One of the trademarks of the seven sacraments is that they were all “instituted by Christ.” This is a fancy way of saying that Jesus began all of the seven sacraments, and they were not a later development of the Church. The Church has developed many forms of devotion over the centuries such as the Rosary and the different expressions of our liturgy. Even our frequency of the celebration of the seven sacraments has changed, but the sacraments themselves have been the same since the beginning. 

Since we are studying the sacrament of Confirmation during December, I thought it would be helpful to look into the scriptural foundations of this sacrament of the Holy Spirit. Admittedly, Jesus’ institution of Confirmation is not as clear as his institution of baptism. However, the Church has always seen Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit as the institution of Confirmation. He said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it.” This promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, when the small but mighty Church received the gift of the Holy Spirit to be sent out on mission. 

The Apostles clearly understood the necessity of administering Confirmation after a Christian was baptized. During a persecution of Christians in Jerusalem, Philip (one of the original seven deacons), found himself in Samaria and began to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Great crowds of people were converted, and Philip the Deacon baptized many of them. However, when the Apostles heard about the success of Philip’s preaching, they sent Peter and John to pray that the new Christians would receive the Holy Spirit. We read in the Acts of the Apostles, “Peter and John went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:15-17). 

It’s a bit odd to think that these Christians were baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, yet our scriptures say that they had not yet received the Holy Spirit! This needs to be properly understood, because we know that when we receive the gift of baptism, the Holy Trinity begins to dwell within us through the gift of sanctifying grace. Baptism is only a beginning, whereas Confirmation is a sacrament of Christian maturity and the gift of the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Christian life is all about growing in God’s love, and until we die, our goal should be to receive more and more of this love every day! Confirmation gives an increase of God’s love and a strengthening of his gifts within us so that we can more effectively practice our charisms to build up the Church and use the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit to grow in holiness. Let us lean on the strength of God, knowing that he has strengthened us in Confirmation! 

Feast Day: December 23^rd   

Today we take ourselves back more than 600 years ago to the village of Kenty, in southern Poland (actually, only a handful of miles from where St. John Paul II grew up, though also very near to where the Nazi’s would establish the Auschwitz concentration camp).  It is one of the oldest established cities in Poland, tracing its founding back to 1277, but a century later, when Jan (John) was born, it was still a fairly small place, with little to indicate all that would come from the new little boy.  

As always, perhaps the first thing that strikes us about any saint is the famous things they did or characteristics that marked them.  John was an intelligent young man, and ended up attending university at the Academy of Krakow (later to become the Jagiellonian University), which is the second oldest university in Europe, and would over the course of 6+ centuries of teaching, graduate countless prestigious alumni.  A few highlights include figures such as Nicolas Copernicus (discovered heliocentrism), St. Stanislaus Kazimierz (tremendous, saintly priest), King John Sobieski (who is depicted in one of our stained glass windows in the Cathedral), Karol Wojtyla (who became Pope John Paul II), as well as our own Bishop Paprocki.

Back to Jan though, he showed his mettle as a student in philosophy, theology, scripture, spirituality, and all the sorts of things you might expect a soon-to-be-ordained young man to.  He also became known for his generosity and compassion towards the poor, especially, as he became a professor soon at that same university, for the students who attended his classes, for their spiritual, academic, and physical needs.  His patience and holiness were shown in a different light when he was jealously ousted from the university and sent off to be a parish priest, where the famous scholar happily cared for a little flock until restored to his place at the Jagiellonian.  And, of course, a bit of poverty and simplicity also marked his life: he was known to eat very simply, went on pilgrimage to Rome and Jerusalem (carrying everything he needed on his back, though he didn’t have a whole lot since he gave away most of his possessions to those who needed them more than he.)  He’s, not surprisingly, the patron Saint of Teachers, Students, Priests and Pilgrims, which means he’s a patron for almost all of us!

But I want to direct our attention here to a different interest of his life: he helped develop further Fr. Jean Buridan’s theory of impetus.  Now, I suspect none of us have heard of Kenty, perhaps not John of Kenty either, and most probably not Jean Buridan and his theory of impetus.  But, this philosopher and physicist and priest developed a revision of the long-held Aristotelian understanding of motion (which assumed that the air/atmosphere somehow kept things moving because something had to), and instead proposed that an object’s motion is imparted to it by some mover, and is proportional to the speed, and mass, that the object has (minus the resistance that air imparts).  John of Kenty (I should mention, also known as St. John Cantius, the patron of the order of priests who are our nearest neighbors over at Sacred Heart), a priest, a pilgrim, a professor, and a pauper, was also a physicist, and made significant contributions to a theory that would later develop into Newton’s understanding of inertia, and all the way into the classical physics we all learn in school.

