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Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
Then Jesus appeared: he came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. John tried to dissuade him, with the words, “It is I who need baptism from you, and yet you come to me!” But Jesus replied, “Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that uprightness demands.” Then John gave in to him. And when Jesus had been baptised he at once came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And suddenly there was a voice from heaven, “This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.” The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord marks the end of the Church’s celebration of Christmas and the start of the short period of Ordinary Time that runs to Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. Since the early days of the Church’s history this feast was important for two reasons. First because the voice of the Father reveals Jesus to be His Son; “You are my Son, the Beloved, my favour rests on you” (Mark 1: 11). Secondly, because the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dive, descends on Jesus. This was seen as the real anointing and the appointment of Jesus as the Messiah. Both “Christ” and “Messiah” come from words meaning “the anointed one”, the first from Greek and the second from Hebrew. This feast is seen as the start of Jesus’ public life and ministry. Why did Jesus, the Son of God, choose to be baptised? Surely, He was without sin. He was. The answer is that as well as being true God He was also true man as we say in the Creed. Jesus was as truly human as any human being. It was to identify Himself totally with sinful mankind that He chose to be Baptised by St. John. In doing so He made the water in which He was baptised holy and towards the end of His ministry He would tell His disciples to “Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations: baptise them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe the commands I gave you.” (Matthew 28: 19-20). The words of Jesus still form the heart of the Sacrament of Baptism. During the Mass on this Sunday the asperges may replace the penitential rite. At the start of the Mass Father Paul blesses the water then moves through the church sprinkling the people. This is, as one of the prayers says “… this water will be used to remind us of our baptism. Ask God to bless it, and to keep us faithful to the Spirit he has given us.” Almighty and ever-living God, when Jesus had been baptized in the River Jordan and as the Holy Spirit descended on Him, you solemnly declared him to be Your Beloved Son. Grant that we, your children by adoption, reborn through water and the Holy Spirit, may always be pleasing to You. See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptism_of_Jesus https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02258b.htm#v https://saintscatholic.blogspot.com/2016/01/feast-of-baptism-of-lord.html |
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12th January - Optional memorial of St. Aelred of Rievaulx, Abbot. Born – 1110, Hexham, Northumberland, England Died - 12 January 1167 (aged 56–57), Rievaulx, Yorkshire, England Resting place - Rievaulx chapter house next to William, first abbot Major shrine - Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire, England (destroyed) Attributes - Abbot holding a book Patronage - bladder stone sufferers Born in 1110, Aelred was educated at Durham before joining the household of David I, the king of Scotland rising to become his seneschal. In 1134 he became a monk at the recently founded abbey of Rievaulx. In spite of his delicate health he followed the austere regime and became so streamed by the community that he was chosen as the envoy to Rome in 1142 over the disputed election of William of York, and, soon afterwards, as master of novices. In 1143 he was appointed as abbot of Revesby in Lincolnshire. Four years later he was recalled to become the abbot of Rievaulx. Under his care the house flourished increasing in numbers to 150 choir monks and 500 lay brothers making it the largest in England at the time. In addition he founded five more houses in England and Scotland. Aelred’s rule, inspired by the writings of John and Augustine, was characterised by a sensitive discretion and gentle holiness with strong emphasis on charity humanising the intransigence of Cistercian monasticism and attracting men of similar character to his own. In 1163 he was invited to preach at Westminster at the Translation of Edward the Confessor. This led him to write a life of Edward – he had already written on Ninian and on the saints of Hexham. Other writings included a treatise on Friendship, the Speculum Caritatis, and Sermons on Isaiah. He died at Rievaulx in 1167 and was buried in the Chapter House before being translated to the church. Although never formally canonised, the Cistercians approved the local cult and promulgated his feast in 1476. Almighty God, who endowed Saint Aelred, Abbot of Rievaulx, with the gift of fostering Christian friendship and the wisdom to lead others in the ways of holiness, grant your people, we pray, that same spirit of brotherly affection, so that. loving one another, they may know the love of Christ and come to rejoice in your supreme goodness. See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aelred_of_Rievaulx https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01172b.htm https://catholicsaints.info/saint-aelred/ https://www.bartleby.com/210/1/124.html https://saintscatholic.blogspot.com/2019/01/st-aelred-abbot.html |
