Brothers and Sisters - At 9:00am Mass today, I celebrate the Second Scrutiny. Next Sunday will be the Third Scrutiny. These are Rites of the Church on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent.
As I wrote last week, the purpose of Scrutinys is to help us RENEW our Baptismal Promises. “Scrutiny” is a word from the old English meaning, to examine very carefully (to scrutinize). To help us Scrutinize and RENEW our Promises of Baptism, the Catholic Church uses the 3 great Conversion Gospels from the Cycle A Sunday Lectionary: The Samaritan Woman at the Well - John 4; The Man Born Blind – John 9; and The Raising of Lazarus – John 11.
There are two parts to the Rite: The Rite with the Prayer of Exorcism and the Anointing with Oil of Catechumens. Today I write about “Exorcism” and next week a word on the Anointing - Oil of Catechumens. The Church exorcises not to make us feel that we are evil but for us to acknowledge that evil exists and to pray for our dependence on God and His protection. Unlike the world, we profess that we face a power beyond our strength and that we need the hand of God in our life to save us.
Sincerely in the Lord,
Father Richard York, your Pastor