Advent, Baptism, and Holiness

Advent is the Season in which we prepare for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our preparation for Christmas, in celebration of His First Advent, is a reminder for us to prepare ourselves also for His Second Advent, when He comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead.

Through the Gospel Reading for today (Second Sunday of Advent, Year A), we are being reminded of this in a very interesting way. The Gospel Reading (Matt 3:1-12) ends with John the Baptist’s words:

“I indeed baptize you in water unto penance, but he that shall come after me, is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost and fire.

Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor and gather his wheat into the barn; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

By selecting this reading for today, the Church is calling us to prepare for the coming of the Lord in a special way as we remember our baptism.
Coincidentally, over the past few weeks, I have been reading and re-reading Romans 6:1-14 as part of my own personal Penance following Confession; as a constant reminder to myself of the kind of holiness that I am called to by virtue of my baptism:
1 What shall we say, then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid! For we that are dead to sin, how shall we live any longer therein?
3 Know you not that all we who are baptized in Christ Jesus are baptized in his death?
4 For we are buried together with him by baptism into death: that, as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin may be destroyed, to the end that we may serve sin no longer.
7 For he that is dead is justified from sin.
8 Now, if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall live also together with Christ.
9 Knowing that Christ, rising again from the dead, dieth now no more. Death shall no more have dominion over him.
10 For in that he died to sin, he died once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 So do you also reckon that you are dead to sin, but alive unto God, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, so as to obey the lusts thereof. Now, this is not a holiness that we can achieve in our own strength. Rather, it is something that comes about through God’s grace...and as we willingly co-operate with that grace. And this is why I think St. Paul sought to remind the Romans of the call to holiness in the context of baptism – because baptism is ALL about grace.

Baptism is not about what WE do...rather, it is about what God does to us. And the baptism of little infants, by virtue of the fact that they cannot accomplish anything for themselves, is a considerable testimony of the fact that salvation comes by grace alone.

Interestingly, in my days as a Baptist, I believed that baptism was nothing more than a step of obedience in imitating Jesus Christ – nothing more than a visible statement to others that I had chosen to follow Jesus. I certainly disagreed with the Catholic “notion” that baptism conferred any grace. I believed that only those who had made a credible profession of faith should be baptised, and that the only acceptable form of baptism was by immersion.

My belief of “immersion-only” baptism was primarily based on Rom 6:3-4 i.e. immersion was the only mode of baptism that adequately portrays the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus by the believer going under the water (death and burial) and rising up from the water (resurrection).  

The ironic thing was that I was so absorbed in my preconceived proof-texting that I completely missed what St. Paul was actually trying to say...

Couched within the principles of life and death, St. Paul’s argument is that it is precisely through the means of baptism that we die to sin and are raised to new life (i.e. what the Church calls “baptismal regeneration”). St. Paul’s clear teaching is that it is through baptism that we are united to Christ’s death on the Cross; through baptism, we are buried with Him; and through baptism we are raised to newness of life in Him.

It is in this context of being united to Christ through baptism that St. Paul can say that just as Christ died for sin once and for all and now lives unto God (v10); so too we must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ (v11). And because baptism has made us new creatures in Christ, the sin that has tainted the old creation should no longer have control over us (v12). Instead, we are called, by virtue of our baptism, to live in, through, and for God – knowing that oneday Christ will fully complete the work of the new creation that He has begun in us (Rom 6:21).

In this sense, our baptism is eschatological – through baptism we were made new creatures in Christ, but this work will not be fully completed until we attain the Beatific Vision. St. John, the beloved disciple, put it this way:

“Dearly beloved, we are now the sons of God: and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. We know that when he shall appear we shall be like to him: because we shall see him as he is.” (1 Jn 3:2)

So, as we continue through the Season of Advent, may we be reminded of the gift of God’s grace bestowed upon us in our baptism; and may we never cease to storm the gates of heaven with prayers for God’s continued grace in our lives...so that we can be prepared to greet our Lord, not only when we celebrate His arrival at Christmas, but also when He calls us home to eternity.

The Good Samaritan and the Cross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Gospel Reading for today (Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C), we heard the parable of the Good Samaritan:

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said,
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law?
How do you read it?”
He said in reply,
“You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your being,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself.”
He replied to him, “You have answered correctly;
do this and you will live.”

