Isaiah,
Chapter 43, verse 5
Fear not, for I am with you; from
the east I will bring back your offspring, from the west I will gather you.
First Scrutiny
This is the somewhat obscure name given
to the three brief ceremonies for those who are preparing for baptism at the
Easter vigil. These ceremonies are celebrated on the third, fourth, and fifth
Sundays of Lent. At the scrutiny, these people are presented to the Church
community, which prays for them, so that they may defeat sin and Satan,
successfully endure temptation, and be strengthened in Christ. Lent originated
as a time of prayer and fasting for those who were preparing for baptism? The
entire Church quickly caught on to the season, but unfortunately the baptismal
roots of Lent were forgotten. Following the reforms of Vatican II, the RCIA
process was re-introduced. The Church once again walks with the elect toward
the great feast of Easter.[1]
The purpose of the scrutinies is for us
to look within ourselves and uncover, and understand all that is weak,
defective, or sinful in our hearts. It has a second purpose, as well, to bring
out, and strengthen all that is upright, strong, and good in us. As we continue
on this journey realize one very important fact. None of us, no one reading
this, and no one on this planet is perfect. Each one of us has made and
continues to make wrong and bad decisions in our life. This time of scrutiny is
a time for honesty. This is a time for you to look at yourself and see what it
is that is holding you back, preventing you from getting closer to Jesus. This
time of scrutiny is very important. It starts you on a road of looking at
yourself, at your motives and where you need to make corrections. This process
of introspection (looking within) will last a lifetime. The more we focus on
Jesus, and then look at where we are, we will know what it is that needs to be
addressed. The Catholic Christian life is not, and will never be simply focused
on the removal of evil. That is not what Jesus was about. It is a positive
life. It is one of doing good acts, helping people, being truly concerned about
people. We try to live our lives in a way that Jesus will be glorified and
honored. We do this by being like Him. The time of scrutiny is also a time to
know what goodness we do possess. So the scrutinies involve our seeing where we
are lacking, and also seeing what gifts we do have. We pray to our Father in
heaven to help us eliminate those aspects of our lives that prevent us from
living the life of Christ.[2]
In light of our self-exam
let us try to make it to confession in the upcoming week.
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