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Celebrations |
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Celebrations are an important
part of life. Christmas, Thanksgiving dinner, birthday parties and similar
events provide an opportunity to remember the life that has been shared.
Celebrations, especially when gift giving is involved, can be a means of
healing past irritations and hurts. Celebrations also renew one's spirit to
face the future. The Church celebrates its life in a variety of ways, but the
celebration of the Sacraments constitute the highlight of the Church's life.
Several points should be noted.
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- The
sacraments reveal what is already present in life: God's loving
presence.
- One's relationship with God and others is changed and deepened
through the celebration of the sacraments.
It is very
much like a young man and woman who are engaged. When the question "Will you
marry me?" is asked and the response is "Yes", they come to a new awareness of
their love.
The question does not
create love. It reveals the love that is already there but it changes the young
man and woman and confirms them in their love. The celebration of the
sacraments reveal God's love for us, our love for God and confirms us in that
love. |
- The
Sacraments always consist of action and word.
Life is ambiguous,
complex and mysterious. Consider a body of water. It might be destructive or
life giving. We use words to clarify our understanding. So if at a lake we find
the words "No Swimming E. Coli Contamination" we know that this particular body
of water is harmful. On the other hand the words "Mountain Fresh" connote water
that refreshes.
Even though water
can be destructive, we believe that it is fundamentally life-giving. So we use
water to proclaim that God is giving new life to the one who is baptized. The
words we use confirm this belief. "I baptize you in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." To name someone, even a pet, is to
acknowledge and develop a relationship between what is named and the one giving
the name.
When we baptize a
person "In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit", we are placing that
person in a relationship with God the Creator, the Savior and the Life Giver.
This relationship is summed up by Jesus' command: "Love God and Love your
Neighbor". Indeed if a person does so, then that person will live forever.
Christ promised to be with his disciples
for all time. But one's relationship is not just that of an individual
person to the Lord. It is not just "Jesus is my Personal Savior."
God always calls individuals in the context of a community: that
is from a community and for the sake of the community. As disciples
of Christ, we are members of the Christian Community, the Body of
Christ. St. Paul reminds us of this when he states: "In one Spirit
we were all baptized into one body" and "Now you are Christ's body
and individually parts of it." (1 Cor 12:12-31) Indeed through Christ
we are all united to one another and all of creation.
Within the Christian Community,
normally the parish, we share our joys and sorrows, hopes and fears. We grow in
our love of God and neighbor. We celebrate socially and we reach out to the
larger community. |
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