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus,
“And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied,
“A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
‘Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.’
Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” (Lk 10:25-37)

Jesus spoke the parable in answer to a conversation that He was having with one of the scholars of the Torah, who was concerned about what he ought to do to inherit eternal life.

[Incidentally, contrary to Luther’s notion of “Sola Fide”, when the man asked Jesus the question, He did NOT answer by saying: “Silly man...don’t you know that you can’t DO anything to inherit eternal life...you are saved by faith alone”. Rather, Jesus’ response to this man is evidence that we are not saved by faith alone; but rather that we are saved by faith AND works].

After correctly answering that the way to inherit eternal life is through love of God and neighbour, the man asked Jesus “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus answered his question through the parable of the Good Samaritan; and then instructed the man to go and do the same.

As I was listening to the Gospel Reading in the Mass this morning, I looked up at the Crucifix and it occurred to me that the parable of the Good Samaritan is ultimately a parable of the Cross.

We see that it is a parable of the Cross of Christ when we realise that the man attacked by the robbers is an image of fallen mankind. W have been mortally wounded by sin and left destitute on the side of the spiritual highway to die in our trespasses and sins. But it is Christ who, like a Samaritan (despised and rejected by men – Isa 53:3), comes to our aid, heals our wounds, and pays our way with His own Blood. In this way, He shows His love for His Heavenly Father by resigning Himself to the Father’s will (Lk 22:42). In the selfsame act of obedience, He also shows His love for us – made His neighbours through the Incarnation – in that He laid down His life for us (Jn 15:13).

But Christ’s Cross is not the only one that is referred to in this parable. We see a glimpse of another cross in Jesus’ words “Go and do likewise” (Lk 10:37). The second cross is our own, which Jesus tells to pick up daily if we want to be His disciples (Matt 16:24). In taking up our own cross every day, we show our love for God and our neighbour by denying ourselves and giving ourselves instead to God’s will, and sacrificially giving ourselves to the service of others – firstly those closest to us (our families, our fellow-parishioners, and our work colleagues); and also to others that God might place in our path every day.

So, as we hear the parable of the Good Samaritan, may our desire be to imitate our Good Shepherd in loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and loving our neighbour as ourselves. We do this when we unite ourselves with Him in His Crucifixion – when we die to ourselves and live for God and our neighbour.
 

Reflections on the Rosary - Part II (The Luminous Mysteries)

The Rosary traditionally has consisted of three sets of Mysteries – the Joyful, the Sorrowful, and the Glorious Mysteries.

The Luminous Mysteries, or the Mysteries of Light, were first suggested by Blessed Pope John Paul II in his encyclical “Rosarium Virginis Mariae”, and were heartily taken up by the majority of Catholics. One reason for the Holy Father’s suggestion was that  it was fitting to include meditations on the ministry of Christ, given that the traditional Rosary jumped from His Infancy to His Passion...and there is so much that can be gleaned from meditating on the ministry of Our Blessed Lord.

It was no mistake that the Pope suggested calling these the “Mysteries of Light” because they reveal the Lord Jesus Christ (who is the Light) and His Kingdom in a special way.

The First Luminous Mystery – the Baptism of Our Lord

In His Baptism, the Lord Jesus teaches us total resignation to the will of God. When Jesus came to be baptised, John the Baptist wanted to prevent it. John’s message was one of penance (or repentance) i.e. turning away from sin and self; and turning towards God. We know that Mary and Elisabeth were kinswomen (Lk 1:36); so it is very likely that Jesus and John the Baptist knew each other. This means that John would have known what kind of person Jesus was; which makes sense of his response to Jesus’ request for baptism: “I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?” (Matt 3:14). John’s message was about turning from sin, and he knew Jesus well enough to know that he, a sinner, had need to be baptised by the One whom he had never seen given to sin.

But Jesus’ response to John was “Suffer it to be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness” (Matt 3:15). This is an interesting response in light of the fact that John’s message was about righteousness – and here is Jesus, the living example of true righteousness, which is total abandonment to doing the will of His Heavenly Father. The Father Himself attests to this when, after Jesus’ baptism, He declares “This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”.

