The Weekly Bulletin from the Catholic Community at The Family Foundation School

Pauca Verba (a few words)

Number 26 – May 23, 2010

People are quickly forgetting how to live together well. Saint Benedict understood: many people lived like beasts in his time. And today? In his rule for monks, Benedict lays out the basics. Do I follow these precepts or am I just going my own way?

• Our actions everywhere are in God’s sight and are reported by angels at every hour.
• We must be on guard against any base desire, because death is stationed near the gateway of pleasure.
• A humble person does not love his/her own will.
• A humble heart quickly embraces suffering.
• A humble person is content with the lowest and most menial tasks.
• A humble person is convinced in the heart that he/she is inferior to all.
• A humble person controls his tongue.
• A humble person speaks gently.
• All the things that a person once dreaded doing, he/she will now begin to do out of love for Christ, good  habit and a delight in virtue (practiced goodness.)
• We believe that the divine presence is everywhere.
• Let us consider how we ought to believe in the presence of God and his angels.
• Let us sing the psalms in such a way that our minds are in harmony with our voices.

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When asked about the people who dislike her husband, Michelle Obama answered:

“You’re not on this earth to make everyone love you. You do what you think is right and you treat other people well, and then you keep living your life.”

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We received an email from a Family School student who reflected on a life of bitterness – because the young man’s dear friend had died sadly and suddenly. It dawned on him that being angry and bitter was not the best response to his friend’s dying. He said: “When my best friend died, I blamed God and everyone else because I thought that anything good in my life would be taken away. I was wrong. Instead of focusing on how she died, I began focusing on how she lived, and I decided that I wanted to develop her kind of love and compassion to pass on to other people as she had passed this on to me.” WHOA!

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Some of us went to pray at the Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekawitha at Fonda, New York earlier this week. We learned that Kateri had contracted smallpox as a girl and that while she survived the disease, it left her eyes damaged and her sight impaired.

Bishop Charles Chaput of Rapid City, South Dakota reflected on this aspect of Blessed Kateri’s life. She is a model for all of us. How wonderful it is to have the witness of the saints!

“Tekawitha means she who stumbles into things. Isn’t that a marvelous image of us? We bump into so many things, we struggle to know who we are and our place in the Church. But as God used Blessed Kateri’s poor gifts and made them something wonderful for God, so God uses us in our own stumbling and bumping into the things of life, and can do wonders. Although we stumble, we’re on the path that leads to God.”

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We will be together for Mass only five times more before graduation. It is no secret, but many of us who have been faithful to Mass while living here at The Family School, will never go to Mass again. Others will perhaps participate a few times and then drift away, surrendering to laziness or the world’s teachings which tickle our ears, Saint Paul writes. Pray for these souls and for ourselves, that we would be faithful to Christ who loves us from the cross. But some, even one or two, will endure  – living real Catholic-Christian lives – rooted in the Gospels, living the life of prayer and worship in the community of the Church – living compassionate, just, virtuous lives – like Katelyn (an alumna of this school) and her husband, Rob, who were married at Saint Matthew’s Church in Virginia Beach this weekend. They are eager to raise up a new family for Christ! Pray for them, and for ourselves, that we would know our own vocation – that to which God calls us.

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Almighty God,

in whom we live and move and have our being,

you have made us for yourself,

so that our hearts are restless until they rest in you;

grant us purity of heart and strength of purpose,

that no selfish passion may hinder us from knowing your will,

no weakness from doing it;

but that in your light we may see light clearly,

and in your service find our perfect freedom! Amen!

Prayer of Saint Augustine

The Bulletin of the Catholic Community at The Family Foundation School

Pauca Verba (a few words)

Number 25 – May 16, 2010

I hope we’re paying attention to these one-line teachings from the Rule of Saint Benedict. They can change our lives!

• Do not love quarrelling.
• Shun arrogance.
• Respect the older and love the younger.
• Pray for your enemies out of love for Christ.
• If you have a dispute with someone, make peace with him/her before the sun goes down.
• Never lose hope in God’s mercy.
• The first step of humility is unhesitating obedience.
• It is love that impels us to pursue everlasting life.
• The disciple’s obedience must be given gladly.
• Speaking and teaching are the master’s tasks; the disciple is to be silent and listen.
• We absolutely condemn in all places any vulgarity and gossip.
• We descend by exalting ourselves and ascend by humility.
• If we humble our hearts the Lord will raise them to heaven.

