I Present to You...

What do you think of when you hear this Sunday’s gospel of the Presentation of Jesus? Do you picture a baptism you’ve attended? If you’re new to the faith, maybe you reminisce about your own baptism.

Our faith has such a rich history with such meaningful traditions. Nothing is done by accident or without cause. Everything has a purpose. One of the best things you can do for your spiritual growth is to seek out the reason of why we do what we do.

Let’s take a look at the difference between the Presentation of Jesus and the baptisms we do now today…

The presentation of a baby is an Old Testament tradition. In a presentation of a baby, parents and family step forward and declare before God that they will raise the baby according to God’s Word and God’s ways.

Our Sacrament of Baptism, however, takes it a step further. Remember that Jesus came to fulfill the laws of the Old Testament, not to trash it and start from scratch. In the gospel of Matthew 28:19, Jesus is ascending into Heaven and commands the disciples…

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matt 28:19)

In Baptism we:

• Are washed clean of the Original Sin - Disobedience to God - of Adam and Eve that we are all born with.

• Declare that we believe in the Trinity - 3 persons but only 1 God. Other faiths will baptize in the name of Jesus, or in the name of Father. In this instance, if they were to convert to Catholicism, they would need to be re-baptized in the name of the Trinity.

• Are washed clean once. Other religions practice regular baptisms whenever they want to rededicate their life to God. Imagine needing to bleach clean a shirt. From then on you only need to spot clean and wash regularly. You don’t need to bleach the shirt every time after you wear it. Catholics have the gift of Confession. Confession gives us the opportunity to wash clean our dirty souls. It’s like a nice hot shower for the soul instead of cleaning off with a pressure washer!
  (stay tuned for an article on the ins and outs of Confession!)

Another big difference in the presentation of a child, more often than not, a godparent is chosen only with the responsibility of taking care of the child should anything happen to the parents.
A Catholic godparent is someone who is practicing Catholic (attends Mass every Sunday, frequents the Sacrament, has an active prayer life, etc) that is willing to be there to help form the child in the faith when the child has questions but doesn’t necessarily want to go to the parent. It takes a village after all!

Scripture for Further Reflection

• “Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
  Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him.” And he testified with many other words and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” - Acts 2:38-42

• “Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.” - John 3:4-8

• “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” - Romans 6:1

• Access the free online Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition of the Bible here

• Find even more scripture on Baptism at Scripture Catholic!

Catholic School Week & How to Participate

The theme for this year’s Catholic Schools Week is Catholic Schools:

Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.

Whether you are a Catholic School student, have a child in Catholic School, or are neither of the two, there are ways to participate in Catholic Schools Week.

First and foremost, here are the intentions during the week. A small way to participate would be to add these intentions to your regular prayer routine.

• Sunday: Celebrating your parish

• Monday: Celebrating your community

• Tuesday: Celebrating your students

• Wednesday: Celebrating the nation

• Thursday: Celebrating vocations

• Friday: Celebrating faculty, staff, and volunteers

• Saturday: Celebrating families

If you want to go further, below are free daily resources from Sadlier Religion. They are geared towards catechists/teachers to use with their students. HOWEVER, you are a catechist/teacher to our youth.

You.

The Catholic School parent who continues conversation about what’s going on at school once you get home.

You, the home school parent.

You, who go to Mass as an example.

You, who answers the occasional random question from the youth that trusts you enough to ask you.

You, who are called through your Baptism to spread the Good News.

These resources are here for you should you need them!

Don’t be afraid to teach so they learn. Be selfless in loving so they know how to serve. Be humble when stepping up so they see how to lead. Teach them what’s important so they know when they truly succeed.

Don’t wait until you are old to start becoming a saint. Begin right now. Cheerfully and joyfully, by fulfilling the duties of your work and of your everyday life.
- St. Josemaria Escriva

9 Days for Life

Not everyone has the availability, resources, or particular call to head to Washington DC for the March for Life. We all, however, have the means and call to pray for each other and to defend our brothers and sister’s dignity and right to life.

We are called to defend so many different aspects of being pro-life: the elderly, the unborn, the homeless, the handicap, our military and veterans, and those bullied or abused. This month - this week - in particular we are called to join together and storm the Heavens regarding the unborn during the anniversary of Roe vs Wade.

These 9 days have specific prayers, intentions, and ways you can additionally fast in order to beg God for grace to be poured out on those in need. especially the mothers, fathers, the unborn, and those affected by the responsibility of a new life. This time is not time to jump down someone’s throat about how we’re right and they’re wrong. This time is for us to be there for those who are scared, to walk with those who feel alone, to support the programs out there that do good work (see Woman’s New Life Center, Restoration House, Peter’s House, etc.) . This is a time to live out the gospel:

“When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’ 

- Matthew 25:31-40

If you want to get daily reminders, go download MyParish App and sign up for free with St. Joseph’s, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or all three! You can also find the info on the source website: https://pro-life-activities.lpages.co/9-days-for-life-2020/ or download the 9 Days for Life app for Apple or Android.

He Is My Beloved Son

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.  And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” - Matthew 3:13-17

Imagine you’re in one of these scenarios:

• Your a quarterback and have the opportunity to play with Drew Brees. You two find yourselves on the same team for a pick up game and he steps aside to let you be the quarterback. and lead the team.