As we meditate upon this first Mystery, we ask Our Lady to pray for us so that we can be Christ-like in being totally committed to doing the will of God. And when we imitate Him in this way, we are assured of God’s promise that He will be well-pleased with us, those whom He makes His beloved sons and daughters through the waters of baptism. Jesus tells us that when we do what God desires, His words to us will be:

“Well done, good and faithful servant...enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matt 25:23)

The Second Luminous Mystery – Our Lord turns water into wine

Many theologians regard the Lord’s Baptism as the start of His public ministry – and it is, to a degree. His Baptism was His commissioning by His Heavenly Father. But still His public ministry hadn’t yet begun, because He first had to undergo the forty day Temptation in the Wilderness.

So, what was the starting point of Jesus’ public ministry then? It was the performance of His first miracle at the wedding in Cana of Galilee – when He turned water into wine. It is no mistake that this miracle was performed at the request of His Blessed Mother. God, in His Divine Wisdom, saw it fit that the Lord Jesus would begin His public ministry with the commissioning of His Heavenly Father and the request of His Blessed Mother.

The narrative of the Lord turning water into wine (Jn 2:1-11) is an instructive one, because it shows us the nature of Mary’s role in the life of the Christian. Firstly, she sees the needs of her children, the children that God has given to her (Jn 19:27), and intercedes on their behalf. Secondly, she always points us to Jesus and tells us to “do whatever He says” (Jn 2:5). And thirdly, she reveals the glory of her Son so that people might believe in Him. Whilst it is true that Jesus performed this first sign to reveal His own glory (Jn 2:11), we must remember that He performed it at the request of His Blessed Mother. She knew that by this request, her relationship with her Son would be changed. Yet she requested it anyway – for the sake of others, and so that Jesus’ glory could be revealed.

As Mary points us to Jesus and tells us to follow Him, she does so by the example of her own willingness to say “Yes” to God in her Fiat. She is also our example in glorifying God, when we echo her words “My soul magnifies the Lord” (Lk 1:46).

As we imitate Our Lady, we can be assured that we, like her, will be conformed into the image of her Divine Son. Jesus’ promises to change us, just as He changed water into wine.

The Third Luminous Mystery – the Proclamation of the Kingdom

After performing His first miracle, Jesus went out and started proclaiming the Gospel. His message was a call to repentance for the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand (Matt 4:17; Mk 1:14-15).

As already mentioned in the First Luminous Mystery, repentance is turning away from sin and self; and turning towards God. But Jesus doesn’t just call us to repentance; He also gives us the means that we need to accomplish it. We cannot approach God in our own strength, for in our own strength we often stumble and fall. Rather, Christ calls us to embrace Him and His free gift of grace so that we might have our sins forgiven and be reconciled with our Heavenly Father.  

It has often been said that Jesus promised the Kingdom but gave us the Church. But the truth is that the Church is the sacrament of the Kingdom:

“To fulfill the Father's will, Christ ushered in the Kingdom of heaven on earth. The Church is the Reign of Christ already present in mystery.” – CCC # 763

But what does the Church have to do with repentance and grace? It was to the Church that the Lord Jesus Christ gave the power to forgive sins (Jn 20:23; Matt 18:18). And it is through the Church that the Lord pours out His grace – specifically by the means of the Seven Sacraments.

As we meditate upon this Mystery, may we hear the voice of the Lord Jesus in the Holy Catholic Church calling us to a life of continual conversion and growth in holiness – because when we hear the Church, we hear Jesus (Lk 10:16). And as we listen to the Church, and make ourselves available to the Sacraments, we will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[For another reflection on the Third Luminous Mystery, click here.]

The Fourth Luminous Mystery – the Transfiguration

The episodes in Christ’s life that we meditate upon in the Luminous Mysteries are those where Christ revealed His glory. In this Fourth Luminous Mystery, we meditate upon that very visible display when His face shone like the sun and His clothes became dazzling white (Matt 17:2). As His three closest disciples gazed upon His unveiled glory, He was accompanied by the two great Old Testament Saints, Moses and Elijah. To the Jewish people, these men were the “icons” of the entire Old Testament Scriptures – Moses, the Law; and Elijah, the Prophets.

Peter, not knowing what to say, made the suggestion that three tents (or tabernacles) be erected – one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah (Mk 9:5-6). At this point, a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from heaven proclaimed “This is my Beloved Son; listen to Him!” (Mk 9:7). The disciples became so afraid that they fell to the ground; but Jesus came to them and touched them saying, “get up and do not be afraid”. When they looked up, they saw that Moses and Elijah had disappeared, and Jesus was standing alone before them.