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13th January - Optional memorial of St. Hilary, Bishop and Doctor of the Church Born - c. 310, Pictavium, Gaul (modern-day Poitiers, France) Died - c. 367 (aged c. 56–57), Poitiers Venerated in - Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, Lutheran Church, Oriental Orthodoxy Canonized - Pre-Congregation Feast - 13 January, 14 January (Byzantine Christianity; some local calendars and pre-1970 General Roman Calendar) Attributes - episcopal vestments, a mitre and crozier, and a beard, usually white and often long Hilary was born c. 315 at Poitiers the son of wealthy pagan parents. He became an orator, married and had a daughter, Saint Afra. In 350 he became a Christian through a long process of study that led him to the conviction that man is in the world for the practice of the moral virtues which must be rewarded hereafter, that there is only one God, the eternal and creative first cause, and that the Word of God who became incarnate in Jesus Christ is likewise eternal and of one substance with the Father. In c. 353 he was chosen bishop and spent the remainder of his life as an outspoken champion of orthodoxy against the Arians. As such he was praised both by Augustine and Jerome. This reputation was based on his defence of orthodoxy at the Synod of Bitterae in 356 an at the council of Seleucia in 359, and his four year (356-360) exile in Phrygia under the Emperor Constantius. He would return to Gaul amid great rejoicing and in 364 travelled to Milan to successfully refute the Arian bishop Auxentius. His many writings could at times be severe in tone – a contrast to the nature of the man himself – and written in a difficult and involved style, sometimes to the point of obscurity. His principal works are De Triniate, against the Arians, De Synodis, and Commentaries on the Psalms and St. Matthew’s Gospel. He died in c. 368 and was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1851. Almighty God, grant that we may rightly understand and truthfully profess the divinity of your Only Begotten Son which the Bishop Saint Hilary taught with such constancy. See also: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07349b.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilary_of_Poitiers https://catholicsaints.info/saint-hilary-of-poitiers/ https://archive.org/details/sthilaryofpoitie00caze/page/n3/mode/2up https://www.christianiconography.info/goldenLegend/hilary.htm https://www.bartleby.com/210/1/141.html https://saintscatholic.blogspot.com/2014/01/st-hilary-of-poitiers.html https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3302.htm https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3301.htm https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3303.htm https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf209.toc.html https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20071010.html |
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17th January - Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot. Born - 12 January 251 (reputedly), Herakleopolis Magna, Egypt Died - 17 January 356 (aged 105), Mount Colzim, Egypt Venerated in - Coptic Orthodox Church, Assyrian Church of the East, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion Canonized - Pre-Congregation Major shrine - Monastery of St. Anthony, Egypt, Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye, France Feast - 17 January (Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodoxy), 22 Tobi (Coptic Calendar) Attributes - bell; pig; book; Tau Cross, Tau cross with bell pendant Patronage - Animals, skin diseases, farmers, butchers, basket makers, brushmakers, gravediggers, Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, Rome. Anthony, the founder of monasticism, was born in 251 in Coma, in Upper Egypt and at the age of twenty he sold all his possessions and lived among the local ascetics. From 286 to 306 he lived in complete solitude in a deserted fort at Pispir where he underwent usually associated with the hermit life. At the end of this period he left his solitude to guide the disciples that had gathered around him. In 311 he went to Alexandria to encourage the confessors there during the persecution of Maximius living by gardening and mat making. In character he combined severe austerity with an emphasis on discretion and the love of God before all else. In 355 he returned to Alexandria, this time to refute the Arians – he was reputed to be a miracle worker and many were converted by him. Some of his writings survive including a letter to the Emperor Constantine and several to different monasteries. Many of is sayings are preserved in the Vitae Patrum wile a monastic rule in his name may contain some of his teachings. Jerome’s account of Paul, the first hermit, describes a meeting with Anthony in the desert shortly before Paul’s death. Anthony died in 356 and by his own choice was buried in a place known to no-one. However, in 561 his relics were found and translated to Alexandria. Almighty God, who brought Abbot Saint Anthony to serve you in a wondrous way of life in the desert, grant that, through his intercession we may deny our earthly desires and always love you above all things. See also: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01553d.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_the_Great https://catholicsaints.info/saint-anthony-the-abbot/ https://www.christianiconography.info/goldenLegend/anthonyAbbot.htm https://www.bartleby.com/210/1/171.html https://saintscatholic.blogspot.com/2014/01/st-anthony-abbot.html https://saintscatholic.blogspot.com/2019/01/saint-antony-patriarch-of-monks.html https://librivox.org/the-life-of-anthony-by-athanasius-of-alexandria/ |