followed a recent division among U.S. Catholic bishops as to whether President Joseph Biden, who is Catholic, should receive the sacrament while also supporting legal access to abortion.
“Now, it means that we have to challenge people to make sure they receive Communion worthily, but I’m not a policeman at the Communion station. I’m a pastor sharing the body of Christ, hoping that those who come to receive the body of Christ will, in fact, become the body of Christ,” Cardinal Gregory said.