One interpretation that the Church has given this passage is that the “disappearance” of Moses and Elijah was God’s way of saying that the Law and the Prophets are fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ (e.g. Lk 24:27). There was no need to make tabernacles for Moses and Elijah, because all that they had spoken about was fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, when He made His tabernacle amongst men (see Jn 1:14 – where the word  translated as “dwelt” or “lived” is in fact means “to tent or tabernacle”).

It is interesting that the words spoken by the Father to the disciples were “Listen to Him!”; because just a few days prior, Jesus had prophesied His Passion and they would not believe Him (see Matt 16:21-22; Mk 8:31-32). The disciples overheard Moses and Elijah speaking to the Lord about His Passion (Lk 9:31). Now, the Father is basically saying to them: “You are prepared to listen to Moses and Elijah. There is one greater than Moses and Elijah here. Listen to Him!”

In the Second Luminous Mystery, Jesus revealed His glory through His first miracle, and we hear His Mother’s words “Do whatever He says”. Now, Jesus reveals His physical glory, and we hear His Father’s words “Listen to Him!”

If we listen to Jesus and do whatever He says, we can be sure that we will meet with persecution. After all, if the world persecuted Him, we can expect that it will persecute us. Moses and Elijah spoke with Jesus about His Passion. Listening to Jesus means that we will somehow be called to share in His Passion, for He tells us that if we want to be His disciples, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him (Matt 16:24). But that is not where the story ends. After His Passion, Jesus rose again in glory – and this is His promise to us – that if we suffer with Him, we will be glorified with Him (Rom 8:17).

The Fifth Luminous Mystery – the Institution of the Eucharist

In this Mystery, Christ reveals to us how He will remain with His Church until the end of the ages (Matt 28:20). Whilst the Fourth Luminous Mystery is about Christ unveiling His glory, this Fifth Mystery is about Christ continuing to dwell amongst His people with His glory veiled under the appearance of bread and wine.

The Luminous Mysteries really come to a climax in the Fifth Luminous Mystery, because the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. Ultimately, this Mystery is about faith.

If we believe that Jesus turned water into wine, as we have already seen in the Second Luminous Mystery, then it shouldn’t be hard for us to believe that He can turn wine into His own Blood.

If it is by faith that we believe that the world was framed by the word of God (Heb 11:3), then it is by faith that we believe the words of Institution change the substance of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. If God says “Let there be light”, then there is light. In the same way, if God says “This is my Body” – then the bread that He holds becomes, by the word of God, His very Body.

As we meditate upon this Mystery, we are called to increase our faith in our Eucharistic Lord, who gives His flesh for the life of the world (Jn 6:51). And for all those who worthily share in the communion of the Lord’s Body and Blood, He assures that they will have eternal life (Jn 6:54) – because He is Life.

 

Obtaining the Promises through Jesus Christ

The Luminous Mysteries are about revelation – specifically the revelation of the glory of the Lord Jesus. That is why these Mysteries are called “Luminous” – because they are about giving light. Jesus said “I am the Light of the world” (Jn 8:12); but He also said that the Church is the light of the world (Matt 5:14). This is because His glory is not something that He keeps to Himself. His desire is to share His glory with His Bride and Body, the Church.

As we meditate upon these Luminous Mysteries, may we grow in our desire to share in Christ’s glory, mindful of the promise that we too will shine as bright as the Son (Matt 13:43).

POST-SCRIPT:

For related posts on this topic, click the links below:

How to Pray the Rosary

Reflections on the Rosary - Introduction

Reflections on the Rosary - Part I (The Joyful Mysteries)

Reflections on the Rosary - Part III (The Sorrowful Mysteries)

Reflections on the Rosary - Part IV (The Glorious Mysteries)

 

Reflections of the Rosary - Part I (The Joyful Mysteries)

As mentioned previously , since the month of May is devoted to Our Lady, my next few blog posts will be reflections on the Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary.  

Of course, it must be remembered that these reflections are by no means exhaustive. After all, they are reflections on the Mysteries of Christ’s Life, Passion, and Resurrection. The very definition of a Mystery in Christian theology is something that, whilst revealed and knowable, it is beyond the powers of natural reason. So, we are able to meditate upon the Mysteries of Christ’s Life, but we will never be able to exhaust or fathom them completely. So, these reflections that I present are nothing more than a tiny scratch on the surface of the Infinite.

