Consecration means that a person or thing (e.g., a building, chalice, vestments, etc.) is withdrawn from profane use and is dedicated to the service of God; the object thereby becomes sacred and is to be treated with reverence and respect. The Church is holy by consecration because it is set apart by God to live in union with Him and to serve Him. An individual person becomes a member of God’s holy people through Baptism by which a person is consecrated to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Through this same rite the person assumes the obligation to live a holy life worthy of the consecration he has received by God’s grace.
The Church is ontologically holy because of its life-giving union with the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost and the life of grace that flows from that union. Jesus Christ alludes to this union in the Gospel when he explains clearly that He came forth from the Father and that He now leaves this world to go back to the Father.
It is because of this union of love that Christ assures us we can ask anything of the Father in Christ’s name and it will be given to us! Let us pray with confidence! Let us pray with faith!
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Prayers at the Foot of the Altar
Showing posts with label Baptize. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baptize. Show all posts
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Friday, December 2, 2011
Institution of Holy Orders
New Testament authors tell us that Jesus commanded (and therefore empowered) the Twelve to celebrate the Eucharist (Lk 22.19; 1 Cor 11.24f), to forgive sins (Jn 20.23), and to baptize (Mt 18.19), but they do not say that these tasks were entrusted exclusively to the apostles, or that Christ instituted a special rite by which certain individuals are to be consecrated and empowered to carry out these tasks. For these reasons, it is impossible to prove from the New Testament alone, without the Tradition of the Church, that Christ instituted the sacrament of Holy Orders.
We can say that since apostolic times, the Church, enlightened by the Holy Ghost and following the pattern received from the beginning, has set aside chosen members of the community to exercise roles of leadership and pastoral ministry in the community, by imposing hands on them and praying that they be assisted by the grace of the Holy Ghost. The Church of the patristic period firmly believed that through this gesture and prayer those ordained to the episcopacy, presbyterate, and diaconate, received gifts of the Holy Ghost to carry on their ministry, as Saint Paul's words imply. Since only Christ can make an infallible connection between sacred rite and conferral of grace, medieval theologians understood that this rite must have been instituted by Christ.
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
We can say that since apostolic times, the Church, enlightened by the Holy Ghost and following the pattern received from the beginning, has set aside chosen members of the community to exercise roles of leadership and pastoral ministry in the community, by imposing hands on them and praying that they be assisted by the grace of the Holy Ghost. The Church of the patristic period firmly believed that through this gesture and prayer those ordained to the episcopacy, presbyterate, and diaconate, received gifts of the Holy Ghost to carry on their ministry, as Saint Paul's words imply. Since only Christ can make an infallible connection between sacred rite and conferral of grace, medieval theologians understood that this rite must have been instituted by Christ.
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Pray Without Ceasing
If you want your prayer to be answered without fail you must pray without ceasing. Those who get tired after praying for a time are lacking in either humility or confidence, and so they do not deserve to be heard. Their attitude is that God “owes” them and that their prayer should be obeyed instantly as if they were giving out orders to God! God resists the proud but bestows His favors upon the humble. We show very little trust in God’s goodness when we give up our prayers so quickly and take delay for an absolute refusal!
If we begin to really understand how far God’s goodness extends we will never believe that we have been refused or that He wishes to take away our hope. Rather, the more He makes us keep on asking for something we want, the more confident we should feel that we shall eventually obtain it. In fact, the only time we should begin to doubt that our prayers have been heard is when we notice that we have given up and stopped praying!
For example, if after a year we discover that we are praying just as hard as when we first started, then we shouldn’t doubt the success of our efforts. Instead of losing courage after such a long delay, we should rejoice because we can be certain that our desires will be all the more fully satisfied for the length of time we prayed. Remember how it took Saint Monica sixteen years to obtain the conversion of Saint Augustine, but the conversion was over and above what she had prayed for. She prayed that her son’s incontinence would be checked by marriage, and instead she had the joy of seeing him embrace a life of chastity! She only prayed that he be baptized and become a Christian, but she lived to see him become a bishop! She prayed that God turn him away from heresy, and God made him a pillar of the Church and its champion against heretics.
What do you suppose would have happened if Saint Monica would have given up after a couple of years, or after ten or twelve years? Her prayers seemingly were getting no results and her son grew worse instead of better for so many years. She would have done her son an injustice by ceasing to pray for him! She would have thrown away her own happiness, and deprived the world of one of the greatest Christian thinkers!
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
If we begin to really understand how far God’s goodness extends we will never believe that we have been refused or that He wishes to take away our hope. Rather, the more He makes us keep on asking for something we want, the more confident we should feel that we shall eventually obtain it. In fact, the only time we should begin to doubt that our prayers have been heard is when we notice that we have given up and stopped praying!