The humble person keeps the fear of God always before his eyes. (Fear of God means: that I would dread or be in horror of anything that would take me from God.)

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“Emotional maturity is the ability to stick to a job and to struggle through until it is finished – to endure unpleasantness, discomfort and frustration.” Edward Strecker

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A doctor told me recently of two personal experiences of God: That as the baby was slowly being delivered he saw God’s hand drawing the baby’s face. And another time, a baby’s birth was very difficult. He was a young doctor and he needed to use forceps. He said he felt God’s hands guiding his hands which were inexperienced. What a pity – not to believe in God!

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A staretz is a monk singled out because of his saintliness, spiritual experience and ability to guide the souls of others. Father John (+1958) of the Valaam Monastery in Russia writes:

“The ancient fathers tell how a disciple said to a staretz that such-and-such a man ‘sees angels’. The staretz answered: ‘This is not surprising, that he sees angels’. Brief as this saying of the staretz is, its spiritual meaning is very deep, because nothing is so difficult as to know oneself.”

Do I understand this saying of Father John? He is telling us that it is easier to “see angels” than to know oneself. And many (most?) people are content with that. Do I seek to know myself? Listen without objection or defense to the observations of others about yourself. Be bold and ask someone to tell you something about yourself – something you need to learn or are blind to about yourself. Get a deeper examination of conscience and apply it to yourself with great humility. Prayerfully read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5,6,7). Sit before the tabernacle (where Jesus resides in the Blessed Sacrament) and ask him to reveal to you what he sees beneath the masks. We all wear masks!

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This week the Confirmation class and friends make a pilgrimage (holy journey) to Auriesville and Fonda, New York.

Between the years 1642 and 1649 eight members of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) were killed in North America, after fearful torture by members of the Huron and Iroquois tribes. These men had worked hard to bring the natives of that region to Christianity. Saint Isaac Jogues, Saint Rene Goupil and Saint John Lalande were martyred at Auriesville. The remaining five were martyred in Canada. Sts. Anthony Daniel, Noel Chabanel, Charles Garnier, John de Brebeuf and Gabriel Lalemont. Martyr means, witness.

Kateri (Catherine) Tekawitha was born in 1656 near the town of Auriesville, New York, the daughter of a Mohawk warrior. She was baptized by Jesuit missionary Father Jacques de Lambertville on Easter Sunday of 1676 at the age of twenty. She devoted her life to prayer, penitential practices, and the care of the sick and aged in Caughnawaga near Montreal (where her relics are now enshrined). After Baptism, she incurred the hostility of her tribe because of her faith which caused her to travel to Canada by foot and canoe. There she lived with “friendly natives.” Kateri was devoted to the Eucharist, and to Jesus Crucified, and was called the “Lily of the Mohawks” because it is said, a lily grew on her grave over the place of her heart. She died in 1680 and was beatified June 22, 1980 – the first Native American to be declared “Blessed.”

The Bulletin of the Catholic Community at the Family Foundation School

Pauca Verba (a few words)

Number 24 – May 9, 2010

Here’s a continuation of the Rule of Saint Benedict. Interested in learning to live well – the gospel way? Read on:

• Yearn for everlasting life with holy desire.
• Day by day remind yourself that you are going to die.
• Hour by hour keep careful watch over all you do; aware that God’s gaze is upon you,           wherever you may be.
• As soon as wrongful thoughts come into your heart, dash them against Christ (the rock).
• Guard your lips from harmful or deceptive speech.
• Prefer moderation in speech and speak no foolish chatter.
• Listen readily to holy reading.
• Devote yourself often to prayer.
• Everyday with tears and sighs confess your past sins to God in prayer.
• Hate the urgings of self-will.
• Do not aspire to be called holy before you really are.
• Live by God’s commandments every day.
• Harbor neither hatred nor jealousy of anyone, and do nothing out of envy.

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“Of the last three things you felt were wrong with this community – who’d you blame?” Sister Joan Chittester, O.S.B.

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“I notice everyone in favor of abortion has already been born.” Ronald Reagan

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When asked “How do you explain the importance of the Rosary? Pope Benedict XVI responded: “We need a prayer to bring us calm, to take us out of ourselves, away from our troubles, and set before us consolation and healing. I think this basic experience in the history of religion, of repetition, of rhythm, of words in unison, of singing together, which carries me and soothes me, and fills my space, which does not torment me, but lets me be still and comforts me and sets me free, this basic experience has here become fully Christian in that people pray quite simply in the Marian context and in that of the appearance of Christ to us, and yet at the same time lets this prayer be internalized in them – going beyond the intellectual level to where the soul becomes one with the words.”

