Sacred Liturgy & Sacraments: January 2011 Archives

In the days since Christmastide mysteries of faith many theological matters come to mind in knowing Jesus. All of the spiritual masters tell us that it's crucially important for us to come to personally know Jesus Christ, our Lord, in his true light. The image of Christ as a light is reinforced in the baptismal rites where we talk about the sacrament bringing us into inexpressible light. It is also recalled in the Creed. Our enlightenment into the mystery of Jesus' divinity continually needs our reflection, especially when the gospels of the Transfiguration and the Resurrection are proclaimed. As Jesus is transfigured and resurrected, so us: are Children of the Light. We know that Jesus really lives in the light of the Trinity. There, the ultimate grace given by God the Father is having Jesus revealed to us in his true Light. The recognition (awareness) of this grace can only be given to those who are willing to ask for it: "ask and it will be given to you," the Lord says. 

The Maronite Church proclaims the joy Christmas and the belief in Christ as Light of the Cosmos at the Sedro for the Sundays of Epiphany: 

You have clothed us with your baptism:  the robe of glory and the seal of the holy Spirit. You have called us to be spiritual children through our second birth in baptism.

May the Light of Christ, the Risen Lord, continue to be the Light of our lives every day;  May it never leave any corners of darkness in us untouched; May the forgiveness and healing his Light brings fully transform us; That we too, the children of the Church, may truly become the Light of Christ for the world, as we pray before the altar at the end of our Eucharistic Celebration.

The papal tradition of baptizing infants has been in place for some time. In addition to baptizing converts at the Easter Vigil, Pope John Paul II annually popularized the Rite of Baptism on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, and since his election 5 years ago, Benedict has continued it. The newly baptized typically are newborn babies. Today, the Sistine Chapel was the magnificent setting for 21 infants ranging between four weeks to four months; all are children of Vatican employees. May God grant the newly baptized the grace of forgiveness of Original Sin, enlightenment, regeneration as a new person in Christ, and adoption as a son or daughter of God. Pope speaks very clearly about today's Scripture for Mass and the theology of the Liturgy we celebrated today. The Pope's homily follows:

It is my pleasure to warmly welcome you this morning, especially you parents and godparents of the 21 infants upon whom, in a few moments time, I will have the joy of administering the Sacrament of Baptism. As has become tradition, this ritual takes place again this year as part of the Holy Eucharist during which we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. With this the Feast, on the first Sunday after the Epiphany, the Christmas season concludes with the manifestation of the Lord in the Jordan.

In some corners of the church world the sacred Liturgy is a very neuralgic topic. But it does not need to be painful. There are those who will complain about anything and they doing just that over the forthcoming new translations of the 2002 Roman Missal due to be published on the First Sunday of Advent 2011. The 2002 Missal was published in Latin by Pope John Paul II and it needed to be translated. Today, the Worcester Telegram published a benign and positive with a few good details about the translations.

The Revised Grail Psalter is now available online. This is version of the psalter that will be used in the sacred Liturgy at some point. These are the Psalms that were translated by Abbot Gregory Polan and his brother monks of Conception Abbey. Kudos to Abbot Gregory!