On the warm and sunny afternoon of March 2, catechumens, candidates, sponsors, and families from across the Diocese of Madison traveled to Waunakee.
Tag: baptism
1917 and remembering who we are
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I saw the film 1917 on the vigil of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, and I think there’s a connection between the movie and the liturgical celebration.
Bear with me.
First, as everyone who has seen it remarks, the editing and cinematography of 1917 are so astounding that it appears to unfold completely in real time, the result of one continuous shot.
The power of Baptism
This Sunday, we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, the closing of the Christmas season and an opportune moment to thank God for the remarkable grace of our own Baptism.
Jesus receives the Baptism of repentance from John, not because He needs it, but to sanctify the waters of Baptism and to identify with us in our sinful, fallen state, without ever having sinned Himself.
This compassionate identification with our weakness and death reaches its ultimate saving conclusion in the mystery of the crucifixion and resurrection.
Adaptation and renewal of Religious Life: Special gifts of the Holy Spirit
Editor’s note: During this Year of Consecrated Life, this is the third in a series based on the Second Vatican Council’s document, Perfectae Caritatis (Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life) written by Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB, former abbot primate of the Benedictine order who now resides in Madison.
The decree of the Second Vatican Council on which these reflections are based speaks in the very first paragraph about special gifts of the Holy Spirit which have been imparted to the Church.
The purpose of these gifts is the building up of the Church in the world, and for manifesting God’s own kind of Life in the world.
Baptism: Reforms of the Second Vatican Council
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| Patrick Gorman |
Lent is a season of preparation and recollection of our Baptism. This is the seventh and final article in a series of articles reflecting upon the Sacrament of Baptism.
Our Lord’s parting words to his disciples were, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt. 28:19-20).
Ever since that day, that is what the Church has done.
Baptism: Immerse yourself in mystery
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| Patrick Gorman |
Lent is a season of preparation and recollection of our Baptism. This is the sixth in a series of several articles reflecting upon the Sacrament of Baptism.
When I was studying liturgy, there was a running joke with both teachers and students — “If you don’t know the answer to a question, write down that it is a mystery” (because so much of our faith is a mystery — something which we will never understand completely in this life).
The mysteries of our faith are not like the mysteries we read. They are not a puzzle to be figured out if offered enough clues but rather realities that need to be lived and that each of us reflect upon.
Baptism: Immerse yourself in mystery
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| Patrick Gorman |
Lent is a season of preparation and recollection of our Baptism. This is the sixth in a series of several articles reflecting upon the Sacrament of Baptism.
When I was studying liturgy, there was a running joke with both teachers and students — “If you don’t know the answer to a question, write down that it is a mystery” (because so much of our faith is a mystery — something which we will never understand completely in this life).
The mysteries of our faith are not like the mysteries we read. They are not a puzzle to be figured out if offered enough clues but rather realities that need to be lived and that each of us reflect upon.
Baptism: What really happens
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| Patrick Gorman |
The last four articles have reflected upon the elements of the Baptismal ritual leading up to the actual Baptism.
Some of these elements are the welcoming of the candidate for Baptism, the sign of the cross, the blessing of the water, and the renunciation of sin and profession of faith.
The actual Baptism is really quite simple. The Baptism takes place with water which is either poured over the head of the person being baptized or in which he/she is immersed (standing or kneeling in the water), while the baptizer invokes the Trinity:
“I baptize you in the name of the Father (water), and of the Son (water), and of the Holy Spirit (water).”
Baptism: Renounce sin and proclaim Christ
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| Patrick Gorman |
Lent is a season of preparation and recollection of our Baptism. This is the fourth in a series of several articles reflecting upon the Sacrament of Baptism.
Imagine yourself in darkness with only a few candles providing light. You are standing in a secret location in the middle of the night, shivering from the cold and damp.
You have been “apprenticing” as a Christian for some time and at last you are about to join this small sect. You have no idea what will happen next and you don’t understand some of the things that already have been done.
Suddenly, your companion (godparent) turns you around, you are told to reach out and imagine standing face-to-face with the devil. Finally a booming voice from out of the darkness asks, “Do you renounce Satan?”
Baptism: A new Exodus
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| Patrick Gorman |
Lent is a season of preparation and recollection of our Baptism. This is the third in a series of several articles reflecting upon the Sacrament of Baptism.
One of the most compelling stories in the Old Testament describes the Exodus (Ex 14-15:1), when God brought the people of Israel from slavery to freedom.
At the climax of the story, God parted the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to pass through the water. As the Egyptians pursued, God allowed the water to rush back, destroying Pharaoh’s chariots and charioteers and saving the people of Israel.
The Scripture describing all of this is read each year at the Easter Vigil because it so clearly prefigures Baptism as we go through the baptismal waters from the slavery of sin to the freedom of a life in Christ.