The First Joyful Mystery – the Annunciation

In the Mystery of the Annunciation (Lk 1:26-38), we are reminded, first of all, of the Angel Gabriel’s greeting to Mary: “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with thee”. We know from Scripture that angels do not speak their own words – rather, being the messengers of God, they speak His words. And this is how God chose to greet Mary: “Hail, full of grace!”

So, in one sense, the Rosary is an imitation of God Himself, as we greet Mary with the same words that He did.

But the Rosary is not primarily about Mary – just as Gabriel’s message was not primarily about Mary. Rather, Gabriel came bearing a message of salvation and hope. Gabriel presented to Mary the message of the Incarnation – that God would become Man to save His people from their sins...and that He would do this through the means of Mary, whom He had prepared for this purpose.

But Mary was not a robot; she was a free creature. And in this sense she was fully able to say “No” to God’s request. But, thanks be to God, Mary didn’t say “No”. Rather, she pronounced her “Yes” to God as she affirmed her desire to walk in humility and obedience to her God and Creator:

“Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done to me according to Thy word”.

The Church Fathers teach us that in this great act of obedience, Mary untied the cord of Eve’s disobedience – and so, as St. Irenaeus reminds us, Mary became Eve’s advocate.  

“...the knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the Virgin Mary set free through faith.”

“As Eve was seduced into disobedience to God, so Mary was persuaded into obedience to God; thus the Virgin Mary became the advocate of the virgin Eve.”

In this way the First Joyful Mystery calls us to imitate Mary’s humility and readiness to accept God’s will in our lives. And given that we are all children of Eve, God calls us to accept Mary as our new Mother and Advocate as we seek to humbly obey His holy will.

The Second Joyful Mystery – the Visitation

Before the Angel Gabriel departed from Mary, he gave her a sign – he told her that her kinswoman, Elisabeth, would herself conceive a child despite the fact that she was already too old to be able to (Lk 1:7). What was Mary’s response to this message from Gabriel? We are told that she went with haste to the house of Elisabeth (Lk 1:39).

Why is this important? Mary could’ve adopted an introverted approach which focussed on her own needs as a new mother. But she didn’t. Instead, she rose up with haste, and risked a long and treacherous journey so that she could be with the aged Elisabeth in her hour of need.

Immediately upon hearing Mary’s greeting, the child in Elisabeth’s womb leaped for joy (Lk 1:41) and Elisabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, acknowledged the very Presence of Christ in Mary (Lk 1:42). But Jesus was not only in Mary in a physical sense (i.e. in her womb); He also filled her spirit with His very own.

We see this in Mary’s humility and willingness to deny herself for the sake of others. And it is this same spirit of Christ that this Joyful Mystery calls us to imitate.

 

The Third Joyful Mystery – the Nativity of Our Lord

The Third Joyful Mystery brings us to the birth of Our Lord in Bethlehem – the great event where Jesus Christ is born among men to fulfil His mission to redeem His people (Matt 1:21; Lk 19:10)

This mission was to take place in the context of God’s Kingdom. In his message to Mary, Gabriel said that Jesus would inherit the throne of David, and that there would be no end to His Kingdom. But what we see at the Nativity event in Bethlehem looks nothing like what we expect of kings and royalty. Jesus was not born with pomp and ceremony in the high palaces. No – He was born in Bethlehem, in the obscurity of a cave used as a shelter for animals.

So, this Mystery reveals the humility in Christ’s mission. Not only was His mission marked by the humble beginnings in the cave-stable; but even the proclamation of the Kingdom would continue in this humble vein, even as Christ – a man without a place to call home (Matt 8:20) – would later appoint unassuming fishermen to the high office of Apostles.

By virtue of our baptism, Christ continues to call each and every Catholic to proclaim the Gospel of His Kingdom. But as we meditate on this Joyful Mystery, we are reminded that we are to do so with the humility of Christ.

The Fourth Joyful Mystery – the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple

Under the Old Covenant, women were considered ceremonially “unclean” for a period of time following childbirth due to the discharge of blood. At the end of the time of her purification, the woman was required to bring an offering to make atonement so that she could be pronounced ceremonially “clean” again (see Lev 12). It was after this time of “purification” that Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple, together with their offering of two turtle doves (see Lk 2:22-38).

