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In parishes which have active RCIA (now OCIA*) programs, there is a fascinating moment at Mass on the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays of Lent. The elect—adult candidates for baptism and confirmation (and sometimes those to be received into full communion)—are called forward to undergo what are called the three scrutinies. In the OCIA process, this is the period of purification and enlightenment. The scrutinies follow upon the Gospel readings (from Year A): the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:5-42), the man born blind (John 9:1-41), and the rising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45). “Their purpose is to deliver the elect from the power of sin and Satan, to help them resist temptations, and to find strength in Christ” (OCIA, para 141).
The theme is deliverance: from thirst, from darkness, from death. We thus learn that catechesis is more than simply knowing what the Church teaches. We must also incorporate the truth into our lives. For the mind to receive the truth, the soul must be pure. And so the elect come forward and kneel or bow, when all the faithful pray for them. Then they receive a prayer of exorcism and the laying on of hands, to cleanse their souls from evil so that the Holy Spirit would enter. The exorcism prayer invokes the three Gospel events – thirsting for the living water, moving from darkness into the light, freedom from the tyranny of death.
The origin of the three scrutinies dates back to the early Church, but these preparatory rites had come to be incorporated into the one rite of baptism itself. It was the Second Vatican Council which called for the restoration of the ancient catechumenate process (including the handing on of the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer after the third and fifth scrutinies). There is abundant testimony to what this journey encompassed.
Continued below.
The theme is deliverance: from thirst, from darkness, from death. We thus learn that catechesis is more than simply knowing what the Church teaches. We must also incorporate the truth into our lives. For the mind to receive the truth, the soul must be pure. And so the elect come forward and kneel or bow, when all the faithful pray for them. Then they receive a prayer of exorcism and the laying on of hands, to cleanse their souls from evil so that the Holy Spirit would enter. The exorcism prayer invokes the three Gospel events – thirsting for the living water, moving from darkness into the light, freedom from the tyranny of death.
The origin of the three scrutinies dates back to the early Church, but these preparatory rites had come to be incorporated into the one rite of baptism itself. It was the Second Vatican Council which called for the restoration of the ancient catechumenate process (including the handing on of the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer after the third and fifth scrutinies). There is abundant testimony to what this journey encompassed.
Continued below.
The Three Scrutinies: What Are They? - The Coming Home Network
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