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Remove from me the way of falsehood, and favor me with your law.” Psalm 119:29

We don’t make a conscious decision to turn towards the dark path of deceit. We don’t wake up one day and decide that being a person of good character is overrated. We don’t suddenly develop a penchant for dwelling in a pit.

No, departure from integrity is more subtle and insidious than that, more like taking a wrong turn and ending up lost – in a bad neighborhood. It’s allowing for a small deviation from truth, rationalizing it and downplaying it, so that the next indiscretion seems like no big deal – and likewise the next and the next, until one can no longer remember how it felt to be clean. It isn’t enough to try to avoid deceit; we have to actively pursue truth. We have to be intentional and diligent about seeking God’s teaching and living in the light.

Lord, help me become so attuned to your teaching that a subtle tug of your Spirit is enough to turn me around.

Kristin Armstrong

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May is Mary’s Month. Strongly recommended – pray at least one decade of the rosary each day asking for a desired virtue. The Christian moral life is one that seeks to cultivate and practice virtue. A virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. An effective moral life demands the practice of both human and theological virtues.

Human virtues form the soul with the habits of mind and will that support moral behavior, control passions, and avoid sin. Virtues guide our conduct according to the dictates of faith and reason, leading us toward freedom based on self-control and toward joy in living a good moral life. Compassion, responsibility, a sense of duty, self-discipline and restraint, honesty, loyalty, friendship, courage and persistence are examples of desirable virtues for sustaining a moral life. Historically, we group the human virtues around what are called the Cardinal Virtues. This term comes form the Latin word cardo meaning “hinge.” All the virtues are related to or hinged to one of the Cardinal Virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. (Catechism)

The Weekly Bulletin of the Catholic Community at The Family Foundation School

Pauca Verba (a few words)
Number 23 – May 2, 2010

Here’s a continuation of the Rule of Saint Benedict. Interested in learning to live well – the gospel way? Read on:

Do not injure anyone, but bear injuries patiently.
If people curse you, do not curse them back, but bless them instead.
Refrain from too much eating and sleeping.
Do not grumble or speak ill of others.
Place your hope in God alone.
If you notice something good in yourself, give credit to God, not to yourself.
Be certain that the evil you commit is always your own and yours to acknowledge.
Live in fear of judgment day.
Have a great horror of hell.

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May is Mary’s Month! The Church dedicates an entire month to Our Lady – the most lovely of months when everything is green and blooming. We celebrate the one who gave us Jesus, the Lord of Life, in the month when life is returning to our part of the world! Perhaps you will come to the Saturday Masses which sing Mary’s praises. Perhaps you will dedicate some part of your daily prayer to the recitation of the rosary. There is a new book inviting us to contemplate The Earlier Mysteries of Mary’s Life. Pausing at Mary’s Shrine on our school property is like taking a deep breath. Maybe you can arrange your schedule so that you can participate in the evening rosary. But don’t let the month disappear without having somehow grown in love for the one who so generously gave herself to the service of God.

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Here is a very dear hymn to Mary in the Month of May. Ave Maris Stella (IX century) translates from the Latin: Hail, Star of the Sea. Don’t we need a guiding light – the little boat of our lives so tempest-tossed? Oh, I think we will understand.

Ave Maris Stella

Ave maris stella, Maria!
Dei Mater alma, Maria!
Atque semper Virgo,
Felix caeli porta,
Maria! Maria!

Hail, bright star of ocean, Maria!
God’s own Mother holy, Maria!
Ever sinless Virgin,
Heaven’s happy portal,
Maria! Maria!
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Confirmation is celebrated for some of us in less than a month. Others of us will amend the poor reception of that Sacrament. Ordinarily a bishop confers Confirmation which signifies that we are part of a Church which is bigger than our own little congregation. And bishops represent that our faith goes back 2000 years to the time of the apostles.

Sacraments are outer celebrations that give us experiences of invisible things. The outer part of each sacrament is something we can touch, taste, hear, see, smell. That’s how we experience things – in and through our body’s senses. And the sensory thing of Confirmation is a sacred, fragrant oil called chrism. It’s fragrance signifies that I would leave the fragrance of Christ wherever I go! How do I do that? Can I imagine that after having encountered me, that the others would have a sense of having encountered something of Jesus – his kindness, patience, self-forgetting, peace-making, his justice, his hospitality?

