Lent’s Third Sunday and Scrutiny Rites

By Fr. Frederick Edlefsen

Today, Lent’s third Sunday, the Church begins to intensely prepare adults for Baptism.  This preparation is called Scrutinies.   Ritually, Scrutinies take place during the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays of Lent.   At Our Lady of Lourdes, Scrutiny rites happen at the 10:00 AM Mass of those Sundays.  

This is a time for Catechumens (adults preparing for baptism) to examine their lives.  In prayer, they prepare to receive the Holy Spirit at Baptism.  They beg God’s grace to align their lives with the Way of the Lord Jesus, avoiding sin’s darkness and persevering in baptismal innocence.  This is the experience of Lent’s third, fourth, and fifth Sundays. 

In one sense, Scrutinies are for all of us, even for all-in Catholics.  Lent is an opportunity to scrutinize our lives.  Do we really see all people – of any race, language, nationality, or culture – as brothers and sisters redeemed by Christ, as fellow citizens of Heaven?    Are we preparing ourselves for God’s judgment, which will be about a most basic question, “Whatever you did for one of the least of my brethren, you did to me” (Matthew 25:40)?

When Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at the well, to her he is just another Jew.   “Why do you, a Jew, ask me for a drink” (John 4:9)?   But when Jesus reveals the woman’s sins — and she acknowledges them — she and her neighbors call him the “Savior of the world” (John 4:42).   Here’s the point:  When we acknowledge sins and reform our lives, the Holy Spirit gives us new life and hope, and he bears new fruit.   God’s Kingdom gets bigger.   More people share in the joy of the “wedding feast of the Lamb.”

Lent is not just ritual observance.   It’s not just a spiritual workout.  Penance and fasting are not just another diet.  Make it real.  Pray and meditate on God’s word with the “ear of the heart” (Prologue of the Rule of St. Benedict).  Open your mind and heart to the love of all people and nations – especially the poor, neglected, and oppressed.   Fasting, penance, and prayer: these three together avail us to God’s grace.   Encounter Jesus anew this Lent.   And look forward to the joy of the Resurrection.