Given that God preserved Mary from sin, Mary had not have been subject to the labour pains and bloodletting which came about as a result of the Curse (see Gen 3:16). This is a logical conclusion of the Church’s teaching of Mary’s Perpetual Virginity, which has been affirmed by the Church Fathers since the earliest times. Furthermore, St. John of Damascus affirms that the birth of Jesus “surpassed the established order of birthgiving, as it was without pain; for, where pleasure had not preceded, pain did not follow”.

If this is true, and Mary did not require purification, why did she succumb to this requirement of the Law? What we have already seen in the Second Joyful Mystery gives us a glimpse at the answer i.e. she was filled with the spirit of Christ. Since Jesus Christ was the Divine Lawgiver, He was, in principle, not subject to the Law.  However, to show obedience, He humbled Himself and made Himself subject to the Law. In the same way, Mary humbled herself to obey the Law of God, even though she could have argued that the way in which Christ had been born, without “tainting” her Virginity, repudiated her need for purification.

In imitation of Jesus and Mary, the Third Joyful Mystery calls us to subject ourselves humbly in obedience to God. Even when God’s requirements do not make sense, faith answers in humble obedience.  

The Fifth Joyful Mystery – Finding Our Lord in the Temple

The Fifth Joyful Mystery transports us from time of Jesus’ Infancy to his Young Manhood. When He was twelve years old, He accompanied St. Joseph and Mary to Jerusalem for the annual Feast of Passover (Lk 2:41-51). Once the Feast was over, they departed for Nazareth not realising that Jesus was not with them. At the end of the day’s journey they suddenly realised that He was missing and turned around to find Him. Three days later they found Him in the Temple in discussion with the learned Doctors of the Law.

Mary was no doubt puzzled by Jesus’ actions. The Boy had been lost for three days. Where did He stay? What did He eat? And yet, here he was, in the Temple, seemingly unconcerned about these things and that His parents had been frantically looking for Him.

Mary’s did what any mother would’ve done – she asked Him why He did what He did. At the same time, her question also surpassed any question a normal mother could have asked. The very way she asked the question seems to indicate that Mary remembered that Jesus was not an ordinary Boy. Rather than simply asking Him “Why have you done this?” she asks: “Son, why have you treated us like this?”  It wasn’t simply the question of a Mother to her Child – it was also the question of a creature to her God. Mary knew Christ was Divine...but she couldn’t understand why He would allow them to search for Him with sorrow and anxiety. It wasn’t a question asked in anger or disappointment. Rather, it was a question which, in humility, admitted a lack of understanding.

Jesus’ response was to remind her that they needn’t have searched for Him – they ought only to have looked in the place where He was most likely to be i.e. in His Father’s House. St. Luke tells us that Mary and St. Joseph still didn’t understand what Jesus meant (Lk 2:50)...but sometimes that’s still alright. Because even though they didn’t understand, Jesus went with them and remained obedient to them...and all the while, Mary treasured these things in her heart.

This Fifth Mystery exhorts us to humbly accept the limitations of our understanding, and to ask God to help us to understand better. And even though we may still not understand, we are encouraged to continue to treasure these things in our hearts. And when we feel like we have “lost Jesus”, we ought to search for Him in the place where He said that He would always be – if we want to “find Jesus”, we must look within His Holy Church.

Obtaining the Promises through Jesus Christ

As we meditate upon these Mysteries, we see that the common thread that runs through them is humility. And as we pray the Rosary, we ask Mary to show us more of the Lord Jesus so that we can be further encouraged in our imitation of Him.

As we persevere in imitating Christ, we can be sure of receiving the reward of our Heavenly Father. Elsewhere in Scripture, God promises us that if we walk in humility, He will exalt us:

“All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted” – Matt 23:12 (NRSV)

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time.” – 1 Pet 5:6 (NRSV)

St. Paul exhorts us to have the same mind as Christ who, when He humbled Himself, was exalted by the Father to highest place – where every knee would bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil 2:5-11).

The degree to which we suffer with Christ, is the degree to which we will be glorified with Him (Rom 8:17b). There is no creature who has suffered as much as the Blessed Mother suffered for her Divine Son, and because she shared in His sufferings, He has also made her to share in His glory by crowning her as Queen of Heaven and Earth.