And oil makes a thing shiny. This signifies that I would reflect Jesus, that I would be bright with Christ-light – not given over to moodiness, self-pity, cynicism, ingratitude, entitlement.

And oil was used by ancient wrestlers to help them evade the grip of the other contestant. Get it? That living in Christ, I would evade the grip of the enemy – Satan – the whisperer – the spoiler – the liar!

The term milites Christi (soldier of Christ) is sometimes used of those who are to be confirmed. Soldiers are at the ready, obedient, willing to do without, wide awake, tough, high-spirited. Am I?
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One student reflected that since praying the rosary on Tuesday nights with his fellows, that Wednesday is a better day! Why not? And another student shared that since praying the rosary, his life has opened up – that he’s more generous, less snappy and moody, more at peace and less anxious. So what are you waiting for?

Weekly Bulletin of the Catholic Community of The Family Foundation School

Pauca Verba (a few words)

Number 22 – April 25, 2010

This past week I shared the Rule of Saint Benedict with a student here who is attempting to grow more deeply in his Christian life. The Rule of Benedict was written about 1500 years ago! Largely a synopsis of the Holy Gospels, it was intended for ordinary men and women who set out in community to live genuine Christian lives in the deserts and mountains, as the life of the cities declined and decayed. Read on, and then perhaps begin to imagine what family life, school life – indeed the life of our community here would be like – what marvelous and life-giving transformation would take place if we chose to follow this rule. Make no mistake about it, we all follow or possess some rule for living. Happiness, meaning and wholeness: it’s all in the choosing! But first, here is a little biography of Saint Benedict.

At all the turning points of history God raises up great saints to ensure the fulfillment of the Church’s divine mission for the souls of men. Saint Benedict was born at Nursia in Umbria in about 480 and was sent to Rome to be educated, but soon left the world to live a solitary life at Subiaco. After two years as a hermit in a cave in the mountain he had acquired such a reputation that disciples came in numbers to join him and important Roman families entrusted him with the education of their children. A form of monastic life was organized by him in twelve small monasteries in which under his guidance as abbot the monks vowed to the seeking of God, devoted themselves to work and prayer. A few years later St. Benedict left the district of Subiaco to found on the heights of Campania the great abbey of Monte Cassino. There he wrote his Rule in which are wonderfully combined the Roman genius and the monastic wisdom of the Christian East.

Saint Benedict died in 547. He is the Patriarch of the monks of the West, not because he instituted monastic life in this part of the world but because he imbued it with his spirit, a new leaven which contributed greatly to the formation of Christendom in the Middle Ages. Even in our own days the influence of St. Benedict remains considerable and it is by no means confined to monastic houses.

• Listen carefully, my son (my daughter) to the master’s instruction, and attend to them with the ear of your heart.
• The labor of obedience will bring you back to God from whom you had drifted through the sloth of disobedience.
• Every time you begin a good work, you must pray to God most earnestly to bring it to perfection.
• In God’s goodness he has already counted us as his children, and therefore we should never grieve him by our evil actions.
• Let us open our eyes to the light that comes from God.
• See how the Lord in his love shows us the way of life.
• If we wish to dwell in the tent of God’s kingdom, we will never arrive unless we run there by doing good deeds.
• They do not become elated over their good deeds; they judge it is the Lord’s power, not their own, that brings about the good in them.
• The Lord waits for us daily to translate into action, as we should, his holy teachings.
• We must prepare our hearts and bodies for the battle of holy obedience.
• What is not possible to us by nature; let us ask the Lord to supply by the help of his grace.
• We must do now what will profit us forever.
• The good of all concerned may prompt us to a little strictness in order to amend faults and to safeguard love.
• We shall run on the path of God’s commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love.
• We shall through patience share in the sufferings of Christ, so that we may deserve also to share in his kingdom.
• He must point out all that is good and holy more by example than by words.
• Only in this are we distinguished in his sight: if we are found better than others in good works and in humility.
• More will be expected of a man to whom more has been entrusted.
• Above all, he must not show too great concern for the fleeting and temporal things of this world.
• The Lord often reveals what is better to the younger.
• Do not pamper yourself.
• Go to help the troubled and console the suffering.
• Your way of acting should be different from the world’s way.
• The love of Christ must come before all else.
• You are not to act in anger or nurse a grudge.
• Rid your hearts of all deceit.
• Never give a hollow greeting of peace or turn away when someone needs your love.
• Speak the truth with heart and tongue.

