The Gift of our Faith
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Every year adults approach the Church desiring to learn more about the Catholic Faith. The RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) is a process of formation, prayer and ritual that helps inquirers find their way into the Catholic Church. Those, already baptized in another Christian tradition, seek to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church. Others, who have never been baptized, seek baptism and the other sacraments of initiation as Catholics. I am grateful to Liz Willman, Pastoral Associate for Adult Formation, and her team for coordinating the RCIA program here at Ascension.
During certain Sundays of Lent, as those preparing to be baptized at Easter (we refer to them as “the Elect”) are in their final weeks of preparation, the Church celebrates some special rites called the “Scrutinies.” This year they will be at the Sunday, 5:00PM Masses. The Elect are invited to come before the assembly with their sponsors and kneel or bow their heads in prayer. The priest and congregation pray over them and, for the Elect, these are rites of self-searching and repentance. The rites are meant to uncover and then heal what is wounded or in need of healing in the candidate and strengthen all that is upright and good. The prayers of the whole Church help the Elect to overcome the powers of darkness and resist temptation. It helps to strengthen them for the new life they are about to embrace at baptism.
For those of us who have been long-time Catholics, these rituals are good reminders of the importance of our Catholic Faith. If we have been Catholic all our lives, it is easy to take the gift of our Faith for granted. Seeing the Elect take so seriously their preparation for baptism, should inspire us all to recommit ourselves to our own baptismal identity as sons or daughters of God and disciples of the Lord Jesus. Please pray for all in the RCIA preparing for the Easter Sacraments.
Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life,
Find more information about the Scrutinies and what is happening in RCIA here.