There are a lot of unchurched young adults that come to baptisms, so I take that opportunity to invite them back to the Church if they have been away from the practice of their Faith. Joan Osborne's "What If God was One of Us?" stuck in my mind when it came time to deliver the homily which I did without notes. I don't think I'd do this on a regular basis, but it just turned out that way. I couldn't remember her name at the time. I hope that, as I blog this, that is a decent role model of sorts.
This was the shell I used to baptize the babies and toddlers. I used it because it reminded me of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's Coat of Arms which had a pilgrimage shell on it. I think I used this when I baptized by daughter, but I can't remember for sure. I'm sure one of these days a photo will one day surface. And what a joyful sight it will be for me to see!
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St. Catherine's, Vallejo
Sat. of the 1st Week of Ordinary Time
Jan. 17, 2015
I baptized 6 beautiful infants and toddlers which brings the total number of baptisms I've done to 19.
After the Rite of Baptism, I hung around the people -- the flock -- who were taking pictures to give a kind word here and welcome strangers back home to the Church there. On two separate occassions, the parents of two infants present said that they plan to have their children baptized.
For practicing Catholics, including a cultural reference to a pop song may raise an eyebrow, but it was the culture and my audience that I had in mind when giving the homily and even in the classes.
I can think of three guys in particular with whom I spoke. I asked them about working out at the gym since they looked well built, asked for some pointers and joked around with them, and I also told them that they were always welcome in the Church. I do take for granted that I am immersed in God and the practice of my faith every minute of the day and have been trained and studied and been blessed with such opportunities to grow, but for many people this simply is not possible for different reasons. God is a difficult topic for many to talk about.
One family had three baptized. They were so kind. The husband wasn't Catholic, but he was so respectful of what when on. I pray he becomes Catholic one day. One of the moms said that she was classmates with my wife, which blew me away. Another baby, I poured water on his face, but later it gave me reason to give him a little extra TLC during the ritual, esp. with the chrism that I later anointed him with...I gave him a gentle pat on the cheek as a way for me to "make up" for the extra water on his face. I almost did that with Faith Marie and heard some in the assembly gasp for a moment. Another toddler I told him to become a great saint one day.
On my drive home, I decided to stop by the store to put up a few things. On the store radio was playing Joan Osborne's What If God was One of Us! That was pretty neat. I had to record it here for keep's sake and 'cause I don't know if people would believe me if I told them.
I think these events are a good way to put the New Evangelization into practice, and something more systematic among the dioceses and deaneries should be done to invite people who have lapsed in practicing their Catholic Faith back home.
After everyone left the church, and I made sure everything was neatly
put away, I told Jesus what a joy and a gift it was to baptize.
(As usual, it was a packed church with about 800+ in attendance at the 10am Mass.)
A partridge bird in a pear tree was a secret code for Jesus on the Cross.
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TEXT OF HOMILY
Baby Jesus: The Persecuted Light Revealed to the
Nations
Feast of the Epiphany
January 4, 2015
:) On the first day of Christmas, my true love
gave to me: A partridge in a pair tree.On
the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: two turtledoves, and a
partridge in a pair tree.
Most of us are familiar with this popular Christmas
carol. It is called “The Twelve Days of
Christmas”.The author is unknown, but
its composition is attributed to Jesuit priests in 16th Century when
it was illegal to be Catholic in England.The rights of the Church were suppressed by
an oppressive political leadership.Many
martyrs rose during this time of persecution against the Church.
The song is meant to be a “catechism song” that
helped the baptized not forget 12 truths of the Holy Faith.It was in secret code under a time of
persecution, silence, poverty and exile.
The 12 drummers drumming presented the 12 main
points from the Apostles’ Creed which is the short creed of what we believe.
The 11 pipers piping represented the 11 faithful
Apostles, which excluded Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus.
The 10 lords-a-leaping represented the 10
Commandments.
The 9 ladies dancing represented the 9 choirs of
angels.
The 8 maids-a-milking represented the 8 Beatitudes.
The 7 swans-a-swimming represented the 7 Sacraments
of the Church.
The 6 geese-a-laying represented the 6 precepts of
the Church at the time.
The 5 golden rings represented the first 5 books of
the Old Testament (the Pentateuch).
The 4 calling birds represented the 4 Gospels
(Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).
The 3 French hens represented the 3 theological
virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity.
The 2 turtle doves were the 2 parts of the Sacred Scriptures:
The Old and New Testaments.
A partridge was a bird that pretended to be injured
in order to protect her young. This
represented Jesus who was injured and died for us. A pear (p-e-a-r) is a delicious fruit to eat,
so the pear tree symbolized the Cross.The partridge bird in a pear tree secretly represented Jesus on the
Cross.
