Third Scrutiny
THIRD SCRUTINY (FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT)
Liturgy of the Word
Readings
Homily
After the readings and guided by them, the celebrant explains in the homily the meaning of the third scrutiny in the light of the Lenten liturgy and of the spiritual journey of the elect.
Invitation to Silent Prayer
After the homily, the elect with their godparents come forward and stand before the celebrant. The celebrant first addresses the assembly of the faithful, inviting them to pray in silence and to ask that the elect will be given a spirit of repentance, a sense of sin, and the true freedom of the children of God.
The celebrant then addresses the elect, inviting them also to pray in silence and suggesting that as a sign of their inner spirit of repentance they bow their heads or kneel; he concludes his remarks with the following or similar words.
Presider: Elect of God, bow your heads and pray.
The elect bow their heads and all pray for some time in silence. After the period of silent
prayer, the community and the elect stand for the intercessions.
During the intercessions the godparents stand with their right hand on the shoulder of the elect.
Intercessions for the Elect
Presider: Let us pray for these elect whom God has chosen. May
the grace of the sacraments conform them to Christ in his passion and resurrection and enable them to triumph over the bitter fate of death.
Assisting Minister: That these elect may be given the faith to
acknowledge Christ as the resurrection and the life, we pray to the Lord.
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: That they may be freed from sin and grow in
the holiness that leads to eternal life, we pray to the Lord.
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: That liberated by repentance from the shackles of sin they may become like Christ by baptism, dead to sin and alive for ever in God’s sight, we pray to the Lord.
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: That they may be filled with the hope of the life-giving Spirit and prepare themselves thoroughly for their birth to new life, we pray to the Lord.
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: That the eucharistic food, which they are soon to receive, may make them one with Christ, the source of life and of resurrection, we pray to the Lord.
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: That all of us may walk in newness of life and show to the world the power of the risen Christ, we pray to the Lord.
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
Exorcism
After the intercessions, the celebrant faces the elect and, with hands joined, says:
Presider: Father of life and God not of the dead but of the living, you sent your Son to proclaim life, to snatch us from the realm of death, and to lead us to the resurrection. Free these elect from the death-dealing power of the spirit of evil, so that they may bear witness to their new life in the risen Christ, for he lives and reigns for ever and ever.
All: Amen.
Then, with hands outstretched over all the elect, he continues:
Presider: Lord Jesus, by raising Lazarus from the dead you showed that you came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
Free from the grasp of death those who await your life-giving sacraments and deliver them from the spirit of corruption. Through your Spirit, who gives life, fill them with faith, hope, and charity, that they may live with you always in the glory of your resurrection, for you are Lord for ever and ever.
All: Amen.
If the elect must remain with the baptized, they are to be instructed that though they are present at the eucharist, they cannot take part in it as the baptized do. They may be reminded of this by the celebrant in these for similar words.
Presider: Although you cannot yet participate fully in the Lord’s
eucharist, stay with us as a sign of our hope that all God’s children will eat and drink with the Lord and work with his Spirit to re-create the face of the earth.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
When the eucharist is to follow, intecessory prayer is resumed with the usual general intercessions for the needs of the Church and the whole world; then, if required, the profession of faith is said.
The liturgy of the Eucharist then begins as usual with the preparation of the gifts.
Watch, O Lord
Watch, O Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or weep tonight, and give your angels and saints charge over those who sleep. Tend your sick ones, O Lord Christ, rest your weary ones, bless your dying ones, soothe your suffering ones, pity your afflicted ones shield your joyous ones. And all for your love's sake.
Amen.
St. Augustine
We Desire to Pass from Darkness into Light.
Lord God, source of unfailing light, by the death and resurrection of Christ you have cast out the darkness of hatred and lies and poured forth the light of truth and love upon the human family. Hear my prayer from me your adopted child. Enable me to pass from darkness into light and, delivered from the prince of darkness, to live always as a child of the light. Lord Jesus, at your own baptism the heavens were opened and you received the Holy Spirit to empower you to proclaim the Good News to the poor and restore sight to the blind. Pour out the same Holy Spirit upon me, who longs for your grace. Guide me along the paths of faith, safe from error, doubt, and unbelief, so that with eyes unsealed I may see you face to face, for you live and reign for ever and ever.
Amen.
For this Gospel excerpt we try to read in parts so as to let the candidates get used to the Passion Sunday and Good Friday treatment of the Gospels.
The raising of Lazarus
Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill. So the sisters sent word to him saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.” when Jesus heard this he said, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” He said this, and then told them, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him.” So the disciples said to him, “Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.” But Jesus was talking about his death, while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep. So then Jesus said to them clearly, “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him.” So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go to die with him.” When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the CHRIST, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, “The teacher is here and is asking for you.” As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him. For Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still where Martha had met him. So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?” So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” And when he had said this, He cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.” Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
The raising of Lazarus
Read Gospel IN PARTS
Does God Send us tribulation (crosses)?
Why does God allow ‘bad’ things to happen?
Jesus at one point said that Lazarus was only sleeping. How can we prove that he was really dead?
Thomas said “Let us also go and die with Him” Why?
Jesus in this Gospel said: “I am the resurrection and the life”. What else did Jesus say that He was in other instances? (gospel of John)
"And Jesus wept". There were also other weepers. What difference between them and Jesus’ weeping?
Jesus showed He was Divine by raising Lazarus. How else did He show this in other instances in his public life?
Jesus showed He was Human by which emotions in this Gospel? Elsewhere in the Gospels?
The people who love Jesus are criticizing him. Why?
What does the miracle of the Raising of Lazarus foreshadow?
What is the difference between Lazarus’ and Jesus’ deaths?
Take each character and try to see the background:
Jesus: Helping His friends (Family) God performing miracle. Man weeping.
Lazarus: A disciple of Jesus and close friend of His. Dead. Why? To what?
Thomas: A disciple of Jesus who did not believe readily. Says things without thinking of consequences.
Disciples: From the lower class but faithful to Jesus. Questioning Jesus, many times not understanding.
Mary: Lazarus’ sister. Likes to listen to His preaching. Overcome by grief. Does not understand His Divinity.
Martha: Lazarus’ other sister. Also Jesus’ disciple. Took care of her brother & sister. Full of faith, but her practical character is questioning Jesus’ ways.
People present: Paid weepers. Curious people. Friends & Relatives. Some knew Jesus some did not. No one understands. Most believe, but only after.
***Discuss how WE can be like each of the characters in this Gospel in our everyday life.
Some Things to Do:
1. Do something to reach out to someone who has been cast out socially.
2. Make a pilgrimage to a cemetery and think about your own future death and how the world is going to be without you. Think also about your own RESURRECTION and of those buried there.