OCIA Scrutinies

Since last September, a group of people from different faith backgrounds have been meeting regularly every Sunday morning to learn more about Jesus Christ, His teachings and His Church. They have been preparing to receive the Sacraments of Initiation and come into full communion with the Catholic Church as they take part in the formation process for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA)

They are now beginning their final preparation to receive Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist at the Easter Vigil. As part of their preparation, they take part in the Scrutinies.

The Scrutinies are special Rites which entail prayers for spiritual healing, protection, and strength. They help prepare the Candidates to receive the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil. The Scrutinies are celebrated each year, on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent.

Scrutiny Rites originated in the early history of the Church. Saints Ambrose and Augustine celebrated them in the fourth and fifth century to mark the spiritual progress of those entering the Church.

To scrutinize means to “examine closely.” Lent is a period in which we are all called to examine our lives closely and pray for God’s healing and forgiveness in preparation for Easter.

These Rites are celebrated to help deliver the “elect” from the power of sin and Satan, to protect them against temptation, and to give them strength in Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

We celebrated the first Scrutiny at the noon mass on the 3rd Sunday of Lent (March 23rd), the second Scrutiny at the 10:30am mass on the 4th Sunday of Lent (March 30th) and the third Scrutiny will take place at the 9:00am mass on the 5th Sunday of Lent (April 6th). The Scripture readings for the Scrutinies come from Cycle A of the Lectionary: The Gospel story of the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:5-42) for the 1st Scrutiny, the Gospel story of the healing of the man born blind (John 9:1-41) for the 2nd Scrutiny, and the Gospel story of the raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45) for the 3rd Scrutiny.

During these rituals you might have noticed that the OCIA Participants will be dismissed in the middle of the Mass, after the Rite. This will continue until Easter when, at the Easter Vigil, they will join us at the Table of the Eucharist for the first time.

Though they cannot yet come to the table of the Eucharist, our Church still has an obligation to feed those who have entered into a relationship with her through the OCIA process.

God’s Word will be their only food during this period. They depart from the Mass with their godparents, sponsors and the parish sponsors, to reflect on the readings of the mass for that Sunday and to experience more fully the impact of the Scriptures on their lives.

I hope that you had the opportunity to be part of these beautiful rituals. The celebrations of the Scrutinies remind the whole parish community of the need to reflect on their own sins and the need for God’s help.

You might already notice posters of the Candidates appearing at the back of the Church. We also have prayer cards for each one of them. Please pick up prayer cards and keep them in your prayers during the weeks ahead.

God Bless!

OCIA Director