March 23 – On this third Sunday of Lent, the elect (those preparing for baptism at the Easter vigil) took part in the first Scrutiny. Like the Penitential Rite, celebrated last Sunday with the candidates (those baptized Christians preparing for reception into full communion and confirmation), the focus of this prayer is for illumination of their sins and reassurance of God’s mercy. The special intercessions for this rite are followed by a prayer of exorcism and a laying on of hands (or anointing with the oil of catechumens). Especially with the new translation (under the new title of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults), I find the prayers to be powerful even as one who has already received the sacraments of initiation! As we prayed together over our catechumens, I found myself getting a bit emotional at the proclamation of our neediness for and the ready gift of God’s merciful love.

March 24 – On the anniversary of his martyrdom, the Church celebrates the memorial of Saint Óscar Romero. Only canonized relatively recently (2018) by Pope Francis, Saint Romero has long had a devout following by those who knew of and were inspired by him. Born in 1917, Romero entered seminary as a teenager and was ordained at the age of 25 – after having waited a year after his graduation in order to reach the minimum age for ordination! He served in El Salvador until being appointed a bishop and was eventually named archbishop of San Salvador (the capital). It was in this position that he began to stand against the Marxist ideology – and terrible cruelty – of his own government. Throughout the civil war that eventually broke out, he stood for peace and accountability. On March 24, 1980 he was murdered while consecrating the Eucharist at Mass, with the last words he spoke being a prayer for mercy for his killer. Read more about him at the Vatican News website.

March 25 – Today is the solemnity of the Annunciation. It is no coincidence that nine months from today will be the solemnity of the Nativity, for this is the moment when the Word became flesh: Mary’s fiat to the will of God, presented to her by the archangel Gabriel. Though it is only obvious in hindsight, this was the moment when the defeat of sin & death began. What began with Mary would lead to the cross, the resurrection, and – if we, too give our own fiat – our salvation. J.R.R. Tolkien hid his own homage to this celebration in his Lord of the Rings trilogy: the destruction of the One Ring (and the birth of Samwise Gamgee’s daughter) lands on March 25th! As we celebrate the fruition of God’s plan, may we ask the Lord to likewise open our hearts and souls to His grace. Read more about this day at the Tea With Tolkien website.

March 27 – The memorial of Saint Rupert is likely one with which most of us are unfamiliar – not least because the season of  Lent directs that memorials be largely set aside (GIRM 355a). Thankfully, no such rubric exists on this blog 🙂 A monk and bishop, Saint Rupert was known as the “Apostle of Bavaria and Austria”. Beaten and forced out of Worms (present-day Germany) by pagans, he went to Rome and was eventually invited by a duke in Bavaria to spread the faith there. He dedicated himself to that cause, eventually building a church and a Benedictine monastery in Salzburg. He served as bishop of Salzburg and the abbot of the monastery. On March 27, 718 – after preaching and celebrating Mass – he died. Read more about him at the University of Notre Dame’s FaithND site.