The Weekly Bulletin of the Catholic Community at The Family Foundation School

Pauca Verba (a few words)

Number 21 – April 18, 2010

Russian Easter

gold onion domes

rise

above the snow in
Kiev

about the leafless

trees

the gold

and in dark woods

the silver wolf

watches

and in the brush

blanketed

with snow the

rabbit

chews

roots

and in the church

icons

glow in candle

light

and opening lilies

scent

the air and

near

the icon of the

the Mother

holding

the child whose

show

unloosed running

from

fear

the priest whispers

to

the penitent

that

sins are seeds

from

which flowers

may grow

but only after

they

are buried

in Christ

whose wounds

after

the Resurrection

did

not disappear

but shone

more

than rubies

on

a

stole

or flowers

in snow

gold onion domes

rise

above the snow in

Kiev

under the leafless

trees

the snow

can look lemon

yellow

lavender blue and

rose.

This poem was written by a poet named Jim Janda. It appeared in “America” – a Catholic periodical for Easter in April of 1977. Do you notice how the poet uses the word “and” so often? What effect does that have? The poet doesn’t use capital letters or any punctuation except a period at the very end? Any thoughts as to why not? He also makes reference to the icon which we have in our own chapel here at school. Have you ever gone to look, to pray? There are wonderfully chosen and descriptive words that make Easter very alive; can you identify those words? Easter is celebrated in the spring: the victory of life over death, when things turn green again and there are flowers. Can you feel the winter-spring, life-over-death tension in the poem? Have you ever seen snow in real life as it is described towards the end of the poem? This poem invites meditation – perhaps especially in the center. Have you ever tried your hand at writing a poem?

The Weekly Bulletin of the Catholic Community at The Family Foundation School

Pauca Verba (a few words)

Number 20 – April 11, 2010

The word RESURRECTION comes from a Greek word that means to get back on your feet. And so Jesus, like a great wrestler, has gone to the mat to fight for all of us – to get us back – to reclaim us – from the grasp of every dark and deadly thing. It looked as if he were the loser – defeated and pinned. And then in the last and most wearying and terrifying round, he returned – back on his feet – a victor – full of new life!

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This Sunday goes by a couple of names. It is the 8^th day in the Easter Octave. It is also called LOW SUNDAY (by contrast with last Sunday). It is sometimes called THOMAS SUNDAY. And in our own time it is also called MERCY SUNDAY. Believing in Easter, there is no room for guilt. Did we hear the words of the Easter Exsultet last Saturday night? The priest sang praises to the great candle: symbol of Christ-Risen:

The power of this holy night

dispels all evil, washes guilt away,

restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy;

it casts out hatred, brings us peace,

and humbles earthly pride.

All human sin is lost in an abyss of Divine Mercy! Jesus carries the guilt away from us – freeing us for love and union with God.

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Saint John of the Ladder writes: “When the spirit is darkened by unclean thoughts, put the enemy to flight by the name of Jesus repeated frequently. A more powerful and effective weapon than this you will not find, in heaven or on earth.”

St. Gregory of Sinai teaches: “Know this, that no one can control his mind by himself and, therefore, at a time of unclean thoughts call upon the name of Jesus Christ often and at frequent intervals, and the thoughts will quiet down.”

Tom P. Jr. “If you get caught in a resentment or sex fantasy, or something scares the pants off you, then at least you might remember to ask God’s help. In such situations or just in the ordinary course of events, the Jesus Prayer can transform the quality of your daily life inside and out.”

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The plants around the altar are lilies, hyacinths and tulips. If we dug in the soil we’d find that these plants all grow from bulbs which look dried and lifeless. Who would think that plants so fragrant and lovely would grow out of these? But maybe you are asking that question about yourself: “Who would think that I’d be going to Mass?” “Who would think that I’d be going to the Holy Triduum and undertaking a Lenten fast?” Easter says, “Look, we can change!”

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And so a gift has been made to Smile Train, translating the Sugar Fast into a surgery to repair the cleft palette of a third world child. Isn’t that wonderful? It wasn’t easy at times. The fast required honesty and perseverance. We live in a culture that never seems to say “no” to itself. And so there is a place for fasting – a simple doing without as a reminder that God alone fills what is empty and lacking within us.

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Here is the second verse to an Easter hymn: Come ye faithful, raise the strain. We’ll understand.

