Feast of the Baptism of the Lord ...

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord 
This brings to an end the season of Christmas

"Looking at the events in light of the Cross and Resurrection, the Christian people realised what happened: Jesus loaded the burden of all mankind’s guilt upon His shoulders; he bore it down into the depths of the Jordan. He inaugurated his public activity by stepping into the place of sinners." - J Ratzinger, Jesus of Nazareth, Bloomsbury 2007, p18

"Many of the incidents which accompanied Christ's baptism are symbolical of what happened at our Baptism. At Christ's baptism the Holy Spirit descended upon Him; at our Baptism the Trinity took its abode in our soul. At His baptism Christ was proclaimed the "Beloved Son" of the Father; at our Baptism we become the adopted sons of God. At Christ's baptism the heavens were opened; at our Baptism heaven was opened to us. At His baptism Jesus prayed; after our Baptism we must pray to avoid actual sin." - Msgr. Rudolph G. Bandas

The light from the Holy Spirit appears to be falling directly into the shell being used to pour the water of baptism over Jesus' head. Instead of dipping the shell into the river, the Baptist seems to be lifting up the shell to receive in its hollow, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Anointing from above.  Likewise, in its hollow, the chalice at Mass receives the gift of the Holy Spirit.  (Artist: Domenico Tintoretto)

"Today let us do honor to Christ's baptism

and celebrate this feast in holiness.

Be cleansed entirely and continue to be cleansed. 

Nothing gives such pleasure to God

as the conversion and salvation of men,

for whom His every word and every revelation exist.
He wants you to become a living force for all mankind, 
lights shining in the world.
You are to be radiant lights as you stand beside Christ, the great light,
bathed in the glory of Him who is the light of heaven."
 

St Gregory of Nazianzus

Excerpts from: Second Reading, Office of Readings

for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Pope Francis baptizes 28 babies in the Sistine Chapel

 "Through Baptism, the Church will give faith to your children. 

And you have the task to make it grow, preserve it, and ensure it becomes 

a witness to all the others.  This is the meaning of this ceremony. 

This is what I wanted to tell you: keep the faith, make it grow,

so that it can be a witness to others." 

 Pope Francis
9 January 2017, Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
Homily excerpt

Breathe into me Holy Spirit, that all my thoughts may be holy. 

Move in me, Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. 

Attract my heart, Holy Spirit, that I may love only what is holy.

Strengthen me, Holy Spirit, that I may defend all that is holy.

Protect me, Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.  Amen.

Our sacramental life...

  "Christ used the flesh and blood of Mary for His life on earth, the Word of love was uttered in her heartbeat.  Christ used His own body to utter His love on earth; His perfectly real body, with bone and sinew and blood and tears; Christ uses our bodies to express His love on earth, our humanity.

     A Christian life is a sacramental life, it is not a life lived only in the mind, only by the soul; through the bodies of men and women Christ toils and endures and rejoices and loves and dies; in them He is increased, set free, imprisoned, restrained.  In them He is crucified and buried and rises from the dead.

     Our humanity is the substance of the sacramental life of Christ in us, like the wheat for the host, like the grape for the chalice.

     Christ works His love through material as well as spiritual things.  Into His worship, following His own lead, the Church, His Church, brings material things, pure wax, flame, oil, salt, gold, water, linen, the voices of people, the gestures and actions of people, our own souls and bodies–the substance of our flesh and blood.  All this is consistent with the Incarnation, when Christ took the human nature of our Lady to be Himself."

 Caryll Houselander
The Comforting of Christ, pp. 26-27

Stained glass from chapel of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur

Bambury Road, Oxford

Holy Viaticum...

While some are preparing for their First Holy Communion...

others are preparing for their last...

Call a priest!

 

 

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) ...

1526 "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the presbyters of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven" (James 5:14-15).

1527 The sacrament of Anointing of the Sick has as its purpose the conferral of a special grace on the Christian experiencing the difficulties inherent in the condition of grave illness or old age.