For example, if after a year we discover that we are praying just as hard as when we first started, then we shouldn’t doubt the success of our efforts. Instead of losing courage after such a long delay, we should rejoice because we can be certain that our desires will be all the more fully satisfied for the length of time we prayed. Remember how it took Saint Monica sixteen years to obtain the conversion of Saint Augustine, but the conversion was over and above what she had prayed for. She prayed that her son’s incontinence would be checked by marriage, and instead she had the joy of seeing him embrace a life of chastity! She only prayed that he be baptized and become a Christian, but she lived to see him become a bishop! She prayed that God turn him away from heresy, and God made him a pillar of the Church and its champion against heretics.
What do you suppose would have happened if Saint Monica would have given up after a couple of years, or after ten or twelve years? Her prayers seemingly were getting no results and her son grew worse instead of better for so many years. She would have done her son an injustice by ceasing to pray for him! She would have thrown away her own happiness, and deprived the world of one of the greatest Christian thinkers!
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Monday, October 17, 2011
Eucharistic Presence
One of the critical questions that have sharply divided Christians since the Reformation is how to understand the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, High Anglicans, and Lutherans believe that the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ are truly present in the Eucharist, in their proper reality, under the appearance of bread and wine.
The term “real presence” has been used to describe the special mode of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist since the middle ages. The Council of Trent entitled the first chapter of its Decree on the Most Holy Eucharist “The Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist.” However, there are in fact other modes of Christ’s presence, each of them “real” in its own way. Several of these are mentioned in the Constitution on the Liturgy:
He is present in the Sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of His minister, “the same now offering, through the ministry of priest, who formerly offered Himself on the cross”, but especially in the Eucharistic species.
By His power He is present in the sacraments, so that when anybody baptizes it is really Christ Himself who baptizes.
He is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church.
Lastly, He is present when the Church prays and sings, for He has promised “where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them.”
These are not the only ways in which Christ is present to His Church. Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical Mysterium Fidei mentions all of these and adds others: “Christ is present in the Church:
As it performs works of mercy…
As it struggles to reach the harbor of eternal life…
As it preaches…
As it shepherds and guides the people of God…
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
The term “real presence” has been used to describe the special mode of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist since the middle ages. The Council of Trent entitled the first chapter of its Decree on the Most Holy Eucharist “The Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist.” However, there are in fact other modes of Christ’s presence, each of them “real” in its own way. Several of these are mentioned in the Constitution on the Liturgy:
He is present in the Sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of His minister, “the same now offering, through the ministry of priest, who formerly offered Himself on the cross”, but especially in the Eucharistic species.
By His power He is present in the sacraments, so that when anybody baptizes it is really Christ Himself who baptizes.
He is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church.
Lastly, He is present when the Church prays and sings, for He has promised “where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them.”
These are not the only ways in which Christ is present to His Church. Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical Mysterium Fidei mentions all of these and adds others: “Christ is present in the Church:
As it performs works of mercy…
As it struggles to reach the harbor of eternal life…
As it preaches…
As it shepherds and guides the people of God…
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Christ's Presence in His Church
Christ is present to His Church in several ways. Christ is truly present when the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered. He is present in the person of His priest. He is present in all the sacraments such that when a priest baptizes it is truly Christ who baptizes. Christ is also present in His word. It is in fact Christ who speaks when the holy Scriptures are proclaimed. Christ is present in His assembly since He Himself has said: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst." Above all, Christ is present in the Eucharist. He comes to us Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Host. What reverence we should have at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass! What reverence we should have when we receive our Lord! What confidence we should have that He will give us absolutely everything we need!
The constitution on the sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council reminds us that every liturgical celebration is a sacred action of a preeminent kind. "No other action of the Church equals its title to power or its degree of effectiveness." The liturgy is an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ Himself. We should therefore strive to be more effective worshipers in order to give glory to God.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
The constitution on the sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council reminds us that every liturgical celebration is a sacred action of a preeminent kind. "No other action of the Church equals its title to power or its degree of effectiveness." The liturgy is an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ Himself. We should therefore strive to be more effective worshipers in order to give glory to God.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Priestly Functions
Priests are successors to the disciples selected by Christ Himself. The priestly office consists of the following functions:
1. To change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, to offer Him sacrifice and give Him to the people.
2. To preach the Word of God.
3. To baptize.
4. To rule and guide souls towards eternity.
5. To forgive sins or withhold absolution.
6. To bless.
The above qualities and functions belong solely to the divine and infinite power of God. Thus, when a man is admitted into the priesthood, he is elevated to a divine and infinite dignity. Therefore, a priest incurs obligations which are infinite in character.
Pray that priests will thank God constantly. Pray that priests will give themselves completely over to God and worthily perform their duties.
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
1. To change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, to offer Him sacrifice and give Him to the people.
2. To preach the Word of God.
3. To baptize.
4. To rule and guide souls towards eternity.
5. To forgive sins or withhold absolution.
6. To bless.
The above qualities and functions belong solely to the divine and infinite power of God. Thus, when a man is admitted into the priesthood, he is elevated to a divine and infinite dignity. Therefore, a priest incurs obligations which are infinite in character.
Pray that priests will thank God constantly. Pray that priests will give themselves completely over to God and worthily perform their duties.
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
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