My “true love gave to me,” referred to God being “my
true love”. "Me" referred to us, the baptized
to whom this secret catechism and coded message was directed.
The point is this: In
times of persecution where Christians are persecuted, marginalized and even killed,
we must always keep our Faith in Jesus, the Light revealed to the Nations, alive
in the great darkness of our world.
Today, we come to twelve days after Christmas and
celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, the manifestation of the Light of the
Newborn Christ as the Messiah to the nations. As it is written in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, the pagans shall
come “bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the
Lord”.The magi represented the pagan nations
– those seeking God with a sincere heart (and we know people like that) – and how
those who do not yet know Christ can discover Jesus and worship him as the Son
of God.
And, already at the beginning of the Baby Jesus’s
life, this innocent baby is persecuted and exiled, just like the English
Catholics of the 16th Century (who heard the song “The Twelve Days
of Christmas”).And after Jesus’
circumcision in the Temple, while the Holy Family fled to Egypt, King Herod
killed the Holy Innocent Babies two years and younger.
Today, in the 20th and 21st
Centuries, the holy Church founded by Christ of which we are family members, is
also persecuted around the world and has produced more martyrs than all the
previous 20 centuries combined.
Christianity is the MOST persecuted religion on the planet with one
Christian killed every 11 minutes.The
Western mainstream media, and even secular and religious leaders, remain silent
about this injustice of their basic human rights to religious freedom.
The Church is particularly persecuted in North
Africa, in the Middle East, and in South East Asia.In Communist China, the true Church is
underground.In the Middle East,
Christian families had the letter “N” painted on their homes, which means that
they are followers of the Nazarene. (It was meant to shame Christians.)
During the rise of the ISIS in the Middle East, I
cannot bear to relay (to you) the horrors against little children that were targeted
just because of their faith in Jesus that was handed on to them by their
parents. Catholic bishops from this area have said that their entire dioceses
have disappeared.These persecuted
Christians right now live in tents in refugee camps by the thousands.And do you know what these persecuted
Christian refugees from Iraq and Syria have written on their tents, even in
this difficult time?They wrote the
words on their tents: ”Jesus is the
Light of the World!”
And closer to home, we may not be outright killed or
beheaded like our brothers and sisters around the world, whom we are bound to
assist materially and spiritually, but we can also undergo our own persecutions
and exiles for Jesus in our lives every day.In our own everyday lives, our little acts of being marginalized for
Jesus because we (quote-unquote) “look religious” in public or bring our faith
in society or wear a crucifix around our neck, let us bear this for Jesus.
One way to promote social justice and identify with
the Holy Innocents killed by King Herod in his vain search for the Baby Jesus
is to participate in the Annual Walk for Life in San Francisco, which will take
place later this month on Saturday, January 24.Let the Church raise its voice in defense of the innocent and the
voiceless!The protection of human life
is the pre-eminent civil rights issue of our day.
Another way is to help alleviate the needs of the innocent
– those who are like the Baby Jesus the Light of the Nations – is to support
organizations, such as LAAM, which stands for Life Abortion Alternatives
Ministries, which help provide diapers and baby formula to those in need.Or perhaps you can offer spiritual and
material support to young mothers that you may know or mothers who have many
children.
There is also a program called
Project Rachel you can support in a very non-judgmental way to help heal those
who have had abortions and who are in need of healing. Silent No More and Priests for Life are two
organizations that offer helpful information to raise awareness and assist
those hurting from abortion. All of these
are ways to put our faith into action and celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany
where Our Lord Jesus Christ has been manifested as the light of the nations during these 12 days of Christmas.
Let us always, whether in 16am Century
England, or in times of global persecution of the Church today in the 21st Century, always keep our Faith in Jesus, the Light revealed to the Nations,
alive in the darkness of our world, so that the words of the Responsorial Psalm
may come to fulfillment: Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
My wife helped me pray Evening Prayer (Vespers) this evening. One of the two lines that moved my heart was from 2 Tim. 1:9-13.
"In the service of this gospel I have been appointed preacher and apostle and teacher, and for its sake I undergo present hardships."
If there was a mystagogia to the Sacrament of Holy Orders, this would be one Scripture passage on which to reflect. Having now experienced the sacrament to the holy diaconate, I am humbled before the appointment I have received. It is somewhat different from having taught the Faith as a layman. The line about enduring hardships for the sake of the Gospel moved move so profoundly that I ha to interrupt my wife during Vespers to reflect on it.
She said that I should post it. I said that I would blog it instead. I remarked how I was a sinner and failed to live up to this appointment.
She also remarked that the line touch her about enduring hardship for the Gospel to which I responded that all the baptized endure this.
The second line that touched my heart from Vespers I posted on Facebook. It was "Save the poor, O Lord."
