Last time we concluded that Baptism welcomes us into the family of God and after Baptism we belong to God. Now let’s look at the baptism ritual. All Sacrament ritual includes three moments: anamnesis (remembering), epiclesis (coming of the Holy Spirit), doxology (praise). In Baptism we remember the healing waters, we remember Christ’s death and ...read more

Why do we baptise babies? How can a baby decide to become a Christian? Where does this tradition come from? Deacon Pedro explains. ...read more

I remember about 5 years ago when we went to the Easter Vigil Mass for the first time in about 12 years (that’s what happens when you have kids) how amazed I was at the beauty and meaning behind this the greatest of all liturgies. I guess I’d forgotten; or never realized it. In particular, ...read more

Last week we saw how the Baptism of Jesus is one of three manifestation or “Theophany” moments: the Nativity, the Baptism and the Wedding at Cana. Today we are focusing on the centre of these three events: The baptism, which this year, in Canada, was celebrated last Monday, on January 8th. I’m sure that thousands of ...read more

I’m confused this year. Why is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord celebrated tomorrow, Monday, January 8, instead of next Sunday? This was the tradition: It was always celebrated on January 13, on the octave of the Feast of the Epiphany (which is normally January 6 – but not always, in some places, ...read more

Last week we looked at the RCIA program: the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. We saw that this process is pretty standard throughout the universal Church. We also saw that (in previous posts, part 1 and part 2) how the program of receiving people (mainly adults) into the Church is ramped up during Lent. ...read more

So far we’ve looked a little bit about why Lent has a baptismal character and we’ve looked at a particular component of the Catechumenate, the Rite of Election. Before we go on, let me explain a bit more why it’s important to keep Baptism at the centre of our Lent. It’s not j ust that ...read more

Last week, we spoke about how Lent doesn’t just have a penitential character, but also a baptismal character. I hope that if you didn’t already know the date of your baptism, you went to find out. We should all know the date of our baptism. Part of the reason that Lent has a baptismal character ...read more

When you think of Lent, what do you think of? Do you think of feasting or fasting? Do you think of partying or penance? How many of you, when you think of Lent, think of Baptism? Surely the Catechumens, those preparing for Baptism at Easter, who do their final preparations during Lent are thinking of ...read more

Fr. Rob Galea discusses whether we can receive the Sacraments over the internet. The 7 Sacraments: 1. Baptism 2. Confirmation 3. Reconciliation 4. Holy Communion 5. Marriage 6. Holy Orders 7. Anointing of the sick Further Reading: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pon… Follow Fr. Rob Galea! www.FrRobGalea.com Social Media: @FrRobGalea ...read more