Not only is the Incarnate Lord an example of God’s promise kept, but so too is His Blessed Mother. If we are faithful in imitating Jesus and Mary in humility, we can rest assured that God will also exalt us to share in Christ’s victory!

 

POST-SCRIPT:

For related posts on this topic, click the links below:

How to Pray the Rosary

Reflections on the Rosary - Introduction

Reflections on the Rosary - Part II (The Luminous Mysteries)

Reflections on the Rosary - Part III (The Sorrowful Mysteries)

Reflections on the Rosary - Part IV (The Glorious Mysteries)

Meditations on the Rosary - Introduction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my previous blog I provided an primer on praying the Rosary. As mentioned, the recitation of the Rosary concludes with this prayer to God the Father:

“O God, whose Only Begotten Son by His Life, Death, and Resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation; grant we beseech Thee that, by meditating upon these Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise; through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.”

The beauty of this prayer is that it sums up what the Rosary is all about. Firstly, it is about Christ, the Only Begotten Son. Secondly, it is about who He is and what He has done to secure our redemption (i.e. He has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation). Thirdly, it is about meditating upon these things – not because they foster nice thoughts – but for the twofold purpose that we might:

a)      imitate what they contain; and

b)      obtain what they promise.

For Catholics, the month of May is especially dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In light of this, I hope over the course of the next few weeks to dedicate my blogs to our Blessed Mother by posting some meditations on the Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary.

Hopefully the posts over the coming weeks will serve as an encouragement to all of us to be more devoted to Our Lord through the Rosary of His Most Holy Mother. And on this note, it would be timely to remember the 15 Promises that the Blessed Virgin made to St. Dominic for all who would faithfully recite the Rosary:

 

1.   To all those who shall recite my Rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and very great graces. 

2.   Those who shall persevere in the recitation of my Rosary will receive some signal grace. 

3.   The Rosary will be a very powerful armour against Hell; it will destroy vice, deliver from sin and dispel heresy. 

4.   The Rosary will make virtue and good works flourish, and will obtain for souls the most abundant Divine mercies; it will substitute in hearts love of God for love of the world and elevate them to desire heavenly and eternal goods. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means!

5.   Those who trust themselves to me through the Rosary will not perish. 

6.   Those who shall recite my Rosary piously, considering its mysteries, will not be overwhelmed by misfortune, nor die a bad death. 

7.   Those truly devoted to my Rosary shall not die without the consolations of the Church or without grace. 

8.   Those who shall recite my Rosary will find during their life and at their death, the light of God, the fullness of His grace and will share in the merits of the blessed. 

9.   I will deliver very promptly from purgatory the souls devoted to my Rosary. 

10. The true children of my Rosary will enjoy great glory in Heaven. 

11. What you shall ask through my Rosary, you shall obtain. 

12. Those who propagate my Rosary will obtain through me aid in all their necessities. 

13. I have obtained from my Son that all the members of the Rosary Confraternity shall have for their intercessors in life and death the Saints of Heaven. 

14. Those who recite my Rosary faithfully are my beloved children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. 

15. Devotion to my Rosary is a special sign of predestination.

The Power of the Resurrection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Season of Lent and the celebration of the Easter Triduum, leading up to the Easter Vigil, are important observances for us as Catholics. But we can sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that they are simply commemorations of historical events that transpired 2,000 years ago. They are so much more than that...and they can be powerfully effective in our lives.

Consider the Season of Lent. Through this observance, we are called to remember and draw strength from the strength of our Lord Jesus who overcame His temptations. But when we think how many times we fail in our Lenten commitments, rather than give in we should allow ourselves to be reminded that we are not strong enough to fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil alone. No! We can only overcome insofar as we are strengthened by the power of God’s grace. We should also learn that when we fall, God the Good Father in all His graciousness is there to pick us up, to forgive us, and to set us on our way again.

After this extended time of Preparation, we come to Holy Week and specifically the beginning of the Easter Triduum. On Holy Thursday, we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper in which we are reminded of the events on the night that the Lord was betrayed. The Mass concludes with the stripping of the altar and the Blessed Sacrament being transferred to the Altar of Repose. The Procession itself is quite moving because it signifies the Lord and His disciples leaving the Upper Room – departing for the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. The sombreness of the Holy Thursday Mass is intensified by the fact that after Mass all the lights in the church are extinguished and the faithful leave the church in total silence. Then there are also those who remain with the Lord to watch and pray.

