From the Desk of Todd Flowerday - Parish Scrutinies

The Church ordinarily celebrates a scrutiny during the middle three Sundays of Lent with people who will be baptized at Easter. What are these? They help to accomplish what the title suggests, that people serious about committing their lives to Christ will scrutinize their lives most carefully. Why are we doing this as a parish? The model of the scrutiny might also help as an examination or scrutiny of our conscience. What are areas of our lives that are weak and sinful? What is the opposite quality we might ask God to raise up in us? As we approach the end of Lent and our parish reconciliation liturgy on March 28 ^th, we invite people to ponder their lives and prepare for God’s mercy.

A few decades ago, a friend told me that past year her parish had nobody in RCIA. Their Easter Vigil was empty of baptism and confirmation. What did you do with yourself and your RCIA team the whole past year, I asked. She related they read the readings, reflected on them, just as they would have done with newcomers. They prayed the prayers of the catechumens, and applied them to their faith life in a whole year of continuing conversion. What began as a depressing Fall, my friend told me, was one of the most fruitful and graced years she had ever experienced in ministry.

We seem to be in a similar situation in our parish this year. As we proceed through Lent, my suggestion is to submit our parish to the RCIA scrutinies and pray on the 3 rd , 4 th , and 5 th Sundays. To accomplish this, we’ll adapt the prayers we use for RCIA people and celebrate the ritual after the homily on those first three weekends in March. Here’s how the Church describes their intent: “The scrutinies are meant to uncover, then heal all that is weak, defective or sinful (and) to bring out, then strengthen all that is upright, strong, and good.” That seems to be a good aspiration for any Christian, and hopefully these rituals will help us as a faith community going into the final weeks of Lent and heading to Easter.