First Scrutiny

FIRST SCRUTINY (THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT)

Liturgy of the Word

Readings (Gospel always from Year A)

Homily

After the readings and guided by them, the celebrant explains in the homily the meaning of the first 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 the Church has confidently chosen. May they successfully complete their long preparation and at the paschal feast find Christ in his sacraments.

Assisting Minister: That, like the woman of Samaria, our elect may review their lives before Christ and acknowledge their sins, let us pray to the Lord.

All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Assisting Minister: That they may be freed from the spirit of mistrust that deters people from following Christ, let us pray to the Lord.

All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Assisting Minister: That while awaiting the gift of God, they may long with all their hearts for the living water that brings eternal life, let us pray to the Lord.

All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Assisting Minister: That by accepting the Son of God as their teacher, they may become true worshipers of the Father in spirit and in truth, let us pray to the Lord.

All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Assisting Minister: That they may share with their friends and neighbors the wonder of their own meeting with Christ, let us pray to the Lord.

All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Assisting Minister: That those whose lives are empty for want of the word of God may come to the Gospel of Christ, let us pray to the Lord.

All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Exorcism

After the intercessions, the celebrant faces the elect and, with hands joined, says:

Presider: God of power, you sent your Son to be our Savior. Grant that these catechumens, who, like the woman of Samaria, thirst for living water, may turn to the Lord as they hear his word and acknowledge the sins and weaknesses that weigh them down.

Protect them from vain reliance on self and defend them from the power of Satan. Free them from the spirit of deceit, so that, admitting the wrong they have done, they may attain purity of heart and advance on the way to salvation. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

Then, with hands outstretched over all the elect, he continues:

Presider: Lord Jesus, you are the fountain for which they thirst, you are the Master whom they seek. In your presence they dare not claim to be without sin, for you alone are the Holy One of God. They open their hearts to you in faith, they confess their faults and lay bare their hidden wounds. In your love free them from their infirmities, heal their sickness, quench their thirst, and give them peace. In the power of your name, which we call upon in faith, stand by them now and heal them. Rule over that spirit of evil, conquered by your rising from the dead. Show your elect the way of salvation in the Holy Spirit, that they may come to worship the Father in truth, for you live and reign 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, intercessory 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.

We Thirst for Living Water.

God of power, you sent your Son to be our Savior. Grant that I, who like the woman of Samaria, thirst for living water, might turn to the Lord as I hear his word and acknowledge the sins and weakness that weigh me down. Protect me from vain reliance on self and defend me from the power of Evil. Free me from the spirit of deceit, so that, admitting the wrong I have done, I may attain purity of heart and advance on the way to salvation. Lord, Jesus, you are the fountain for which I thirst, you are the Master whom I seek. In your presence I dare not claim to be without sin, for you alone are the Holy One of God. I open my heart to you in faith, I confess my faults and lay bare my hidden wounds. In your love free me from my infirmities, heal my sickness, quench my thirst and give me peace. In the power of your name, which we call upon in faith, stand by me now and heal me. Rule over that spirit of evil, conquered by your rising from the dead. Show me the way to salvation in the Holy Spirit, that I may come to worship the Father in truth, for you live and reign for ever and ever.

Amen.

"You know me, Lord."

Yes, Lord, you know I love you. You know what I've done and what I've failed to do. You know me as no one knows me. You know I love you. You have heard me pray over and over to know you more, so that I could love you more, that I could be with you more. You know I love you. Your asking tells me what you know. You know I love you but you know my love is incomplete. You are asking if I love your sheep. You know I love some of them. But you know what's missing. Loving as you have loved me is missing. Yes, Lord, you know I desire to feed unconditionally. Show me, Lord. Show me what you know in me.

Gospel (YearA)

Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, 'Give me a drink.' (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, 'How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?' (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.' The woman said to him, 'Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us the well, and with his children and his flocks, drank from it?' Jesus said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.' The woman said to him, 'Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.' Jesus said to her, 'Go, call your husband, and come back,' The woman answered him, 'I have no husband.' Jesus said to her, 'You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!" The woman said to him, 'Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.' Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.' The woman said to him, 'I know that the Messiah is coming' (who is called the Christ). 'When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.' Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you.' Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, 'What do you want?' or, 'Why are you speaking with her?' Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 'Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?' They left the city and were on their way to him. Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, 'Rabbi, eat something.' But he said to them, 'I have food to eat that you do not know about.' So the disciples said to one another, 'Surely no one has brought him something to eat?' Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, 'Four months more, then comes the harvest?' But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.' Many Samaritans from that city believed in Jesus because of the woman's testimony, 'He told me everything I have ever done.' So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, 'It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.' [Jn. 4:5-42]

WOMAN AT THE WELL QUESTIONS

What is true worship?

Worship whom?

Words or deeds?

Who is my enemy?

Why are some people my enemies?

Who am I enemy to?

Who is my neighbour?

Who am I neighbour to?

What makes us strangers to each other?

Who threatens me?

How do I threaten others?

What can I do about all this?

What is the "living water" that Jesus referred to?

Have you ever experienced this "living water"?

What is your responsibility in drinking, sharing, making known this "living water"?

The woman brought her empty jar to the well to be filled. She also brought her empty self, little suspecting that it too would be filled that day. What brings you to the well?

Discussion points:

Who the Samaritans were.

Why they were disrespected and loathed by the Jews

The fact that this woman is a social outcast

The misunderstanding that this woman has in trying to get past the physical water and well and what Jesus is actually talking about

How the Samaritans worshipped at Gherizim because they only believed in the first five books of the Old Testament and that was the authorized site for worship they came up with.

Jesus’ response to that inquiry and how worship is not about location but about whether or not it is done in Spirit and in truth.

Where, How and What people worship today

What about MY kind of worship? Is it just lip service?