My Absence
I am sure that some of you noticed my absence during the Octave of Easter. I was visiting St. Louis, MO where I studied for my four years of theological studies in preparation for the priesthood. It was a relaxing and enjoyable trip. If you are wondering what I did here is a brief rundown: I celebrated Mass with and had dinner with Archbishop Burke (one of my personal heroes), I celebrated Mass in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, King of France (while wearing the jeweled vestments that I have long admired for their beauty), I helped raise money for the local St. Louis Catholic radio station (Covenant Network) by going on the air during their pledge drive, I ate lots of great food (St. Louis has some excellent restaurants) and visited with many wonderful friends.
And now I'm back...
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia
Homily:
In the Sequence which was chanted before the Gospel we heard these words:
Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous:
The price of life, who died, reigns immortal.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, Christ our life has conquered! He has entered into stupendous combat with satan, sin and death and He has won! He has died and risen from the tomb that life may reign…death has been trampled by the wounded yet glorious feet of our Savior Jesus Christ! He lives forever, Alleluia!
But what does this mean to us? What does it mean for you and for me in the here and now? I think for many of us this story of Easter, this account of the death and resurrection of Christ is nothing more than a happy thought, a nice story. For many in our world it makes no real difference in their lives…if it did they would come to Mass not only at Christmas and Easter, but every Sunday of the year.
For those of us who do truly believe, this day is not a day to commemorate just a happy thought or a nice story. It is the day when we celebrate our freedom. It is the day when the hope of true and lasting freedom is shown us. It is the day when sin is conquered, and thus true freedom, the freedom from sin, is gained for us. This freedom from sin, whether we know it or not, is what our hearts truly desire – for only it can bring us true happiness and Easter joy.
This is why Baptism is so much a part of our Easter Liturgies, because it is in the Sacrament of Baptism where we are united with Christ, not in an imaginative or theoretical way, but in a very real yet mystical way. Through the waters of Baptism we are united with Him in His death, burial and resurrection – and thus we share the effects of these saving events. And what is the effect of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ? It is freedom…freedom from sin, and freedom from death. My brothers and sisters, through baptism we are given the potential to experience eternal life – but only if we respond to the graces given us in that sacrament.
Today we have the great joy to celebrate this freedom, to see with our own eyes the joy of the Easter Mystery of Baptism. Today, Nicolas and Katie your daughter Julia will mystically be united with Christ. She will mystically die with Him, be buried under the life giving waters of the baptismal font, and rise triumphant with Him, full of new life and freed from original sin. It will be your duty, along with the help of her godparents to see that this new life and freedom from sin remains, as the rite of baptism says to you as parents “see that the divine life which God gives her is kept safe from the poison of sin.”
Today Christ has bought our freedom; He has trampled death underfoot, so let us rejoice and be glad. Alleuia!
Oh, The Irony
Homosexual-rights activists have been taken aback by the decision of Viacom's LOGO television channel to reject an ad from the United Church of Christ targeted to "gays."
Read the whole article here.
Those Stupid Lay People
Offensive isn't it, but that's ultimately what one bishop is hinting at. I absolutely hate it when people, especially bishops, underestimate the intelligence of the laity. For instance this:
Bishop Trautman strongly criticizes proposed Mass translations; 'incarnate,' he says, is 'not intelligible to the vast majority of those in the assembly'; on translating 'praeclarum calicem' as 'precious chalice': 'Should the agenda of a sacred vocabulary, no matter how well-intentioned, be allowed to circumvent the inspired word?'
I, for my part, believe that the average person in the pew is fully able to understand the word "incarnate" and the phrase "precious chalice." To say otherwise is to insult them. And if, by chance, someone doesn' t understand then catechesis is the answer, not watering down the sacred liturgy.
The Battle of The Footwashing
About this time every year the debate about whether it is permissable for the priest to wash the feet of women on Holy Thursday flares up. Here are few resources that might help you sort through the erroneous arguments that would allow the washing of womens feet:
An article entitled Paths to Rome: Washing of feet on Holy Thursday which does an excellent job explaining the true meaning of this ritual as well as the rubrics surrounding it.
Zenit also has a good answer written by Fr. Edward McNamara which you can find on their website.
You Are Missed Holy Father...
It was a year ago today that you went to your Father's house...please pray for us.
