As I see and pray for Candidates and Catechumens preparing for the sacraments of initiation and full communion in the
church through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, I feel quite
excited for them. I joyously support them in spirit and prayer.
I must confess, though, watching them each
Sunday as they are dismissed to prepare, I become excited for me. I am humbly
reminded that they are seeking the inheritance, treasure, and grace that that
is already mine
It is so
cool to be Catholic!
Through
faith and Baptism we have a God who
loves so much that he sent his only son
into the world dressed in human flesh to teach us how to walk the walk and talk
the talk; and when that wasn’t enough , he paid the ransom for our sins with his own
earthly life. We have a Holy Spirit for
counsel, guidance, comfort, healing and strength. We have our One Holy Catholic Church that is
rich in liturgy, sacrament and tradition and descends from the apostles. We have Holy Mary, mother of God.
We
sing and pray in communion with Angels and Saints, and we are invited and welcomed
to the Holy Banquet where we revere the very presence of Christ in the
Eucharist. We live in anticipation of
the resurrection of the dead and life at throne of grace in the Heavenly
Jerusalem for all of eternity.
My cup
runneth over.
During Lent,
the candidates, and catechumens, who are now referred to as the elect, enter
the period of purification and enlightenment.
In addition to the practices of prayer, fasting and alms giving, Lent is
also a time of purification and enlightenment for us.
It is so hard
to be good.
We fall off track, we turn
back, we acknowledge our sins we ask forgiveness, and we start over. The deeper we grow in holiness, sadly the
deeper our awareness of sin becomes.
When my
youngest was in the second grade, he made an ornament in his faith formation
class. It was a Styrofoam ball decorated with sequins and glitter, and a little
band of paper that said-
“I shall not kill”.
I read it aloud not really knowing what to think -when he suddenly blurted out,
“Mom, I am sure that I can do that one.”
On the other end of the spectrum, I remember
reading that a former Papal secretary Monsignor Tran Ngoc Thu had reported that
Pope John Paul II celebrated reconciliation every week confessing his sins of
omission.
Three
ancient rites known as “the Scrutinies” are celebrated on the 3rd 4th
and 5th Sundays of Lent. The
readings for the scrutinies are from cycle A of the lectionary. The gospel
readings, from the book of John are the Woman at the Well, The Man Born Blind,
and The Raising of Lazarus. The elect
reflect on the readings and scrutinize, or take a good hard look at their lives
and their relationship to God.
The actual
Rite entails a calling forth of the elect before the assembly, a call to silence,
a prayer of exorcism, petitions, laying on of hands and dismissal.
In preparation for the sacrament of reconciliation I reflect on all my failings and think to myself-
"Oh, you despicable self."
But when all is confessed-
and I promise to do better-
God's grace resonates in my soul.
My despicable self knows the grace and peace that surpasses all understanding in Christ Jesus ,
and
I Rejoice!