What’s the takeaway?  Holiness doesn’t mean you have to be boring.  The interests, ideas, inspirations, and other things that fill your heart have a place in heaven.  Give thanks to the giver of those gifts today, and use them for His glory!

– Fr. Dominic Rankin spent a lot of hours growing up with lego’s, erector sets, k’nex, and other such construction/mechanical-creation sorts of toys.  He does not have as much time as then to tinker with things, but continues to be entranced by physics, astronomy, aeronautics, electricity, robotics, etc.   He hasn’t yet made a major scientific breakthrough, but wouldn’t mind if that became a small part of his walk towards holiness one day.

The Third Sunday of Advent is traditionally known as Gaudete Sunday.  It gets its title from the Entrance Antiphon for Mass: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.  Indeed, the Lord is near.” (Philippians 4:4-5). Gaudete is the Latin word for ‘Rejoice’, thus this Sunday being named this way.  To highlight this joyful attitude we are commanded to have, the Church permits her clergy to wear rose vestments on this Sunday. 

Joy is a word that we often associate with Advent and Christmas.  The birth of Jesus was a joyful event.  At the Mass during the Night on Christmas, the Gospel from St. Luke recalls that moment when the angel appeared to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem with these words: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.” (Lk 2:10-11)

Joy is a gift that we all desire, yet it can often be elusive.  In our attempt to experience joy, we grasp at things that may bring pleasure and happiness, but we often find that those feelings last only for a while, and we go back to the same source, or look somewhere else to find something that we hope will fulfill us.  But true joy is a gift we cannot buy, cannot take, cannot own.  Joy is a gift that can only be received from the one who alone can give it, our Lord.

In his homily last Saturday during our Immaculate Conception Novena, Deacon Larry Smith reminded us that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.  Just as a piece of fruit cannot come about except from a tree or plant, so too can joy only come from the source which is to be found in God.  The more we share in the life of God, living according to His will, following His teachings, and remining in His grace, the more we will experience the true joy for which our hearts long.

The Sacrament of Confirmation increases the Gifts of the Holy Spirit within us, and the more we allow those gifts to guide us, the more plentiful will be all of the fruits of the Spirit, which, in addition to joy, are as follows: charity, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.  As we slowly read that list, do not our hearts burn within us, desiring to have those fruits a part of our lives?  We cannot go to the grocery store to pick up these fruits.  We cannot order them on the Internet.  We cannot create them with anything that we have.  Only God can give this gift.  And the good news is this: He wants to give these fruits to us in abundance!  With that in mind, how can we not rejoice?

As we continue our Advent journey toward Christmas, in addition to praying: “Come, Lord, Jesus”, let us be quick to add: “Come, Holy Spirit”, that our hearts will not put up any resistance to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, which will yield an abundant harvest of His fruits for us to enjoy.

Father Alford     

In his article last week, Fr. Alford reflected on the use of the Sacred Chrism in the three of the sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders. When I was ordained a priest in June, Bishop Paprocki smeared the Sacred Chrism on the palms of my hands to set them apart for the ministerial priesthood of Jesus, making them holy to consecrate the Eucharist and forgive sins. The Sacred Chrism carries a distinctly beautiful smell, which can often be smelled on a newly baptized baby’s head for the rest of the day after his or her baptism! Unfortunately for me and my classmates, we had to use alcohol-based hand sanitizer before distributing Communion at our ordination Mass, so the smell of Chrism was gone before Mass was even over. But the important part is that our hands were consecrated, and we were ordained priests! There is a tradition that after receiving a priest’s first blessing, the one receiving the blessing kisses the palms of the new priest’s hands. Covid mostly prevented that tradition this time around, but once again, I am grateful to have been ordained a priest even during a pandemic. 

Whenever I have the privilege of receiving a new child into the Church through baptism, I anoint the baby on the top of the head with this same Sacred Chrism which was used at my priestly ordination. The smell of the Chrism on my thumb reminds me of my ordination, and I hope it always does. The distinct smell comes from the sweet-smelling balsam perfume which is added to olive or vegetable oil when it is consecrated by the Bishop at the Chrism Mass the week before Easter. It is interesting that this annual Mass, an ancient Christian tradition, draws its name from the Chrism itself. This shows just how important this sacred oil is in the life of the Church. This Mass is the occasion for all the priests of the diocese to renew their promises to the bishop, and the unity of the diocese under one bishop is strengthened and reaffirmed. I’m looking forward to my first Chrism Mass as a priest, which I hope to attend during Holy Week of 2021. 

