Dear Friends,
If you were present at the 10 am Mass on the first Sunday of Lent, you noticed the “Rite of Sending” four of our Catechumen to the Cathedral and acknowledging 13 Candidates – all preparing for the Sacraments of Initiation at Easter Vigil this year through our OCIA (RCIA) process. This Sunday at the 10 am Mass, we have “Scrutiny” for the Catechumen. Are all these terms strange for us? I think we will all remember that RCIA stood for the “Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults,” though few years ago, the US Bishops decided that RCIA should be more appropriately named OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults). ‘Catechumen’ is the term used for an unbaptized person who is attending this preparation in OCIA, and ‘Candidate’ is the term used for a baptized person who did not receive Eucharist or Confirmation. This year we are privileged to have what is probably the largest class in our OCIA process.
So, what is the rite called ‘scrutiny’? “It is meant to uncover, and 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. 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, who is the way, the truth, and the life.” (no.141) Essentially, it is composed of prayers of intercession and the laying on of hands so that the Holy Spirit may be invoked that they are freed from the spirit of evil. Doing the first scrutiny at Mass gives the whole congregation an opportunity to pray for and support those preparing for the Easter sacraments and to make the point that conversion is not only a personal matter but a communal commitment.
More importantly, this Rite of Scrutiny is also an opportunity for the rest of us, to self-examine and see the need for healing in our weakness, detect the sinful habits in our lives and to nourish the good within us so that we can bear good fruits for Christ. Lent is the time to learn from our mistakes of over-indulgence in food, drink, drugs, gambling, promiscuity, or any other addiction that may keep us from coming to the living waters of a right relationship with God. We all have our short list, don’t we? And we all know, honest to God, what it is we need to leave behind before we come to the Living Water and the Bread of Heaven – as the Samaritan woman shows us in the gospel of John.
I had done a 10 part bulletin series on the Jubilee Year 2025. Now I wish to begin another series on our Homebound Ministry – a wonderful ministry that benefits our parishioners who are homebound or in nursing homes. This is a ministry that is not so visible to the rest of us. How lucky we are that we have a dedicated number of parishioners who do this ministry joyfully but quietly, away from the limelight. We are very grateful to those who did this ministry in the past and are no longer with us or had to stop due to reasons of health or mobility. But there are a good number of our parishioners who bring Jesus and His Word to the homebound. (see their names on page 4). Read their personal experiences and reflections from next Sunday onwards in our bulletin. If you are inspired by their stories, you are welcome to join this wonderful ministry. Please contact Doreen Panick, our Coordinator, at: dsp999@aol.com
Your brother in Christ,
Fr. Abraham Orapankal