1528 The proper time for receiving this holy anointing has certainly arrived when the believer begins to be in danger of death because of illness or old age.

1529 Each time a Christian falls seriously ill, he may receive the Anointing of the Sick, and also when, after he has received it, the illness worsens.

1530 Only priests (presbyters and bishops) can give the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, using oil blessed by the bishop, or if necessary by the celebrating presbyter himself.

1531 The celebration of the Anointing of the Sick consists essentially in the anointing of the forehead and hands of the sick person (in the Roman Rite) or of other parts of the body (in the Eastern rite), the anointing being accompanied by the liturgical prayer of the celebrant asking for the special grace of this sacrament.

1532 The special grace of the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick has as its effects:
- the uniting of the sick person to the passion of Christ, for his own good and that of the whole Church;
- the strengthening, peace, and courage to endure in a Christian manner the sufferings of illness or old age;
- the forgiveness of sins, if the sick person was not able to obtain it through the sacrament of Penance;
- the restoration of health, if it is conducive to the salvation of his soul;
- the preparation for passing over to eternal life.

Be prepared for those special times... 

Consider a Crucifix Sick Call Set which hangs 

on the wall ... readily available for this sacred use ... 

He went away, yet He remained... (Holy Thursday)

The Paschal Triduum begins with the Evening Mass In Cena Domini on Holy Thursday, continues through the Friday of the Lord's Passion, reaches its summit in the Solemn Paschal Vigil, and comes to a close with Sunday Vespers of the Lord's Resurrection - a full three days - evening Thursday through evening Sunday (According to the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar).

HOLY THURSDAY

Institution of the Sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Holy Orders

“Consider, on your knees, the mystery of God’s love for us, that He didn't want to leave us orphans. … For Christ knew our hunger for Himself.  He knew that we would be walking around in the darkness of a thousand wars and miseries throughout this life. …

This is Holy Thursday.  This is when the Christ we are talking about took an ordinary piece of bread and a little wine and changed it into His Body and His Blood. … Remember this day always, year after year:  the day of Christ’s infinite love, when He went away and yet He remained, in Bread and Wine, and in the priest. …

In His immense love, Christ chose men who would have His hands and His feet, in whom He could walk, in whom He could forgive sins, who could lift Him up, who could give us the sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist – the Bread and Wine, which He said makes for everlasting life!  The incredible love of God is visible to us! ..."

Catherine de Hueck Doherty

Image above: The Last Supper ~ Daniele Crespi

 

"Without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord 
would be of no avail.  It is the priest who continues

the work of redemption here on earth... 

Leave a parish for twenty years without a priest and

they will end by worshipping the beasts there...

The priest is not a priest  for himself,

he is a priest for you."

"O, how great is the priest!...

If he realized what he is, he would die."

St John Vianney

 

Pray, pray, pray for our priests!
They rely on our prayers!

As Father John Hardon, S.J., once said, “praying and offering God sacrifices for the priesthood are indispensably important,” because “there is no Catholic Church without the priesthood.”

Prayer for Priests
 (St Charles Borremeo)

O holy Mother of God, pray for the priests your Son has chosen to serve the Church. Help them, by your intercession, to be holy, zealous, and chaste. Make them models of virtue in the service of God’s people.

Help them be pious in meditation, efficacious in preaching, and zealous in the daily offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Help them administer the sacraments with joy. Amen

More on prayers for priests... Click here: Home - Seven Sisters Apostolate

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord 

‘Looking at the events in light of the Cross and Resurrection, the Christian people realised what happened: Jesus loaded the burden of all mankind’s guilt upon His shoulders; he bore it down into the depths of the Jordan. He inaugurated his public activity by stepping into the place of sinners.’ - J Ratzinger, Jesus of Nazareth, Bloomsbury 2007, p18