The scent of Chrism has even worked its way into other parts of our society. It is common to find candles, essential oils, and even beard balm that have been scented with the sweet balsam commonly used for the Sacred Chrism. The Church, in her wisdom, knows how to use beautiful things for the glory of God, even something simple like a sweet perfume. This sweetness signifies the love that God has for each one of us, his children! 

Feast Day: December 13^th  

Today I want to tell the story of a sketch.  Of course, it has to do with the saint we celebrate this week – St. John of the Cross – but I think it captures so much of his heart and mysticism and sanctity, that it offers all of us all a chance to follow after him on the road to heaven.

Juan was born in Spain in 1542, which means he entered a divided and violent world.  Martin Luther would die 4 years later, unreconciled to the Catholic Church, and having set in motion the protestant reformation that would fracture Christianity, and insight the bloody religious then starting around Europe.  Of course, much of Luther’s complaints stemmed from real abuses that marred the mystical body of Christ, but, as always, the call of Christians is to assist Our Lord in building up the Church, never in tearing it asunder.  Don’t abandon, assist.  Don’t complain, cleanse.  Don’t reject, reform. Don’t leave, love.  

That call was heard by John of the Cross.  It was heard by many saints that appeared during these trying years.  St. Philip Neri, St. Charles Borromeo, St. Francis Xavier, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Thomas More, St. John Fisher, St. Francis de Sales, St. Peter Canisius, Pope St. Pius V, St. Theresa of Avila…  All these and more would be God’s beacons of sanctity in the midst of a terrible century.  God never leaves, He just keeps loving.

But back to St. John, and his drawing.  At the age of 21, John entered the Carmelite Order and began his study of theology and philosophy, culminating in his ordination as a Carmelite priest in 1567.  Seeing the depravity and laxity rampant around him, John seriously considered leaving them to become a Carthusian, but God had other plans.  The young priest encountered a Carmelite nun, Teresa of Ávila, and was captivated by her dream to reform the Carmelite order.  Don’t leave, love.

In their efforts to reform the order, John (now “of the Cross”) would be suppressed, then imprisoned, even tortured, and would travel many thousands of kilometers founding and leading the struggling communities, in the end being completely exhausted by his efforts.  But finally in 1580, the Discalced Carmelites (literally meaning “un-shod”, referring to their taking up the original penance of the Carmelites to not wear shoes) were approved as a new branch of the order by Pope Gregory XIII.  It was during these, his final years that he composed Living Flame of Love, his shortest poem, but hauntingly poignant.  If I might be bold, it could also be summarized: Don’t leave, love.

1. Oh, living flame of love
   That tenderly woundest my soul in its deepest centre,
   Since thou art no longer oppressive, perfect me now if it be thy will,
   Break the web of this sweet encounter.
2. Oh, sweet burn! Oh, delectable wound!
   Oh, soft hand! Oh, delicate touch
   That savours of eternal life and pays every debt!
   In slaying, thou hast changed death into life.
3. Oh, lamps of fire,
   In whose splendours the deep caverns of sense
   Which were dark and blind with strange brightness
   Give heat and light together to their Beloved!
4. How gently and lovingly thou awakenest in my bosom,
   Where thou dwellest secretly and alone!
   And in thy sweet breathing, full of blessing and glory,
   How delicately thou inspirest my love!

But what about that sketch?  For that we have to go back to those first years after meeting Teresa.  He had just barely decided not to become a Carthusian.  He had yet to be beaten by his own brothers.  He had yet to crisscross Spain.  And yet, as he wedged himself in the choir loft in Ávila, his prayer carried him to the cross, and then up over it, to see it as the Father did. 

Christ hangs in darkness and suffering, spurned and provoked … but He did not leave, He loved.

The Father glances down, His greatest gift rejected … but He didn’t leave, He loved.

The Spirit is poured forth, upon a world torn and terrible … but He didn’t leave, He loved.

And so did John, and so must we.

