The Scrutinies

What are The Scrutinies?

The Scrutinies are Rites celebrated on the Third, Fourth and Fifth Sundays of Lent, by those people who are preparing to be baptized at Easter, known as "The Elect". They are important and specuial rites of the Church. Whenever they are celebrated the Scripture readings of Year A of the liturgical cycle are used

The Scrutinies are described by the Church as

“rites for self-searching and repentance, which are meant to uncover, then heal, all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the hearts of the elect; to bring out, then strengthen all that is upright, strong and good. The Scrutinies are celebrated in order to 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. These rites, therefore, should complete the conversion of the elect and deepen their resolve to hold fast to Christ and to carry out their decision to love God above all.”

The Gospels on the three Sundays on which the Scrutinies are celebrated teach the elect about the mystery of sin, and fill them with the Spirit of Christ.

1. The first Gospel (the Samaritan Woman at the well) tells us that Christ is the Living Water,
2. the second (healing of the man born blind), that he is the Light of the World,
3. and the third, (the raising of Lazarus from the dead), that he is the Resurrection and the Life.

Jesus decribed the purpose of his mission as “To give life in abundance” (John 10:10) Each of the Gospels proclaimed in the three Scrutinies illustrates this.

The First Scrutiny – Third Sunday of Lent – The Woman at the Well

The primary symbol in the reading of this Sunday is water. Water is a symbol of life, and it indicates that God wishes to give us life, as shown in the stories of the Israelites in the desert and the woman from Samaria at the well. The symbol of water also indicates baptism, and looks forward to Easter when this is celebrated.

The Gospel of this day, the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, tells us of a remarkable meeting. Jesus asks her for some water, but he also offers her living waters, promising eternal life. As the woman talks to Jesus, her life is revealed to her. This does not result in scorn or condemnation, but healing, forgiveness and new life. She sees the truth about herself and sees God face to face. Such a meeting, in sincerity and truth, is not to be feared but welcomed, because of the new life and freedom from the burdens of the past which it brings.

Note the expression of Jesus, “God is Spirit ... ” The Hebrew word for ‘spirit’ means also ‘breath’ or ‘life’. We can almost say therefore, “God is Life”. God wishes to give life to all; this is why life is so valuable. Therefore for the Elect, those to be initiated at Easter, they have a desire for new life through Christ, and have already begun to experience it to some degree. But they desire to experience it in a greater fullness, which is the purpose of celebrating the Scrutiny. For those of us who are already Catholics, the scrutinies are an opportunity for us to experience again the same gift of renewal of life from God.

The Scrutinies include a 'Rite of Exorcism' which may sound a little scary, but is a prayer for the Elect to free them from sin, protect them from the power of Satan and help them towards salvation. Here is one of the options for this prayer, which teaches us much about the meaning of the Scrutinies:

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 from 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.

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 your 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.

Amen. 

The Second Scrutiny – Fourth Sunday of Lent – The Man Born Blind

The key idea in Gospel and the Second Reading is turning from darkness to light, as symbolized in the healing of the man born blind. For example, examination of conscience, especially in the light of God's Word, leads to enlightenment, and thus enables people to do as St. Paul says, “Try to discover what the Lord wants of you, having nothing to do with the futile works of darkness."

The Gospel today tells the story of the healing of the man born blind. The story does not end with his healing, but rather it continues with the arguments about what really happened and who Jesus is, the one who healed him. We call Christ “The Light of the World” and look to him for the truth we need to really understand the world, ourselves and God. We need to confess our blindness and have some humility before God if we are to be enlightened by Jesus, and not to be like the Pharisees in the story who refuse to accept the truth.

The foundation of the story is two fold: a miracle story in which blindness is cured, and the saying, “I am the Light of the World”. The miracle is a sign of the truth of the saying and the judging effect of the light is brought out. Jesus acts on his own initiative. When the man worships him it shows that he has received spiritual as well as physical sight.

This chapter expresses vividly John’s conception of Jesus’ work. On the one hand, he is the giver of unprecedented benefits to humanity. On the other hand, many people resist the light coming into the world. The effect of the true light is to blind them, since they close their eyes to it. Their sin abides precisely because they are so confident of their righteousness.

In the Gospel story there seem to be three groups of people unable to see.

First the disciples: even though they have been in Jesus’ company for a long time, they still shared the assumptions of their society about the causes of sickness and disability – that it is punishment for sin, either their own or someone else’s. Therefore people who were afflicted in such a way were often treated with contempt, because it was seen as their own fault.

Jesus says that it was nobody’s sin, but so that God’s glory could be seen in his cure. There is an important lesson even in the introduction to the story – a Christian’s attitude to suffering is not to wonder where it comes from, but to take action to alleviate it.

Second, the man who is healed by Jesus. He becomes an unlikely ambassador for Jesus, as was the woman at the well from last week, but both are effective. Both are touched in their weakness and moved to strength; both are rejected by their society but welcomed by Jesus. There is a progressive cure of his spiritual blindness, as he says of Jesus,

1. The man called Jesus
2. He is a prophet
3. If this man were not from God
4. Lord I believe

Third: the Pharisees. They claimed to know God’s Word and God’s Law, so Jesus condemns their blindness as worse. They find every reason not to believe what their eyes are telling them: perhaps this wasn’t the man, perhaps he wasn’t born blind. Moreover, their exclusion and condemnation of an innocent person is itself sinful, but in condemning him they believe they are acting righteously. The structure of this condemnation is the same as what Jesus will himself expereince later in the Gospel.

Therefore, in the Scrutiny: the Elect have already been enlightened to some degree; Lent is a time when this is intensified for them, and also for us who are already Catholics. We still need to be enlightened, to have our own patterns of sin and blindness revealed to us, and to grow in God’s truth. Like the other Scrutinies, there is an important teaching about who Jesus is: “I am the light of the world.” It also looks forward to the enlightenment celebrated in Easter and baptism.

The Third Scrutiny – Fifth Sunday of Lent – The Raising of Lazarus

The Third Scrutiny emphasizes Jesus as “the Resurrection and the Life” as we hear the Gospel of the raising to life of Lazarus. Jesus in his obedience to his Father has the authority to give life to whom he will. The raising of Lazarus is an anticipation of what is to take place on the last day. It means that the believer has eternal life; and has passed from death to life. It is also – again – an anticipation of what is celebrated at Easter and in Baptism, resurrection and eternal life.

The meaning for John is: Jesus in his obedience to and dependence upon the Father has the authority to give life to whom he will. The incident is a dramatic demonstration of the truth already declared in John 5.21 (“For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.”) which is itself the best commentary on the incident. The raising of Lazarus is not a piece of magic, nor even the supreme achievement of a Saint; it is an anticipation of what is to take place on the last day (an expression of what theologians call "Eschatology"). It means that the believer has eternal life; that he or she has passed from death to life.

Jesus prays, emphasizing his dependence upon the Father. Jesus can do nothing of himself but does what he sees the Father doing. The last enemy - death - is overthrown.

Note that the name Lazarus means “God helps”. The presence of Jesus effects to anticipate ‘eschatological’ events (i.e. to do with the end of the world), especially to judge and to give life. Also, the movement from death to life is the pattern experienced by all Christians, who have died already to sin and risen again in Christ, but all to be fulfilled on the last day.

With Lazarus, the ‘last day’ is being anticipated for the purpose of the sign, which demonstrates who Jesus really is, “the resurrection and the life”.

This Scrutiny celebrated on this day is primarily for the benefit of the Elect, but it reminds all the baptized of the promises God has made through Jesus of eternal life.