"Many of the incidents which accompanied Christ's baptism are symbolical of what happened at our Baptism. At Christ's baptism the Holy Spirit descended upon Him; at our Baptism the Trinity took its abode in our soul. At His baptism Christ was proclaimed the "Beloved Son" of the Father; at our Baptism we become the adopted sons of God. At Christ's baptism the heavens were opened; at our Baptism heaven was opened to us. At His baptism Jesus prayed; after our Baptism we must pray to avoid actual sin." - Msgr. Rudolph G. Bandas

The light from the Holy Spirit appears to be falling directly into the shell being used to pour the water of baptism over Jesus' head. Instead of dipping the shell into the river, the Baptist seems to be lifting up the shell to receive in its hollow, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Anointing from above.  Likewise, in its hollow, the chalice at Mass receives the gift of the Holy Spirit.  (Artist: Domenico Tintoretto)

"Today let us do honor to Christ's baptism

and celebrate this feast in holiness.

Be cleansed entirely and continue to be cleansed. 

Nothing gives such pleasure to God

as the conversion and salvation of men,

for whom His every word and every revelation exist.
He wants you to become a living force for all mankind, 
lights shining in the world.
You are to be radiant lights as you stand beside Christ, the great light,
bathed in the glory of Him who is the light of heaven."
 

St Gregory of Nazianzus

Excerpts from: Second Reading, Office of Readings

for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Pope Francis baptized 26 babies today in Rome at St Peter's Basilica

"The Holy Spirit is the principle architect in Christian Baptism, He is the One that burns and destroys original sin, restoring the beauty of divine grace.  He is the One who delivers us from the dominion of darkness, that is, of sin, and transports us into the realm of light, that is love, truth and peace.  This is the light. Think of what dignity Baptism lifts us to!"

 Pope Francis
10 January 2016, Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Breathe into me Holy Spirit, that all my thoughts may be holy. 

Move in me, Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. 

Attract my heart, Holy Spirit, that I may love only what is holy.

Strengthen me, Holy Spirit, that I may defend all that is holy.

Protect me, Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.  Amen.

To know, love, and serve... the goal!

 6. Q. Why did God make you? 

A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world,

and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven. - Baltimore Catechism

 

"Evangelization is Eucharistic, because it draws us more deeply

into the life of God—all people, no matter who they are,

can more deeply come to know, love, and serve Jesus Christ.

 

Our call is to help our friends deepen their love of God

by the witness of our lives,

the proclamation of the Gospel,

and by assistance in sharing the sacramental life."

 

Bishop James D. Conley

Lincoln, Nebraska - USA

 

 

Allegory of the Eucharist (detail) - Cooseman

The incredible love of God made VISIBLE! (Holy Thursday)

The Paschal Triduum begins with the Evening Mass In Cena Domini on Holy Thursday, continues through the Friday of the Lord's Passion, reaches its summit in the Solemn Paschal Vigil, and comes to a close with Sunday Vespers of the Lord's Resurrection - a full three days - evening Thursday through evening Sunday (According to the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar)

HOLY THURSDAY

Institution of the Sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Holy Orders

 

“Consider, on your knees, the mystery of God’s love for us, that He didn't want to leave us orphans. … For Christ knew our hunger for Himself.  He knew that we would be walking around in the darkness of a thousand wars and miseries throughout this life. …

This is Holy Thursday.  This is when the Christ we are talking about took an ordinary piece of bread and a little wine and changed it into His Body and His Blood. … Remember this day always, year after year:  the day of Christ’s infinite love, when He went away and yet He remained, in Bread and Wine, and in the priest. …

In His immense love, Christ chose men who would have His hands and His feet, in whom He could walk, in whom He could forgive sins, who could lift Him up, who could give us the sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist – the Bread and Wine, which He said makes for everlasting life!  The incredible love of God is visible to us! ..."

Catherine de Hueck Doherty

 

"Without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord 
would be of no avail.  It is the priest who continues

the work of redemption here on earth... 