‘Tis the spring of souls today,

Christ hath burst his prison,

And from three days’ sleep in death

As a sun has risen:

All the winter of our sin,

Long and dark is flying

From his light to whom we give

Laud and praise undying.

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Did you notice how many people commented on the marvelous bells we heard ringing at the end of Easter Mass – the bells from the monastery of Chevetogne? And that more than a few of us lingered afterwards to listen to the monks singing? Doesn’t this tell us something about music – and how attractive it can be when it’s more than a vibrating base line – but which lifts us upward to a higher place?

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Did Jesus rise from the dead corporeally? Historically? Or is the Resurrection just a metaphor? Well, let me put it to you this way. In the ancient world a woman’s testimony was never allowable in court. The surest way to NOT be taken seriously would be to invoke the testimony of a woman. And yet, in each of the four gospels the first witnesses to the risen Christ are all women! There’s simply no way that the early Church would have invented the story of Christ rising from the dead and then to prove it, written in that the witnesses were women. THAT story would not have been given any credibility.

The Weekly Bulletin of the Catholic Community at The Family Foundation School

Pauca Verba (a few words)

Number 18 – March 28, 2010

Beginning with today, Passion Sunday (also known as Palm Sunday) we begin Holy Week. But isn’t every day a holy day; every week a holy week? Of course, as each is given to us as a gift by which we can come to know and love and serve God. But THIS week is given the name HOLY as it recalls the events in the Life of Jesus which saved us: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday.

Blake and Kevin will be Baptized on Saturday night. They invite you to join them in prayer as they meet Jesus in the water for the first time, as they receive their First Communion (taking their place in the life of the Church around the altar) and as they are Confirmed – sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit who gives us spiritual gifts as we return to the Father.

Want to keep this a truly Holy Week? More silence, no moody sulking, but the silence that accompanies less talk, less inner noise, a deeper union with Jesus.

Want to keep this a truly Holy Week? Come to the three liturgies we will celebrate Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. They are very beautiful celebrations of what Jesus has done for love of us.

Want to keep this a truly Holy Week? Do some fasting. Do without seconds. No candy until Easter. Fast from complaining. Fast from condemning and criticizing people. This requires a great attentiveness.

Want to keep this a truly Holy Week? Avoid all argument, especially in the dorms. Practice small acts of anonymous charity. Read the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ Passion.

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The Savior has come today to the city of Jerusalem,

to fulfill the scriptures;

and the children have taken palms into their hands

and spread their garments

before him, knowing that he is our God,

to whom the cherubim sings without ceasing:

Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed are you who show great compassion for humanity,

Lord, have mercy upon us. (Byzantine Vespers)

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We’re each given a little bunch of greens today: a palm branch not unlike the branches used to welcome Jesus 2000 years ago; a pussy-willow branch, a sign of spring’s new life and growth; and a piece of boxwood, a slow-growing and hardy bush that survives the winter (symbol of our own survival, by God’s mercy); tied with a red ribbon to remind us of the Blood of Jesus shed for love of us. Even though they will dry out, keep these things near your bed during the year – a reminder to welcome Jesus each day with great joy.

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Baptism: When we were born, we had to pass through our mother’s water. “My water has broken” mom would call to dad or to her own mother as an excited way of saying you and I were on our way. And in Baptism, we draw near to the womb of the Church which is the font. And there we pass through water a second time to be born from above and to take our place in the new creature begun by Jesus – freed from our inner slavery – as the Hebrews passed through the waters of the Red Sea – to inner freedom – the freedom to live without faithless fears, from sin to grace, free to love others joyfully and generously.

Listen to the prayers and accompanying scripture verses as the newly baptized are clothed in white – flinging off the old clothes of our corruption – rotted through and through with lusts illusions. And the giving of Christ-light by which we are to walk through this world of shadows.

And there is the oil of Confirmation. The word Confirmation means, “Yes it’s so!” And the oil is called chrism. It is blessed only by a bishop which means that the Baptized Catholic is part of a church that extends back in time to Jesus (chrism=Christ) and that ancient faith is guarded throughout time by bishops who are fathers in the faith. And the oil is highly fragrant – that I would leave behind me, wherever I go, the fragrance of Christ. And the oil reflects light – that I would become a “child of the light” and bring about the things of light, dispelling darkness. And the oil-cross marks me as belonging to Christ – and so all other signs (including tattoos) are now obsolete as the cross, though invisible, remains throughout my life. And oil was used by ancient wrestlers – that I would evade Satan’s grip. Water, oil, clothing, light: cause for deep reflection!

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