First Scrutiny: 3rd Sunday of Lent

Part 1 of 2: Candidates (those baptized)

MC: Direct congregation to be seated (if not already) for the Rite.  Lent takes on special importance today for our Catechumens and Candidates who are in the process of joining our Church, as we now celebrate what is called the First Scrutiny that derives from the time of the early Church. The etymology of the word scrutiny means seeking out what is valuable. The Scrutinies are God’s way of taking a close, loving look at the Elect, and by extension, all of us gathered here today. God does not scrutinize in order to find everything that’s wrong with us, but to celebrate all that is beautiful and good and true in us. The aim of this Rite is to identify those areas that stand in need of ongoing care and conversion, as our Catholic faith acknowledges the reality that we are all “sinners” — broken and wounded — in some way. And now, all Candidates who have been previously baptized Christian, who are becoming Catholic at the Easter Vigil, please come forward with your sponsors. The Cathedral Parish of St. John the Evangelist calls:

OCIA/OCIC Candidate names are read but do not wait for your name and instead all come in together in a group, with the Candidate and Sponsor side by side. Come forward and form two lines IN FRONT OF ALTAR with sponsors standing behind with sponsor right hand on the candidate's right shoulder.]

 Candidates

PRIEST: Brothers and Sisters: Today we are celebrating the first of three rites that mark the path toward conversion and acceptance into the Roman Catholic Church. You have come forward to be scrutinized, and as we have heard, it is Christ that is doing the scrutinizing. Jesus “scrutinizes” you, and finds all that is valuable within you. This way he can reveal to you, if you are open to His word, the ways in which you are hurting, or sick, or sinful. This is not to reject you; not at all. This is to call you to a transformation, of new life, and to healing. This scrutiny is to affirm what is good within us, and to dispel whatever holds us back or causes us to resist grace and goodness in our lives.

Candidates of Conversion to Catholicism, bow your heads and pray:

     “Lord Christ, we pray to be healed, for it is often those who are hurt, that end up hurting others. In the same way, Lord, we realize that it is those who are healed, who can then go on to help heal others. Let me be a channel of your will–not mine–so that in being healed I will be able to help bring about healing in others. Christ, be our strength and our redeemer. In the name of Jesus, we pray.” ALL: Amen

Today the Church has called you Candidates to ongoing conversion, to deepen your resolve to hold fast to Christ and to carry out the decision to love God above all. Let us all pray at this time in silence for our Candidates, to be given a spirit of repentance to heal the damage caused by sin, to live in true freedom as children of God. SILENCE.

I now bless you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. ALL: Amen

[Remain standing in place as the Catechumens enter next]

Part 2 of 2: Catechumens (awaiting Baptism) 

MC:  Now, all Catechumens, those awaiting baptism, who are becoming Catholic at the Easter Vigil, please come forward with your sponsors. The Cathedral Parish of St. John the Evangelist calls:
OCIA/OCIC Catechumen names are read but do not wait for your name and instead all come in together in a group with the catechumen and godparent/sponsor side by side. You will form a LINE IN THE MAIN AISLE per image here with sponsors standing behind with their right hand on catechumen’s right shoulder.

Catechumens in the main aisle

PRIEST: [Praying over Catechumens] Elect of God, bow your heads and pray. Let us pray for these elect whom the church has confidently chosen. May they successfully complete their long preparation, and at the paschal feast, find Christ in his sacraments.

DEACON (or MC): [Direct all to stand if not already]

>That, like the woman of Samaria, our elect may review their lives before Christ and acknowledge their sins, We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

>That they may be freed from the spirit of mistrust that deters people from following Christ, We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

>That while awaiting the gift of God, they may long with all their hearts for the living water that brings eternal life, We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

>That by accepting Christ as their teacher, they may become true worshipers of the Father in spirit and in truth, We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

>That they may share with their friends and neighbors the wonder of their own meeting with Christ, We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

>That those whose lives are empty for want of the word of God may come to the Gospel of Christ,
We pray to the Lord.  Lord, hear our prayer.

>That all of us may learn from Christ to do the Father’s will in love,
We pray to the Lord.  Lord, hear our prayer

Exorcism prayer [A]

PRIEST: God of power, you sent your Son to be our Savior. Grant that these catechumens, who, like the woman of Samaria, thirst for living water, may turn to the Lord as they hear his word and acknowledge the sins and weaknesses that weigh them down. Protect them from vain reliance on self and defend them for the power of Satan. Free them from the spirit of deceit, so that, admitting the wrong they have done, they may attain purity of heart and advance on the way to salvation. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.  [Option: Priest lays hands on each of the elect.]

Priest extends his hands over all candidates and catechumens :

PRIEST: Lord Jesus, you are the fountain for which they thirst, you are the Master whom they seek. In your presence they dare not claim to be without sin, for you alone are the Holy one of God. They open their hearts to you in faith, they confess their faults and lay bare their hidden wounds. In your love free them from their infirmities, heal their sickness, quench their thirst, and give them peace. In the power of your name, which we call upon in faith, stand by them now and heal them. Rule over that spirit of evil, conquered by your rising from the dead. Show you elect the way of salvation in the Holy Spirit, that they may come to worship the Father in truth, for you live and reign for ever and ever. ALL:. Amen.

Dismissal prayer C:

PRIEST: Catechumens and Candidates, today our Cathedral parish community encouraged, through prayers, that you open your souls to the Divine Physician, to allow Him to bring light where there is darkness and healing to any and all wounds. Stay focused on conversion, and on the new life that will begin through the sacraments. And although you cannot yet participate fully in the Lord’s Eucharist, stay with us as a sign of our hope that all God’s children will eat and drink with the Lord and work with his Spirit to re-create the face of the earth. Go in peace, and may the Lord remain with you always. All: Thanks be to God.