Leave a parish for twenty years without a priest and

they will end by worshipping the beasts there...

The priest is not a priest  for himself,

he is a priest for you."

"O, how great is the priest!...

If he realized what he is, he would die."

St John Vianney

 

Pray, pray, pray for our priests!
They rely on our prayers!

As Father John Hardon, S.J., once said, “praying and offering God sacrifices for the priesthood are indispensably important,” because “there is no Catholic Church without the priesthood.”

Prayer for Priests
 (St Charles Borremeo)

O holy Mother of God, pray for the priests your Son has chosen to serve the Church. Help them, by your intercession, to be holy, zealous, and chaste. Make them models of virtue in the service of God’s people.

Help them be pious in meditation, efficacious in preaching, and zealous in the daily offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Help them administer the sacraments with joy. Amen

More on prayers for priests... Click here: Home - Seven Sisters Apostolate

Holy Viaticum

Is any among you sick? Let him call for the presbyters of
the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with
oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith 
will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; 
and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. -  James 5:14-15

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC):

1524  In addition to the Anointing of the Sick, the Church offers those who are about to leave this life the Eucharist as viaticum. Communion in the body and blood of Christ, received at this moment of "passing over" to the Father, has a particular significance and importance. It is the seed of eternal life and the power of resurrection, according to the words of the Lord: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." The sacrament of Christ once dead and now risen, the Eucharist is here the sacrament of passing over from death to life, from this world to the Father.

1525 Thus, just as the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist form a unity called "the sacraments of Christian initiation," so too it can be said that Penance, the Anointing of the Sick and the Eucharist as viaticum constitute at the end of Christian life "the sacraments that prepare for our heavenly homeland" or the sacraments that complete the earthly pilgrimage.

Continue reading about this beautiful Sacrament and gift of the Church

See Catechism of the Catholic Church - Sections 1499-1532 http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt2sect2chpt2art5.shtml
Please call a priest for this holy time of preparation and passage.

Viaticum angels - wood engraving, France - 1891

"The world's thy ship and not thy home." - St Thérèse of Lisieux

Illumined and upheld!

 "But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it. See I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.… Deut 30:14-16

"Illuminated by the light of the Gospel

and upheld by the grace of the sacraments,

especially the Eucharist,

we can orient our choices towards the good

and pass, with courage and hope,

moments of darkness and more tortuous paths."

 

Pope Francis

3 Sept 2014, General Audience

His incredible love made VISIBLE !

The Paschal Triduum begins with the Evening Mass In Cena Domini on Holy Thursday, continues through the Friday of the Lord's Passion, reaches its summit in the Solemn Paschal Vigil, and comes to a close with Sunday Vespers of the Lord's Resurrection - a full three days - evening Thursday through evening Sunday. (According to the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar)

HOLY THURSDAY

Institution of the Sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Holy Orders

 

The Last Supper, Nesterenko, Vasily Igorevich  

“Consider, on your knees, the mystery of God’s love for us, that He didn't want to leave us orphans. … For Christ knew our hunger for Himself.  He knew that we would be walking around in the darkness of a thousand wars and miseries throughout this life. …

This is Holy Thursday.  This is when the Christ we are talking about took an ordinary piece of bread and a little wine and changed it into His Body and His Blood. … Remember this day always, year after year:  the day of Christ’s infinite love, when He went away and yet He remained, in Bread and Wine, and in the priest. …

In His immense love, Christ chose men who would have His hands and His feet, in whom He could walk, in whom He could forgive sins, who could lift Him up, who could give us the sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist – the Bread and Wine, which He said makes for everlasting life!  The incredible love of God is visible to us! ..."

Catherine de Hueck Doherty

 

 

"Without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord

would be of no avail.  It is the priest who continues

the work of redemption here on earth... 

Leave a parish for twenty years without a priest and

they will end by worshipping the beasts there...

The priest is not a priest  for himself,

he is a priest for you."

 

"O, how great is the priest!...