Good Friday follows – with the devotion of the Stations of the Cross in the morning, and the celebration of the Lord’s Passion at 3pm (being the hour at which Jesus gave up His spirit).  

In all of these events, Holy Mother Church is calling us to do more than simply remember what our Lord went through. Rather, we are being called to unite ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ by being immersed completely in all of these events, and so be transformed through them.

But all of these sombre events – Lent, Holy Thursday, the Passion, etc. – would be useless if it wasn’t for that greatest celebration of all – the celebration which all these things prepare us for...the celebration of the Resurrection and Easter!

Easter Sunday marks the highest day in the Catholic Church’s Liturgical Calendar. Why? Because Easter Sunday is the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; and His glorious Resurrection is the whole basis for our faith. As St. Paul reminds us in his first epistle to the Corinthians – if Christ is not risen, then our faith is empty and pointless (1 Cor 15:14). Or as the Catechism states:

“The Resurrection of Jesus is the crowning truth of our faith in Christ, a faith believed and lived as the central truth by the first Christian community; handed on as fundamental by Tradition; established by the documents of the New Testament; and preached as an essential part of the Paschal mystery along with the cross...” – (CCC # 638, emphasis mine)
 

As Catholics, we are quite familiar with the idea of being united with Christ in our sufferings (Col 1:24). When we are sick or struggling with some sort of hardship, we often hear the advice to “offer it up”. Now, this is great advice, because when we unite the sufferings that we endure with those of Christ, they are given redemptive value [see here,  here, and here  for more on this]. But this isn’t the whole story...

Just as we are called to unite ourselves with our Lord in His Passion and Death, what we are called to during the Season of Easter is to unite ourselves with His Resurrection. In other words, it is not just about being united to His sufferings – it is about being united with Him in His fullness.

This was such an important theme for St. Paul that he went so far as to say that he counted all things as nothing more than dung for the sake of gaining the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil 3:8). He went on to explain what he meant by saying that his desire was “to know Christ and the power of His Resurrection and the sharing of His sufferings by becoming like Him in His death” (Phil 3:10, NRSV).

What did St. Paul mean when he said that he wanted to share in Christ’s sufferings, and to know Him and the power of His resurrection? The word that St. Paul uses for “sharing” in Phil 3:10 (i.e. koinonia) is the same word that he uses in 1 Cor 10:16 to speaks about our “communion” in the Eucharist is our being united completely with the Lord Jesus [e.g. see here ].

So, for St. Paul, to share in Christ’s sufferings and know Him and the power of His Resurrection was more than having a theoretical knowledge. Rather, his desire was an intimate knowledge of Christ – an experiential knowledge that comes only from being completely united and immersed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

But, what does it mean to “know the power of Christ’s Resurrection”? To understand this, we need to understand what St. Paul meant by “the power of the Resurrection”.  In Eph 1:20, St. Paul talks about this “power of the Resurrection” when he says that “God put His power to work in Christ when He raised Him from the dead”. But what is so amazing is that he also says in Eph 1:19 that it is this same “power of the Resurrection” which is at work in the lives of the faithful.

How is this so? Well, it all starts with our baptism when, by the power of God, we are born again and raised to new life in Christ [see here and  here].

St. Paul says as much when he tells us that “all of us who have been baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into His death” and that “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father”, so we too have been raised to “walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:3-5, see also Col 2:11-12).

St. Paul reminds us that if we have been raised to Christ in baptism (Col 2:11-12), we are called to “seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated, at the right hand of God” (Col 3:1). This means that as new creations, we are called to walk in a way that is worthy of the name “Christian”. And this means to walk in holiness and obedience as imitators of Jesus Christ; it means to live in the way of self-denial for the love of God and of our neighbour.

In this respect, we see that the Seasons of Lent and Easter are not mutually exclusive. Whilst the “flavour” of each Season may be different, the goal of conformity to Christ is always the same. Lent is what prepares us for Easter, and Easter is fruition of what has taken place during Lent. So, whilst our fasting has given way to feasting, may we continue this Easter Season with the same spirit of faith, hope, and love that we sought to cultivate during the Lenten Season.