– Fr. Dominic Rankin often simply looks at the crucifix if prayer isn’t easy, and he recently discovered that the Heavenly Father, speaking to St. John, Himself encourages just that: “Fasten your eyes on him alone because in him I have spoken and revealed all, and in him you will discover even more than you ask for and desire … If you desire me to answer with a word of comfort, behold my Son subject to me and to others out of love for me, and afflicted, and you will see how much he answers you.” [Ascent of Mt. Carmel, St. John of the Cross, chapter 22, 5-6]

With the recent mitigations in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our state, we had to make the difficult decision to suspend several of our in-person activities for Faith Formation, including our Family of Faith program for our children.  But we can see God’s Providence working in having our parish switch to this model last year, giving our families the experience to undertake the important work of faith formation in their homes, the domestic church.  Even though we are not gathering physically as a group, we continue to move forward!

As we move into December, the sacrament of the month is the Sacrament of Confirmation.  According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Confirmation completes the grace of Baptism, so it is only logical that we focus on this sacrament after having just completed a month with Baptism.  I would like to focus on what is called the “essential rite” of Confirmation, which is what is absolutely necessary for the sacrament to be conferred validly.  Here is what the Catechism says: 

The essential rite of the sacrament follows. In the Latin rite, “the sacrament of Confirmation is conferred through the anointing with chrism on the forehead, which is done by the laying on of the hand, and through the words: ‘Accipe signaculum doni Spiritus Sancti‘ [Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.].” (CCC 1300)

The use of Sacred Chrism for this sacrament is worth reflecting on for a moment.  This holy oil is used anytime the Church consecrates somebody for a special mission.  At Baptism, the newly baptized anointed with Sacred Chrism and is set apart as a child of God, called to live a life of holiness and to one day be in Heaven.  Confirmation sets us apart for the spreading and defending of the faith, aided by the new outpouring of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Bishops and Priests are anointed with Sacred Chrism at their ordination, signifying that they are set apart for their participation in the ministerial priesthood of Jesus Christ in service to the people of God, especially though the celebration of the sacraments. 

Sacred Chrism is also used to consecrate things.  In particular, it is used to consecrate churches and altars, for these are set aside for the purpose of offering a sacred place in which to worship God and to offer the sacrifice of the Mass.  Just this past week, on December 2, we celebrated the Anniversary of the Re-Dedication of our Cathedral.  One of the greatest parts of that ceremony was the consecration of the new altar.  I remember vividly that moment of the Mass as Archbishop Lucas spread the Sacred Chrism all over the altar, creating that beautiful aroma that comes from that holy oil.  Since that day, the altar has served its purpose of being a place set apart for God.  May we recall the day of our Confirmation (if we have been confirmed) and ask for the grace to rededicate ourselves to living our vocation to be set apart for the spreading and defending the faith in our daily lives, confident of the power of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit to assist us.

Father Alford     

This month we are focusing on the Sacrament of Confirmation in our bulletin columns. For several years now, the parishes of our diocese have been in the process of implementing the “restored order” of the Sacraments of Initiation. Confirmation is the second sacrament of Initiation, which is why it is more appropriate to receive it before receiving first Holy Communion. 

There is a mistaken understanding that some hold in our Church today, which comes from the meaning of the word “Confirmation.” Confirmation in this sense means a strengthening or fortifying. It’s like putting a spiritual suit of armor on a new Christian! Because Confirmation was given around the time of adolescence for several decades in the United States, the understanding has been flip-flopped. I remember at the time I was Confirmed that my classmates and I understood that we were confirming our belief in Jesus. This is obviously a very good thing to do, and one that we do every day as Christians. However, receiving a sacrament is not about what we do for God, but what God does for us. 

This misunderstanding is not a new idea in the Church, and even the Council of Trent (around 1550) spoke about this. One of the statements of this ecumenical council was, “If anyone says that the Confirmation of those who have been baptized is a catechism whereby those near adolescence give an account of their faith in the face of the Church, let him be anathema.” This is a normal formula used by Church councils to explain that an idea is not in accord with the Catholic Faith. This statement was a response to some Christians who believed that while Baptism was a sacrament, Confirmation was not a true sacrament and was simply a way for youth to express their faith. 

As with all the sacraments, it is important to keep in mind that the sacraments impart God’s divine life to us. Expressing our faith is, of course, an essential part of the Christian life, but sacraments are all about receptivity. Some Christian traditions give babies Confirmation in the same ceremony as Baptism, which really emphasizes the receptive aspect of the sacraments! 

More and more dioceses are moving to implement the restored order of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist around the country. Hopefully younger children receiving this great sacrament will be more receptive than older teenagers who have often already checked out of their faith life or abandoned it altogether. Every day, we should ask the Holy Spirit to be with us and fill with his love which was increased and strengthened in our reception of the sacrament of Confirmation.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth. 