If he realized what he is, he would die."

 

St John Vianney

 

 

Pray, pray, pray for our priests!

They rely on our Prayers!

As Father John Hardon, S.J., once said, “praying and offering God sacrifices for the priesthood are indispensably important,” because “there is no Catholic Church without the priesthood.”

Prayer of Bl Mother Teresa of Calcutta for priests

Mary, Mother of Jesus, throw your mantle of purity over our priests. Protect them, guide them, and keep them in your heart. Be a Mother to them, especially in times of discouragement and loneliness. Love them and keep them belonging completely to Jesus. Like Jesus, they, too, are your sons, so keep their hearts pure and virginal. Keep their minds filled with Jesus, and put Jesus always on their lips, so that he is the one they offer to sinner and to all they meet. Mary, Mother of Jesus, be their Mother, loving them and bring them joy. Take special care of sick and dying priests, and the ones most tempted. Remember how they spent their youth and old age, their entire lives serving and giving all to Jesus. Mary, bless them and keep a special place for them in your heart. Give them a piece of your heart, so beautiful and pure and immaculate, so full of love and humility, so that they, too, can grow in the likeness of Christ. Dear Mary, make them humble like you, and holy like Jesus. Amen. 

Be reconciled!

 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits  - 

 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion. - Psalm 103: 2-4

 The Prodigal Son ~ Liz Lemon Swindle

“The two sacraments of the Eucharist and Penance

are very closely connected. Because the Eucharist makes present

the redeeming sacrifice of the cross, perpetuating it sacramentally,

it naturally gives rise to a continuous need for conversion,

for a personal response to the appeal made by Saint Paul

to the Christians of Corinth  (2 Cor 5:20) :

‘We beseech you on behalf of Christ,

be reconciled to God’.”

       

Pope Bl John Paul II

Anniversary of entering eternal life
Saturday, April 2, 2005

Holy Remedies

 "Ask Jesus to make you a Saint. After all, only He can do that. Go to confession regularly and to Communion as often as you can."

-St Dominic Savio

"In the life of St Philip Neri, we read that one day a young man who was leading a very impure life came to the saint to Confession.  St Philip, knowing that there was no better remedy against concupiscence than the most sacred Body of Jesus Christ, counseled him to frequent the Sacraments.  By this means he was in a short time entirely freed from his vicious habits and became pure like an angel. 

Oh, how many souls have made the same experience!   Ask any Christian who has once lived in sin and afterwards truly amended, from what moment he began to get the better of his passions, and he will answer, from the moment that he began to frequent the Sacraments. 

How should it be otherwise? Jesus calms the winds and seas by a single word.  What storm will be able to resist His power?  What gust of passion will not subside when, on entering the soul, He says:  'Peace be with thee; be not afraid; it is I!’ The danger of mortal sin, however, arises not only from the strength of our passions, but also from the violence of the temptations with which the devil assails us; and against these, too, the Blessed Sacrament protects us."

Michael Mueller, C.S.S.R.

Excerpt:  The Blessed Sacrament,

Our Greatest Treasure (Pg 103-04)

Let us make frequent and good Confessions during Lent -

that we may make frequent and good Communions.  

Offer a MEMORARE now in thanksgiving for priests - 

who generously bring us the Sacraments!  

MEMORARE, O piissima Virgo Maria, non esse auditum a saeculo, quemquam ad tua currentem praesidia, tua implorantem auxilia, tua petentem suffragia, esse derelictum. Ego tali animatus confidentia, ad te, Virgo Virginum, Mater, curro, ad te venio, coram te gemens peccator assisto. Noli, Mater Verbi, verba mea despicere; sed audi propitia et exaudi. Amen.

REMEMBER, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly to thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen. Would you like to congratulate our dear Pope Francis on his first anniversary (Thurs, March 13) as Pontiff  ?  It is now possible thanks to a newly launched website titled GrazieFrancesco.com To view the video click here.