Those who have
never been baptized before are called members of “the elect.” As with all who
are baptized, these elect will “die to their old self” and rise as children of
God. They will begin what is hoped a new
way of living. Those in our Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults are
now in what we call the Purification and Enlightenment phase. This phase includes three scrutinies. A scrutiny can be described as an assessment
of oneself. This helps the Elect uncover
and heal those things that are sinful and those things which make them
susceptible to evil. The scrutinies also bring out and strengthen all
that is upright and good in the elect.
On the Third Sunday of Lent the elect in the RCIA will hear the prayers
of the First Scrutiny. Part of the prayer that is said for the elect is
as follows:
…that they will reject the sins
and weaknesses that weigh them down. Protect them from vain reliance on self
and defend them from the power of evil. Free them from the spirit of
deceit, so that admitting the wrong they have done, they may attain purity of heart…
Though a beautiful prayer, it requires an honest
assessment of oneself. We can join the Elect during this Lenten Season by
assessing our own life. This is a good time to remember that the
successes we have in our lives are not just of our own making, but are brought
forth through the gifts and talents God has given us. We must also
protect ourselves from denial. We must not deceive ourselves into
thinking we have done no wrong.
On Easter Sunday we will renew our baptismal promises. We will be
asked if we renounce sin, renounce the lure of evil and renounce Satan, the author
and prince of sin. By letting go of that
which spiritually weakens us and strengthening that which is good in us, we can
make our answer of “I do” a loud proclamation of the life we live.
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