Brief Book Review: Journal for the Elect & Neophytes

By Daniella Zsupan-Jerome, September 3, 2025

Journal for the Elect and Neophytes by Catherine Ecker
by Catherine Ecker

Who’s it for?

This journal is primarily a spiritual formation resource for the elect moving though adult initiation. It invites prayerful reflection around key liturgical moments, symbols and readings from Ash Wednesday through Pentecost. It offers an opportunity for those newly experiencing this season through adult faith formation to approach the liturgies therein with great intention.

Who should read this?

While the journal is intended for the elect, it is has the potential to be robust devotional resource for anyone seeking to experience more deeply the seasons of Lent and Easter. Many Lenten devotionals are scripture based or thematic; this journal rounds this out with inviting reflection around both the scriptural themes but also rites and symbols. Primarily structured for individual reflection, the completed resource can become a prayer journal for anyone looking for this format for spiritual growth.

Kudos.

The format and the purpose of this resource takes seriously the inner spiritual growth of those in adult faith formation, whether experiencing the rites of initiation or for ongoing growth. It assumes that the adult learner comes with meaningful questions, capacity for depth and solid motivation to work on his or her journey of faith. This reviewer appreciates the way this approach dignifies and elevates adult faith formation in this vein, with distinctly more mature approach. While the language and prompts are not overly complicated, the maturity in approach emerges from the assumption that the adult learner has significant agency in their growth of faith, and will claim that agency with the support of a resource like this.

Suggestions.

As noted above, this reviewer appreciates the high bar this resource sets for the potential of the adult learner in pursuing their journey of faith. One suggestion that emerges around this is the social aspect of adult learning: that adult learning also thrives in conversation and community. While this journal certainly does not prohibit using the questions as prompts for group conversation, the general approach gives the impression of individual reflection, especially before or after liturgical experiences. This reviewer encourages catechetical leaders considering this resource to imagine what conversations from these pages might be even more fruitful in a group setting and adopt these accordingly.

Because the resource puts great trust in the potential of the adult learner, the group setting might also be helpful those learners whose theological and spiritual reflection skills are still nascent. Hearing faith language from peers in response to the prompts for reflection is also a significant formative aspect that a group setting can capture.

Catherine Ecker. A Journal for the Elect and Neophytes. Liturgy Training Publications. 2024. 60 pages.

REVIEWER: Daniella Zsupan-Jerome

Daniella Zsupan-Jerome, Ph.D., teaches pastoral theology at Saint John’s University School of Theology and Seminary in Collegeville, MN. She is author of Speak Lord, Your Servant is Listening: Reflections on Faithful Communication in the Digital Age (Liturgical Press, 2024).