PRIEST: Please be seated as we continue to the Liturgy of the Eucharist
[All Catechumens and Candidates, along with sponsors, return to the pews]

============= Extra FYI about the 1st Scrutiny & the Readings =====================

1st Scrutiny context

This Scrutiny leads the Elect to focus on conversion and on the new life that will begin through the sacraments. In the Gospel, Jesus encounters the Samaritan Woman at Jacob’s well (John 4:5-42). Our Lord is the Light who alone is able to examine and scrutinize the hidden places of our hearts. When He encountered the Woman at the Well, she was moved to acknowledge her sinfulness. In the presence of the Divine Physician, she exposed the festering sores of her soul and began to experience healing. So also the Elect are encouraged through the prayers of this rite to open their souls to the Divine Physician, to allow Him to bring light where there is darkness and healing to any and all wounds. The prayers of exorcism, which conclude the ritual, beg God to deliver the Elect from the deceits of the Devil.

Just as Moses once struck the rock with a staff in the desert to quench the thirst of the Israelites, so Christ, the New Moses, promises the Samaritan Woman “a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” In fact, the New Moses is Himself the spiritual Rock (see 1 Cor 10:4), for blood and water flow from His pierced side as He hangs on the Cross. The twin streams, flowing from that pierced side, are the sources of eternal life, made tangibly accessible through the sacraments.

Tradition gives us the name of the Samaritan Woman as Photina, which means Light Bearer (Lucina in Latin). Soon the Elect will receive the Living Water and will become radiant bearers of the Light of Christ. Let us continue to hold them in prayer during these final weeks of their journey.

READINGS:
First Scrutiny (3rd Sunday of Lent) – Year A

Reading 1:  Ex 17:3-7. In those days, in their thirst for water, the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “Why did you ever make us leave Egypt?  Was it just to have us die here of thirst with our children and our livestock?”  So Moses cried out to the LORD, “What shall I do with this people?  A little more and they will stone me!” The LORD answered Moses, “Go over there in front of the people, along with some of the elders of Israel, holding in your hand, as you go, the staff with which you struck the river.  I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb.  Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it for the people to drink.”  This Moses did, in the presence of the elders of Israel.  The place was called Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled there and tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD in our midst or not?”

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9  If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD; let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.  Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us joyfully sing psalms to him. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the LORD who made us.  For he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Oh, that today you would hear his voice:  “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, Where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works.” If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Reading 2: Rom 5:1-2, 5-8. Brothers and sisters:  Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God.  And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.  For Christ, while we were still helpless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly.  Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.  But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

Gospel:  Jn 4:5-42. Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.  Jacob’s well was there.  Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”  His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.  The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?”  —For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink, ‘you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”  The woman said to him, “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water?  Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?”  Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come back.”  The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.”  Jesus answered her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband.  What you have said is true.”  The woman said to him, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.  Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”  Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.”  The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one speaking with you.” At that moment his disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking with a woman, but still no one said, “What are you looking for?”  or “Why are you talking with her?”  The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Christ?”  They went out of the town and came to him.  Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.”  But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”  So the disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?”  Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work.  Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’?  I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest.  The reaper is already receiving payment and gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together.  For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’  I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the fruits of their work.”  Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me everything I have done.”  When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days.  Many more began to believe in him because of his word, and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”

Insight from the Gospel Readings

To take our understanding of the Scrutinies further, let’s look at the Gospel readings assigned for the Mass where a Scrutiny occurs. The three Scrutinies occur over a three week period (3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays in Lent), so we have three Gospel readings to consider.

First Scrutiny: Jesus Encounters the Woman at the Well (John 4:5-42). Jesus breaks social convention to speak to a Samaritan woman he encounters at a well, in their conversation, he offers her living water. He says, “Whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Second Scrutiny: Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind (John 9:1-41). On a Sabbath day, Jesus heals a man blind since birth, so that God’s glory may be revealed in him. While this gets Jesus into trouble with the religious authorities, it’s a powerful story demonstrating Jesus’s words: “I am the light of the world” and as such, he calls this man form darkness to light.

Third Scrutiny: Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead (John 11:1-45). An emotional and moving story, Jesus comes to the home of his friends Mary and Martha, distraught over the recent passing of their brother. He calls the dead man to literally rise from the tomb — a call from death to new life. Jesus says, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?”

From sin to repentance, from thirst to satisfaction; from illness to health; from darkness to light; from death to new life. Jesus encounters three people in these Gospels, and they are changed forever.

He calls forth exactly what they need, whether it is forgiveness, or sight, or life. In so doing, he rocks their worlds. And the message for us: if we open our hearts to him, he’ll rock our worlds, too.

Encountering Christ Through the Scrutinies

So in the Scrutinies, Jesus encounters us. It’s not about us, it’s about him. He is the one doing the scrutinizing!

Jesus “scrutinizes” us, and finds all that is valuable within us. He also reveals to us the ways in which we are hurting, or sick, or sinful — but this is not to reject us, but to call us to new life and to healing.

The Scrutinies culminate with a prayer of protection and cleansing. The traditional word for this prayer is exorcism. Talk about a big, scary word! We need to put all the horror movie clichés out of our mind when talking about the Scrutinies. These prayers are simply ways of calling on God — and trusting in God’s power — not only to affirm what is good within us, but to dispel whatever holds us back or causes us to resist grace and goodness in our lives.