OCIA: The Scrutinies

The Scrutinies are short rites from the Order of Christian Initiation, celebrated during Mass for the purpose of self-examination and repentance.  The are meant to help the ‘Elect’, those who are preparing to enter the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil, to uncover and heal all that is weak and sinful in their hearts.  The Scrutinies deliver the Elect from sin and strengthen them to live in Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

The Scrutinies will take place at the following Masses:

• First Scrutiny - Sunday, March 3, 2024 - 11:30AM Mass at St. John the Baptist Church
• Second Scrutiny - Sunday, March 10, 2024 - 11:00AM Mass at St. Frances Cabrini Church
• Third Scrutiny - Sunday, March 17, 2024 - 9:30AM Mass at Our Lady of Fatima Church

As our parish journeys through Lent, please pray for our candidates as they move closer to entering the Catholic Church.

 

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The following are meditations on the Scrutinies for our parish, so that we may better accompany those who are seeking to become members of the Catholic Faith.  (courtesy of LPi)
3rd Sunday of Lent - First Scrutiny  [Readings]
Why do we continue to climb that hill day after day for water, when we have been given everlasting water by the One Who came to reconcile us to the Father? Those seeking to be cleansed in baptismal waters at Easter go through Scrutinies "to uncover, then heal all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the hearts of the elect; to bring out, then strengthen all that is upright, strong, and good" (RCIA 141). The story of the woman at the well speaks to all of us of everlasting water that heals us and gives us strength for the journey. There are those among us who long for this, but we who have been marked for Christ a long time ago already possess it. But too often we continue to climb high hills looking for something else to satisfy us. The Samaritan woman leaves behind her container at the well when she leaves, for there is no reason for her ever to return. You and I have left our vessels at the well also. Stop climbing that hill. Today, as you listen to the words of the Scrutiny prayers and ritual, let us be resolved to drink again from that everlasting water God has given to us.
 
4th Sunday of Lent - Second Scrutiny  [Readings]
We cannot travel into the darkness without a source of light. Those going through the Second Scrutiny have come seeking light instead of darkness. When Jesus heals the blind man, He not only gives to him a physical sight that is real, but He also provides for him a new spiritual lens through which he can see the world. Those who witness the healing, those who then encounter the man, and even those who maintain a cynicism toward him, all have been offered this new way of seeing the world. Those of us who have been baptized have this gift of new sight, but too often we either choose to put on glasses of sin or despair or act like we cannot see that which exists clearly in front of us. We pray for those who will be baptized at Easter to be freed from their darkness, while we oftentimes choose to live with our eyes closed. As we listen to the words of Jesus in the Gospel proclaiming He is the Light of the World, let us resolve to allow God to provide a light for our path so that we may share the good news of this Light with all around us.
 
5th Sunday of Lent - Third Scrutiny  [Readings]
The words of the hymn, "I Now Live," echo faintly in churches still decorated for Lent as the Third Scrutiny takes place and those who journey toward Easter hear about the raising of Lazarus. The Gospel story is about more than just the raising of a single man, but about the life that Jesus Christ offers to every one of us. But there are many powers that seek to steal this life from us. In the words of this Scrutiny we pray for those journeying toward Easter, as the presider says: "Free from the grasp of death those who await your life-giving sacraments and deliver them from the spirit of corruption." It is through the sacrament of the Church that Jesus Christ instituted that we receive a new life, but sin stands in our way. But what Jesus did for His friend in this story, He did for us through His cross and resurrection. If we choose life, there is no spirit that can stand against us. May we stand with those before us who will be baptized at Easter and testify to the reality that we now live because we have died and risen with Him and death's power is no more.