Meditation on 10 January 2016 Readings

Meditation on 10 January 2016 Readings

 

Direct Link to Audio File: Meditation on January 10, 2016 Readings

The Baptism of the Lord

Reading 1   IS 40:1-5, 9-11

Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.

A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
the rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Go up on to a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by a strong arm;
here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.

Responsorial Psalm   PS 104:1B-2, 3-4, 24-25, 27-28, 29-30

R. (1) O bless the Lord, my soul.
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
you are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak.
You have spread out the heavens like a tent-cloth;
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
You have constructed your palace upon the waters.
You make the clouds your chariot;
you travel on the wings of the wind.
You make the winds your messengers,
and flaming fire your ministers.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
How manifold are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you have wrought them all—
the earth is full of your creatures;
the sea also, great and wide,
in which are schools without number
of living things both small and great.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
They look to you to give them food in due time.
When you give it to them, they gather it;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
If you take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

Reading 2   TI 2:11-14; 3:4-7

Beloved:
The grace of God has appeared, saving all
and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires
and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,
as we await the blessed hope,
the appearance of the glory of our great God
and savior Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness
and to cleanse for himself a people as his own,
eager to do what is good.

When the kindness and generous love
of God our savior appeared,
not because of any righteous deeds we had done
but because of his mercy,
He saved us through the bath of rebirth
and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he richly poured out on us
through Jesus Christ our savior,
so that we might be justified by his grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

Alleluia   CF. LK 3:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
John said: One mightier than I is coming;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel   LK 3:15-16, 21-22

The people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
“I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

After all the people had been baptized
and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,
heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him
in bodily form like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven,
“You are my beloved Son;
with you I am well pleased.”

From Our Pastor ~ January 10, 2016

From Our Pastor ~ January 10, 2016

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

Today we observe the end of this short Christmas season. Since next year Christmas falls on a Sunday it will be shorter yet! So much has happened this Christmas, so many beautiful, joyful gatherings and celebrations, so much goodwill and kindness. I want to offer my words of gratitude to all our ministers who, by their art or their service, have made this season so remarkable. To our decorators, our musicians, our singers and servers, our greeters and ministers of Word and Sacrament, staff and volunteers, thank you!

Baptism is the perfect culmination of all that has gone before this Christmas season—incarnation, family, announcement of God’s plan of salvation—because in Baptism we become sharers of all these Mysteries. Not just so that we can claim them, but that they can now live in us. Baptism is at once the high point of our life, the greatest gift we can receive (I sometimes tell parents of babies being baptized that it is all downhill from here…), a new identity as members of God’s family and heirs to heaven, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit—but it is also the doorway to life, full initiation in the Church, the beginning of a new reality that we are in Jesus. Life starts here, for saints.

I was surprised to hear a protestant pastor friend of mine tell me recently that he only recently realized that we Catholics would not rebaptize any of his people if they were to become Catholic. He had not been aware that our Church recognizes any Baptism as valid that uses the flowing of water, the name of the Father, Son and Spirit, and has the intention of the Church for the gift of salvation. Most Christian churches still would rebaptize Catholics if they were to go there.

It points to a fundamental misunderstanding we might have of Baptism. Baptism isn’t a function of Canon Law (although its proper administration is guaranteed by Church law requirements) or even an invention of the Church. It is an utterly free gift of God, his desire to share his life, his intervention in the time and space of creation to call us back by the sharing of his Spirit. There is no way we could limit it or control it, claim it for our own. We don’t deserve it any more than anyone else. The gift of faith is given to all who ask.

So to realize that all the Baptized are equally baptized—equally sharing in the life of God as brothers and sisters in one family, called to holiness and new life—well, it might change the way you look at other Christians who are outside the self-defined limits of churches. The unity of Baptism is the greatest and undeniable reality of who we are as one Body, even before we come to the inevitable controversies of governance, orders, Eucharist, marriage issues and the like. It is true that what unites is far greater than the things that might still divide.

I was privileged to be present a few years back as an agreement on Common Baptism was signed by the Catholic Church and the Reformed Churches (Presbyterian Church USA, Disciples of Christ, United Church of Christ, Reformed Church in America). For the first time there was a public, ratified document that said that we observed the validity of each others’ Baptism so long as the proper form was followed and the intention was there. Up until that point, we had recognized their Baptism, but they had not recognized ours.

Small accomplishments like this can help us to see that God’s hand is still active in varied ways in the lives of the Church. At every Mass, you would be surprised if you actually counted the number of times that we acknowledge the mercy of God and ask for his gift of Unity for his people. Baptism is the richest and most compelling topic of conversation that we can have with our Christian brothers and sisters in learning more about each other and finding opportunities to come together in prayer and service.

With Baptism, of course, comes the treasures of faith, hope and love that shape us according to the heart of Jesus. Without these supernatural virtues we would not understand God’s will for us—even as much as we do. To grow in our faith, to live in hope and to be guided by the love of God is something that can’t happen until we
gain a healthy and profound understanding of the power of the Baptism that we have received. The whole idea of an event of being “born again” is not familiar to us as with some other churches, because the Baptism we have already received is something we must seek to live out in every moment of life, not just once-for-all, as Sanctifying Grace continues to form us and shape us to know and love God and each other more each day.

God bless you.

Fr. Don

Express Announcements ~ January 10, 2016

Express Announcements ~ January 10, 2016

* RELIGIOUS FREEDOM DAY: Today, the Knights of Columbus Rappahannock Assembly will proudly sponsor the 240th Anniversary of Thomas Jefferson’s drafting of the Act of Religious Freedom for Virginia. A parade will begin at 1:30pm at the VRE Station in Fredericksburg, followed by a ceremony at 2pm at the religious Freedom Monument on Washington Avenue. All are Welcome!

* All Christians are invited to our monthly Taize Ecumenical Prayer Service that will take place on Monday evening, January 11 at 8:15pm in the Church.

* Virginia Stands for Life Rally—Join the Virginia Catholic Conference and its partners at 11 am on Wednesday, January 13 on Capitol Square to demonstrate to General Assembly members our commitment to protecting the unborn.

* All are invited to attend our annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity prayer service with Bishop Loverde at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Arlington, Tuesday, January 19 at 7pm. Please join us!

* March For Life: This year’s March will be held on Friday, January 22, to commemorate the 43rd Anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Please see page 13 for transportation details. Please plan to join your parish family in this peaceful  protest against abortion.

* The second collection this weekend is for the Parish Building fund.

 

Meditation on 3 January 2016 readings

Meditation on 3 January 2016 readings

 

Direct link to Audio File: Meditation on January 3, 2016 readings

The Epiphany of the Lord

Reading 1   IS 60:1-6

Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover the peoples;
but upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears his glory.
Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.

Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow,
for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.
Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.

Responsorial Psalm   PS 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13

R. (cf. 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
All kings shall pay him homage,
all nations shall serve him.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

Reading 2   EPH 3:2-3A, 5-6

Brothers and sisters:
You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace
that was given to me for your benefit,
namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation.
It was not made known to people in other generations
as it has now been revealed
to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Alleluia   MT 2:2

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel   MT 2:1-12

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.”
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people,
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod called the magi secretly
and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
“Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their country by another way.