Purification and Enlightenment

Pray for the elect this Lent

Growing up in a culturally Catholic country like Mexico, the concept of a convert to Catholicism was utterly foreign to me. It wasn’t until I spent my first Easter in the US that I learned about the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). Since then, I’ve discovered that RCIA consists of four phases: Inquiry, Catechumenate, Purification and Enlightenment, and Mystagogy. In this piece, I’ll reflect on Steve Greene’s presentation on the Purification and Enlightenment phase and its connection to the liturgy and disciplines of Lent. Let’s pray for our future brothers and sisters that they may not falter in their desire to enter into full communion with Holy Mother Church.

Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash

Scrutinies

On Lent's third, fourth, and fifth Sundays, the newly named “Elect”–adults who have been through the Catechumante phase–participate in three successive rites called “the Scrutinies.” God doesn’t scrutinize us to show us what’s wrong with us but rather for us to strive for what’s good, beautiful, and true. It’s a process of purification of heart, mind, and body. It is a time to purge sin from our lives by facing it, admitting it, and repenting.

First

During the first scrutiny on the third Sunday of Lent, the gospel reading is from John chapter four, The Samaritan Woman. While the apostles were getting food, Jesus rested at Jacob's well around noon. The Samaritan woman encounters Jesus at the well, and He tells her, “Give me a drink.” Jesus tells her about the living water, and she shows interest in it. Jesus proceeds to scrutinize the woman, informing her that she has had five husbands, and the one she is with right now is not her husband either. She then runs into town and tells everyone about the man who told her everything she has done.

The Holy Spirit never wastes our sins or suffering and will use both to form us. The Samaritan Woman's encounter with Jesus is real. She recognizes her sin, desires to amend her life, and stops living isolated from her community. Like her, we’re invited to face our sin, admit it, and repent. Once we have encountered Christ, we cannot return to our old way of living. We ought to live as disciples, striving for his grace and mercy, wanting to drink deep from that cool, clear, refreshing water.

Second

On the fourth Sunday of Lent, the second scrutiny, we hear the story of The Man Born Blind. In John chapter nine, Jesus notices a man blind from birth, and His disciples ask who sinned, the man or his parents, that he was born blind. Jesus responds neither, but that it was so that the works of God might be made visible through him. Jesus spat on the ground, formed clay, rubbed it on the blind man’s eyes, and told him to wash in the pool of Siloam. And the man opened his eyes. When the Pharisees question him about how he could see, he replies, “One thing I do know is that I was blind, and now I see.”

We are all born in the darkness of original sin and need to encounter Jesus. He cleanses us and shatters our darkness, bringing us into community through baptism. Like the blind man, we ought to proclaim what He has done in our lives. The light of faith illuminates reality, our sins, and who we can be if we give God room to act in us.

Third

On the third and final scrutiny, the fifth Sunday of Lent, we read John 11, The Raising of Lazarus. Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha, personal friends of Jesus, live in Bethany. Word reached Jesus about Lazarus being sick; oddly enough, he decided to stay where He was for two more days before heading to Bethany. He tells the apostles, plain and simple, that Lazarus has died and that He will raise him from his sleep. When He arrived, Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. Martha confesses that she believes her brother will rise on the last day, but Jesus tells her He is the resurrection and the life, and whoever believes in Him, even if he dies, will live. When Jesus encounters Mary, He is so moved by her sorrow that He weeps–Hypostatic union, anyone? Eventually, Jesus asks for the stone removed from Lazarus' tomb and commands him to come out, and the dead man emerges.

We are all Lazarus, dead in our sin, spiritually lifeless. We need to listen to the voice of Christ asking us to move out of our sin and come into a new life with Him, into His resurrection. 

---

Lenten Disciplines

Lent is a little bit like purgatory; it’s a time of purification and suffering, of dealing with our sins. It is a time to prepare to be crucified in Christ so that He may live in us. It is a time to self-reflect and work toward a deeper union with Him. Our work of purification consists of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Prayer

Asking for God’s will to be done in us and listening to God should be our priority in prayer. Surrender and submission as an invitation into a deeper relationship with Him. Contemplate Jesus’ prayer at Getsemani or Mary’s Magnificat as examples of surrender to the will of God.

Fasting

The prophet Joel tells Israel to return to God with our whole heart, fasting, weeping, and mourning. To rend our hearts, not our garments. We should remove indulgences and come back in contact with the essentials. Self-denial builds up temperance; every good thing we say no to will help us say no to sin. 

Almsgiving

Everything we have is a gift from God, and we should use our gifts well. Let’s not bury the talents the master gave us but multiply the good we’ve been given. God wants to bless others through us. Acknowledge God's Lordship and practice gratitude.

We should strive to be perfected gradually throughout our lives. With God’s grace, we will run the race well and spend eternity with Him in heaven.

---

Peregrino is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

---

Before you go

1. Are you a cradle Catholic or a convert?

2. If you’re a convert, what brought you to Catholicism?

3. For my non-Catholic friends, have you ever considered becoming Catholic?