The Feast of The Baptism Of Our Lord

The season is ended, the final feast is done, the Lord has made himself known to his beloved and we are beckoned to come, follow, and share in His light, and his life!The Feast of The Baptism of Our Lord wraps up the season of Christmas with another, wondrous Epiphany or 'manifestation of God'. We have seen the face of God revealed in the face of the infant Jesus, we have seen the face of God revealed to the nations who do not know him in the persons of the Magi, and now we see our Lord, our God, our Savior, revealed as the Father's beloved Son.We might ask, as John does, why should Jesus, the Christ, the sinless one, be baptized in water as...

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The Solemnity of The Epiphany of The Lord: The Lord has made his salvation known to the whole world!

The word 'Epiphany' means 'appearance' or 'manifestation' of God connoting the breaking in of the divine to our material world. Throughout the scriptures there are a number of 'types' of epiphanies; God speaking directly to people like Adam and Eve, Noah, and Abraham. God's appearance to Moses in the burning bush and face to face on mount Sinai, God's leading of Israel out of Egypt as pillars of fire and smoke. All of these very awesome and awe-inspiring. But no appearances in all of scripture and all of human history were more profound, awe-inspiring and deeply sublime, as those we find in the New Testament in the flesh and blood of Jesus. Since...

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Feast of Mary Mother of God - The Word took our nature from Mary

I've always thought it so wonderfully grace-filled that our Church begins new calendar year with this special solemnity (the highest order of Church Feasts) to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of God (Theotokos in Greek). The following reflection by St. Athanasius tells us why this action of God, in creating a body for His Son, the Word, was so very remarkable and necessary for our salvation. Mary's was the single 'Yes' that saved the world. What a wonderful and blessed Mother we have!From a letter by Saint Athanasius, bishopThe Apostle tells us: The Word took to himself the sons of Abraham, and so had to be like his brothers in all things....

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