• You’re a cook and go out to eat at one of Emeril Lagasse’s restaurant. He see’s you and invites you to come into the kitchen and prepare your best dish as that night’s special.

• You’re an extra on a movie set and Brad Pitt says he thinks you would fill the lead role better than him.

What do all these scenarios have in common? That depends on how you would respond. To deny recognizing and using your talents just because you’re not the best out there would be false humility. To step up but brag about that moment at every possible opportunity for the rest of your life would be prideful. Or you could say thank you for the opportunity, glorify God in using your talents, and praise God for those talents in humility.

Now, what do these scenarios have to do with this Sunday’s gospel?

Humility.

An incredibly powerful virtue to have and an incredibly agonizing virtue to cultivate. When thinking of where you might see humility in this story, you could look at Jesus and say, “How humble for the God of the universe to allow Himself to Baptized by a mere man.” And you would be correct. Jesus even says He is humble:

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” - Matthew 11:29

This may sound prideful to say “be humble like me.” However, as shown in the hypothetical scenarios above, we see that being honest about who you are and what you can do is true humility.

With that being said, take a second look at this gospel and notice John. At first, he recognizes the Lord in front of Him and asks what He would will by offering to first be Baptized by the Lord. But, when the Lord calls John to be the witness for others, John glorifies God in that moment. When God calls John to use the gifts God gives him, John fulfills that job and steps forward in humility to serve as the Lord wills it.

Where in your life might you be burying your gifts and talents in false humility?

Where in your life might you need to die to flesh so your spirit may live?

Scripture for Further Reflection

• “Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.” - James 4:10

• “For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” - Luke 14:11

• “For by the grace given to me I bid every one among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned him.” - Romans 12:3

• “but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

• “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, 13 forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” - Colossians 3:12-13

Party on the Epiphany!

The Christmas season has officially ended but the celebrating is far from over. We Catholics know how to party we just need to do the right days. As it so happens, today is one of those days!

The Epiphany is when we celebrate the Wise Men finding Jesus and honoring Him. We actually have quite a few traditions that help us to partake in this feast day.

• Epiphany House Blessing. Ideally, you would schedule for a priest to come and bless your home (even if he can’t come Jan 6th). There are certain prayers that only a priest can bestow on your house, however you can still get some chalk blessed and follow the house blessing markings seen in the pictures on the right.

• Down in the south we celebrate with delicious King Cake. We have the 3 colors - purple, green, and gold - to represent the 3 kings. We also celebrate when someone finds the baby representing the finding of baby Jesus!

• Another southern tradition is to leave the Christmas tree up but to change out the Christmas ornaments with Mardi Gras decorations.

There are even more traditions found all over the world and you can check them out here.

Did you also know that it’s most likely that the Wise Men did not find Jesus on the night of His birth with the shepherds?

In fact, if we take a look at scripture, we can see that it’s more likely Jesus was about 2 years old when the Wise Men found Him. There was no speedy transportation for the Wise Men to take and they didn’t know exactly where Jesus was. First, they travel “from the East” (Matthew 2:1) to ask King Herod where “he who has been born king of the Jews” is. Then in Matthew 2:11, they went “into the house” - not the stable - to find the child Jesus. Knowing that Herod means harm to the child, the Wise Men go back home another way to avoid Herod and let Jesus’ location remain secret. By the time the news gets back to Herod some times has passed, since, you know, there isn’t any email, tagging in an Instagram post, our cute birth announcement photos passed around. Herod then orders for the slaughter of all 2 year old boys in hopes that he eliminates the threat of the new king of the Jews. Later this day of genocide is named the Feast of the Holy Innocents and we recognize this day on December 28th.

And what about those gifts?

Anyone who knows a toddler knows that Gold, Frankincense. and Myrrh are not exactly on the nose gifts. After all, aren’t they supposed to by wise? So why did they bring those three?

• Gold was brought to represent His kingship here on earth.

• Frankincense was brought to honor , worship, and show the divinity of Christ.

• Myrrh represents the humanity of Jesus. It was a burial oil for His future Passion, death, and temporary burial.

What to bring to prayer

When the Wise Men did get to Jesus, they prostrated themselves. How humbling must that have been to see the Wise Men - the Three Kings from the East - prostrate before a 2 year old. Maybe take some time before digging into a piece of King Cake and read Matthew 2:1-12. Enter into the scene...
What does Mary do when she turns to see three majestic strangers from another land in her doorway wanting to see her Son? Is Joseph there? Does Jesus hide behind Mary’s skirt or does He try and climb over the prostrate men and play with them?
Jesus then runs to you and looks up at you. What do you have to bring to Him this year? Is it more of your time? Is it being opening to experiencing the gift of Him and what He has for you this year? If you don’t have an inkling on what you could give the King of the Universe that created you and is the Author of your life, don’t fret. Fr. Mark-Mary has some advice on what you can give God this Epiphany.

So, now that we’ve discussed the history of this feast day, the traditions we use to celebrate, and something to bring to prayer, what do you do now?

Now we party!

Play one of these modern covers of We Three Kings while you eat your King Cake celebrate!.