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Showing posts with the label baptism

Lousy Godparents

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You’ve been poorly catechized and didn’t really understand the role of a Godparent for your newborn baby and so you gave this honor to your best-friend-since-3 rd -grade. It made sense at the time and you both giggled and loved the whole idea of it. Now, years later, you no longer speak to your best-friend-since-3 rd -grade. You’ve come to regret this poor choice—in a very big way—and don’t know what to do about the lousy Godparent you chose. You have been blessed by faith-filled parents and have been living your faith in a constant manner for as long as you can remember. Bestowing the honor of Godparent upon your cousin was a good choice. After all, she’s family and your lives have the blood connection that will stand the test of time. A few years later you see that she didn’t really get how important this honor was and has really failed. She apparently didn’t read up on the “job” description and now your daughter is burdened with a lousy Godparent. And your daughter sees this a

'This is my beloved Son . . .' Sunday Reflections, The Baptism of the Lord, Year A

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The Baptism of Christ , El Greco, painted 1608-28 [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)                                   Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel  Matthew 3:13-17  ( New RevisedStandard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)  Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.   John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”   But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he consented.    And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened   and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him;   and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son,   with whom I am well pleased.” To

New Resource for Catholic Moms-to-be

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Sometimes pregnancy makes us glowingly happy and sometimes it makes us miserable. But no matter how it makes us feel, it will change us and the world around us irrevocably. If you want to know more about the physical and spiritual changes that pregnancy can bring, if you're looking for deeper meaning in the little aches and pains, read Sarah Reinhard's book  A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy: Walking with Mary from Conception to Baptism . Sarah's book offers pregnant moms a week-by-week journey in prayer with Our Lady through pregnancy, labor, birth, and beyond. Each chapter of the opening section on pregnancy details the amazing physical developments the baby is undergoing. The chapters also lead us into meditation on the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, helping us to imagine how Mary coped with the dizzying changes from the moment her motherhood was announced until the day she lost Jesus in the Temple and heard his radical declaration of departure from chi

'Men will come from east and west . . .' Sunday Reflections, 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

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Open Air Rock Cross also called Nasrani Sthambams in front of the 2nd Century built Marth Mariam Catholic Church at Kuravilangadu, Kerala, India. This church belongs to the  Syro-Malabar Catholic Church , in full communion with Rome. Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)                                   Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel  Luke 13:22-30  (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) Jesus went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. And some one said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them, "Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, open to us.' He will a

'But who do you say that I am?' Sunday Reflections, 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

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St Peter Preaching , Masolino da Panicale, 1426-27 [ Web Gallery of Ar t] Readings  (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)                                   Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)       Gospel  Luke 9:18-24  (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) Now it happened that as Jesus was praying alone the disciples were with him; and he asked them, "Who do the people say that I am?" And they answered, "John the Baptist; but others say, Elijah; and others, that one of the old prophets has risen." And he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered, "The Christ of God."                                          But he charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be kille

Whisper His Name

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Father was a no show at the 8 a.m. Holy Mass today.  The old man stood at the back door waiting for him, he said he had talked to Father and that he had said he would be there.  At 8:02, we decided to have a communion service.  Jim, wonderful servant of God, did the service for us.  One of the men came up to me and a woman that I was speaking to after the service.  You never saw this man without his rosary in his hand.  It gave me such hope to see one so faithful every day to the Rosary of our Blessed Mother.  He came over and speaking to the woman spewed a derogatory comment about Father.  My heart dropped.  The woman agreed and joined in the bashing.  This isn't the first I had heard of this, and every time I hear it, it broke my heart.   They invited me to McDonald's for breakfast, I declined and said I would stay and pray.  The woman said to me, "Well he needs it!" (Meaning Father.)  What she didn't know was that most of my prayers would be in suppl

I met 'Pope John Paul III' on Easter Sunday

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On Easter Sunday afternoon in the chapel in the village where I live here in Bacolod City I baptized a girl born in January. At the celebratory dinner later a boy of nine, whom I'll call 'Carlos', approached me with a big smile on his face and told me that he wanted to be like me - a priest. But he had something even more in mind - he wanted to be Pope! And he knows the name he will call himself - Pope John Paul III. 'Carlos' is too young to have any real personal memories of Blessed John Paul but he must have heard, read and seen quite a bit about him for that pope to have made such an impression on him. He goes to Blessed Carmel Sall és School, named after the foundress of the  Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of Mary  who run the school. She was canonized last October but there are 'hoops' to be gone through before the Conceptionist Sisters can change its name.  St Carmen Sall és   (1848 - 1911) The three Sisters at

'Thou art my beloved Son.' Sunday Reflections, Baptism of the Lord, Year C

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Baptism of Christ , El Greco, painted 1596-1600 ( Web Gallery of Art ) Readings  (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings  (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  Gospel  Luke 3:15-16, 21-22   (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he were the Christ, John answered them all, "I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased."  Full post here .

'God's children . . . that is what we are.' Sunday Reflections, 4th Sunday of Easter Year B.

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From The Gospel of John (2003) Directed by Philip Saville. Jesus played by Henry Ian Cusick; narrator, Christopher Plummer. Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Second Reading 1 John 3:1-2 (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God's children; and that is what we are. Because the world refused to acknowledge him, therefore it does not acknowledge us. My dear people, we are already the children of God but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed;  all we know is, that when it is revealed we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is. An Dara Léacht 1Eoin 3:1-2 (Gaeilge, Irish) A clann ionúin, breathnaígí cad é mar ghrá a thug an tAthair dúinn! go nglaofaí clann Dé orainn, agus is amhlaidh sinn. Sé an fáth nach n-aithníonn an saol si

'You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you.' The Baptism of the Lord

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The Seven Sacraments: Baptism , Nicolas Poussin, painted 1641-42  The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is observed in Ireland on Sunday 8 January and in other countries that use English widely on Monday 9 January. The Feast brings an end to the liturgical Season of Christmas. Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel Mark 1:7-11 (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)    In the course of his preaching John the Baptist said, 'Someone is following me, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.' It was at this time that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised in the Jordan by John. No sooner had he come up out of the water than he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from