Feast Day: December 7^th  

On April 4^th in the year 397, early on Easter Saturday, the Bishop Ambrose of Milan was dying.  His life was marvelous.  He had been elected to the episcopacy by popular acclaim (before he was baptized!  He had to receive all his sacraments on top of each other before being ordained bishop), fought heresies (Arianism especially, which said Jesus was not truly God), stood up to emperors (Theodosius I, for persecuting Jews and massacring the Thessalonians), and brought about the conversion of St. Augustine (of course, with the help of St. Monica’s prayers). 

I could speak on any of those tremendous accomplishments, but today I rejoice to stick to a simpler part of his life.  As he lay on his deathbed, Paulinus, his deacon, who was with him in his final moments, records: “we saw his lips moving … but we could not hear his voice” [St. Paulinus, Life of Ambrose].  It would not be a noticeable comment – perhaps these were Ambrose’s final whispered prayers – except for the fact that St. Augustine had written a similar line about Ambrose, his great mentor and friend, many years before: 

When [Ambrose] read, his eyes scanned the page and his heart sought out the meaning, but his voice was silent and his tongue was still. Anyone could approach him freely and guests were not commonly announced, so that often, when we came to visit him, we found him reading like this in silence, for he never read aloud.
[St. Augustine, Confessions, Book 3, Chapter 6]

At that time, surprisingly enough, it was uncommon for anyone to read silently.  We have a few records of others in the ancient world who did so, but otherwise, the vast majority of everyone who could read, only did so out loud.  Even if someone were just reading by themselves, they would still vocalize the words, or a person would have someone else read to them.

Now, that would remain just an interesting factoid except for the tremendous fact that Christianity is a religion of the Word, and Ambrose’s practice came from his love for the Word of God.  Augustine also tells us that Ambrose, when he was consecrated bishop, immediately sold practically all the possessions he had (as an orator and governor) except for his books.  He was a very literate and studious man, but as a bishop, and saint-in-the-making, this was his choice to prioritize the Word of God over even all the other books that he treasured.  His labor over the books of scripture each day – the Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Matthew, Luke… – these were His daily sustenance and informed every other aspect of his life.  His courage, eloquence, simplicity, wisdom, hymnody, and generosity … all flowed from his being saturated by the Bible.

We call Ambrose a doctor of the Church because this biblical foundation to his life flowed forth in his teaching, and his composition of some of the greatest hymns the Church has.  Both are splendid tapestries of word, woven from the threads of scripture, and they have given Ambrose the nickname “honey-tongued” (for this reason he is the patron of beekeepers…  Things you learn!)  I will leave you with one of his best hymns, perfect for our continued meditation this Advent.  (The language is even more splendid in its original Latin!)

Veni, Redemptor Gentium

1. Come, thou Redeemer of the earth,
and manifest thy virgin-birth:
let every age adoring fall;
such birth befits the God of all.

2. Begotten of no human will,
But of the Spirit, Thou art still
The Word of God in flesh arrayed,
The promised fruit to men displayed.

3. The virgin womb that burden gained
With virgin honor all unstained;
The banners there of virtue glow;
God in His temple dwells below.

4. Forth from His chamber goeth He,
That royal home of purity,
A giant in two-fold substance one,
Rejoicing now His course to run.

5. From God the Father He proceeds,
To God the Father back He speeds;
His course He runs to death and hell,
Returning on God’s throne to dwell.

6. O equal to the Father, Thou!
Gird on Thy fleshly mantle now;
The weakness of our mortal state
With deathless might invigorate.

7. Thy cradle here shall glitter bright
And darkness breathe a newer light,
Where endless faith shall shine serene,
And twilight never intervene.

 – Fr. Dominic Rankin always struggles to answer the question “what kind of music do you like?” I like many classical pieces, especially orchestral works, certainly sacred music and Gregorian chant, Christian singers, some pop pieces, many different vocal groups/individuals, especially acapella and what is unhelpfully described as “easy listening”.  What is a song that you are grateful for?  Let me know, I want to give it a listen!  For now, enjoy a video of Ambrose’s Veni, Redemptor Omnium:

Happy New Year!  I always look forward to sharing this greeting with fellow Catholics at the beginning of Advent, which marks the beginning of a new liturgical year for us.  With this greeting, whether we do it now or with the rest of society at the beginning of January, it is expressed with hope.  With the new year just beginning, we express our hope that it will be a good year ahead.  I think it is safe to say that this past year has not exactly been what we had hoped.  Is there any reason to think that the coming year will be any better?

