Catechumens enter final phase

As catechumens, now “the elect,” emerged from the Rite of Election ceremony at St. Joseph Cathedral in Baton Rouge on March 6 and the Hispanic Rite of Election at St. Pius X in Baton Rouge on March 13, they entered into the part of the RCIA process called the Period of Enlightenment and Purification. 

During this last and most intense six weeks of their RCIA journey they will undergo the Scrutinies on the Third, Fourth and Fifth Sundays of Lent.

Dina Dow, director of the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, said there are four steps during the Rite of Christian Initiation for the elect. The first is the Period of Evangelization, or Pre-catechumenate, in which people are inquiring into the Catholic faith and learning “who God is.”

“They are developing or really focusing on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” Dow said.

From there the catechumens enter into the Period of Catechumante.

“They’re really delving into the word of God,” Dow said.

Next, there’s the Rite of Sending and Blessings at the catechumens’ home parishes. The catechumens sign a Book of the Elect and are sent forth and presented to the bishop, who represents the church. The Book of Elect for their parish is shown to the bishop. By signing the book, the catechumens have pledged their fidelity to the Catholic faith.

Returning to their home parishes, the elect then undergo the Scrutinies, which are celebrated during Sunday Mass where the elect are present.

The Scrutinies include invitation to silent prayer; prayers of intercession of the elect, where the congregation prays aloud for the elect; a prayer of exorcism, which are prayers that the elect might be freed from the power of Satan and protected on their journey; the laying of  hands on the heads of the elect; and a dismissal of the elect following the reading of the Gospel to reflect on the powerful gesture of love on the part of their community.

“It derives them a closer relationship with Jesus and the community and strengthens them for the remainder of their journey toward full initiation and a deeper conversion to God,” said Dow.

The Gospel readings used for the Scrutinies, which are taken from the Gospel of St. John, lead to a deeper interior awareness of the sacrificing love of Christ and conversion, according to Dow and Sarah Neau, coordinator of faith formation and liturgy at St. Thomas More Church in Baton Rouge. At STM, the elect meet weekly and reflect on the upcoming Sunday Gospel readings using the Lectio Divina method, involving reading, meditating, praying and contemplating with the Scriptures.

The Gospel reading during the First Scrutiny is the story of the woman at the well. In this story, Jesus encountered a woman who has been married several times and the man she was living with is not her husband. Because of her marital status and the fact that she was a Samaritan, who were hated by the Jews, she was considered an outcast by the Jews. To avoid meeting up with the Jewish women, she came to the well to fill her water jar at noon. 

The reading shows how Jesus approaches people when they are isolated or distanced themselves from others, Neau pointed out. In his conversation with the woman, Jesus told her “of all she did” and offered her water that gives eternal life.

“We look at her reaction to Jesus speaking to her, because of all the many different levels there should not be communication between the two,” said Neau. “And the Scripture said she leaves her water jar (which was enough water to live on for two days) behind at the well. When she returns to her village she calls the people to come out to the well.”

For the elect, this is an opportunity to reflect on what they have “been filling up their water jars with” that does not satisfy. 

The reading for the Fourth Sunday of Lent is Jesus’ healing of the man who was born blind. Jesus took the man aside, spat on the ground, made clay with the saliva and smeared the clay on the man’s eyes. He then told him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which has the prophetic meaning “sent”). The man did so and was able to see.

The man is “grilled” by the pharisees about his healing. Through this the man was convinced about how important Jesus is. When he met Jesus again, he proclaimed him as Lord.

“This is the idea of ‘What do we still need to wash away from our eyes to help us recognize the importance of Jesus (in our lives)?’ ” said Neau.

The final scrutiny reading on the Fifth Sunday of Lent is about Jesus raising Lazarus from the tomb.

“I like to take our group through it by looking at both Martha’s and Mary’s reaction to Jesus and how they blame him for not being there and how often we do that in our prayer. When something is going wrong in our lives and we question the why and how and what was the purpose.

“But also Jesus, his reaction to seeing everybody weeping and crying and the sorrow … and he says ‘Okay Lord, I’m going to do this because these people need to see this.’ And then calling Lazarus out. What do we need to be called out of in our lives and what binds us, that we’ve been wrapped up in? What do we need to have unwrapped from us?” said Neau.

The week after the last Scrutiny, the elect reflect on the upcoming Gospel reading for Palm Sunday, which is the account of Jesus’ Passion.

“That means how it all leads us into the Easter celebration, the whole reason of why our church exists. It’s a good moment if they haven’t stopped to think about what the cost of Jesus dying on the cross means for them, it brings everything into focus,” Neau said. “It wraps up the whole Lenten season.”

Purified and enlightened through the Scrutinies, the elect joyously anticipate being baptized and coming into full communion with the Catholic Church, according to Neau and Dow.

“Just from experience in working with them, they’re growing deeper and deeper and deeper through the Scrutinies into the (understanding) of Christ as our life, our light and our salvation,” said Dow. “It’s profound because by the time they get to the last scrutiny their hearts are supremely on fire, just can’t wait to get baptized. Easter Vigil cannot come fast enough for them.”

And they’ve bonded with the people they have journeyed with on the way.

“There’s so many ways that people come to the church and it’s always interesting how God calls a group together for the process,” said Neau. “They come together as strangers, and by the time they finish the process they’ve created a little community amongst themselves.”