Pastor's Corner
March 19, 2017
For the next three weeks we will be celebrating an ancient tradition in the Church known as the scrutinies at the noon Mass. They are a part of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), the process by which someone who is not baptized is prepared for baptism as a Catholic Christian. The three scrutinies are connected to the gospel stories of the Woman at the Well (John 4:5-42), the Man Born Blind (John 9:1-41), and the Raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45. They consist of special intercessions for the elect and a prayer of exorcism.
The purpose of each of the scrutinies is “to uncover, then heal all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the hearts of the elect and to bring out, then strengthen all that is upright, and good…For 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.” (RCIA, 141).
Even the rite for the baptism of infants includes a brief prayer of exorcism, because there is a real difference between being baptized and not being baptized! Those who have not entered the waters of baptism are still particularly vulnerable to the attacks of Satan, and so the exorcisms offer protection, especially as the Elect undergo their final preparations for baptism. In a description of these exorcisms in the 4th century, Fr. William Harness, SJ says, “Candidates stood barefoot on a sackcloth of goat’s hair with their heads veiled, their outer cloak stripped off, and their arms outstretched. Then the exorcist would approach and speak ‘in a loud and prolonged voice’ denouncing Satan.”
The words and actions today are no longer addressed to Satan, but to the Most Holy Trinity: the first part addresses the Father, then there is a silent laying on of hands invoking the Holy Spirit, and a concluding prayer is addressed to Christ.
Please pray for our Elect preparing for baptism and the already baptized non-Catholic candidates preparing to make a profession of faith in order to enter the Church!