As Christians, our answer to that question is an overwhelming “yes.”  Why?  Because the hope that we hold onto is a hope that is different from the worldly hope that always seems to come up short.  I was recently reading Pope Benedict’s encyclical on hope (Spe salvi), and he commented on the traditional dialog that takes place between the minister and the parents at the beginning of the Sacrament of Baptism.  Here is how the dialog goes:

• Minister:  What do you ask of the Church?
• Parents: Faith
• Minister: And what does faith give you?
• Parents: Eternal life

And so from the very beginning of our lives in Christ, we have planted within us, through the gift of faith, the hope for eternal life.  With each passing day and each passing year, we take one step closer to the realization of that hope.  

The Season of Advent is a great time to renew that sense of hope within us.  This season invites us to be joyful as we remember the coming of Christ in history nearly 2000 years ago.  His birth brought hope to a people who had been walking in darkness for generations.  His birth was a preparation for His death, when He destroyed death forever and unlocked the gates of Heaven to believers.  That victory is the reason for our hope.  Advent therefore is also a time to look forward in hope to Christ’s return when all who are in communion with Him in life and in death will share in His victory fully.

In the meantime, however, Advent invites us to recall that Jesus comes to us here and now in the mystery of His grace, present to us in a special way in the sacraments.  He brings light to us in the midst of the darkness that surrounds us, reminding us that we are not alone.  He is near to us, renewing our hope that at the end of this earthly journey, no matter how bumpy that journey may be, our hope in eternal life, given on the day of our Baptism, will be fulfilled.

May I therefore encourage you to pray the following traditional Advent prayer regularly: “Come, Lord Jesus.”  We pray for His coming in glory at the end of time, but we pray for Him to come in mystery into our lives anew in this new year, so that no matter what this year may bring, our hope in Him will not waver, and as St. Paul reminds us, this “hope does not disappoint.” (Rom 5:5)

Father Alford     

It’s hard to believe that we are already into the season of Advent. We can all agree that time flies too quickly, and each year just seems to go by more quickly. Advent is the beginning of our new liturgical year, and fittingly so as we prepare for the celebration of Christmas. 

This Sunday concludes our reflections on the sacrament of baptism. I wanted to dive into a very special baptism that can be found in our gospels – the baptism of Jesus himself. This baptism was the beginning of his public ministry, when it was manifested to the world that he was the Son of God. Let’s take a look at Matthew 3:13-17: “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?’ Jesus said to him in reply, ‘Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed him. After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”

The baptism of Jesus has baffled many throughout the centuries, first of all John the Baptist himself! John states the obvious when he says that it should be the other way around, with Jesus baptizing him, and he’s right! At the time of Jesus, before baptism was a sacrament of the New Covenant, the Jews had many ritual washings as part of their religious practice. Ritual washings were used to regain ritual purity as the body experienced things that were “unclean.” This is a somewhat hard concept for us to grasp, because unclean did not necessarily mean immoral or sinful. For example, after a woman gave birth, she was considered unclean for several weeks, although there was clearly no sin involved in having a baby! Similarly, soldiers would undergo a ritual washing after battle, and priests would undergo a washing before offering sacrifice. We can see how Jesus used the Jewish concept of ritual washing as a foundation for his institution of the sacrament of baptism. 

John was baptizing people in the Jordan in response to his call to conversion. He apparently had a successful following of people who understood the need for repentance and expressed this through the reception of a baptism in the river. Jesus had no need for this, which both he and John both recognized. However, we understand that Jesus was baptized for our sake. Jesus said that it is fitting for him to be baptized. In doing so, he sets the model for all of us and undergoes the same treatment as everyone else. This follows the pattern of Jesus always offering himself for our sake. 

Jesus’ baptism was a sort of reversal of roles. Typically, the water is clean and would wash the body of the unclean person. However, with Jesus it was opposite. Since Jesus is God himself and the source of all holiness, when he was baptized, he in turn sanctified the waters for our baptism. In Jesus’ baptism, he was revealed to the world as the Son of God, when God the Father spoke from the heavens saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” God the Father spoke the same words to us in each of our baptisms, and what a beautiful beginning we each had! May our Advent season be filled with the graces of our baptism as we prepare to once again receive the Son of God into our hearts.