My Favorite Prayer

OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS


As everyone is celebrating the incoming of the New Year, I find I am thoughtful.

I want to be a better person this year.  I want to work harder to discern God's Will and His Path for me.  I want to follow that Path....if I can figure out what it is.....

My Lord God.

I have no idea where I am going.

 

I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.

And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.  

I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,

 though I may know nothing about it.

 

Therefore, I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. 

I will not fear, for you are ever with me,

and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

 my most favorite prayer, written by Thomas Merton

Making the Water Holy

 BAPTISM OF THE LORD

I have spent several days meditating and pondering (I like that word!) on the Baptism of Jesus by Saint John the Baptist.

I never thought too much about St. John until I visited his birthplace in Israel in Ein Kerem.

Ein Kerem, Israel

Since then, I've had a little niggling in the back of my mind to find out more about him (and you know that is totally the Holy Spirit nudging...) and this week I actually made an effort due to the upcoming Gospel this Sunday.

Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

(and  Matt 3:13-17  and   Mk 1:9-11)
 

This Sunday is the last of the Christmas Season, The Epiphany of the Lord.  ?  Now didn't we just celebrate the Epiphany?  You know, when the Wise Men came to visit Jesus and bring him gifts in the manger?  Hmmmm.

When we were in Israel at the Yardenit Baptism Site for our Baptism Renewal in the River Jordan, everyone was in the most glorious mood following our experience.  (You can see this in our faces in the pictures!).  As a group, we were so happy and everyone was just bubbling!  I was standing with Fr. T & Fr. N discussing the experience and I asked them if they felt like John the Baptist as they immersed each of us under the water of the Jordan - and simultaneously they both immediately responded "I felt like Jesus!"

Well!  That was an un-expected answer!  At least I wasn't expecting them to say that!  Hmmm?

Fr. T was super animated and told me "Jesus did not need to be baptized because he was without sin.  He allowed himself to be baptized to make the water holy!"

To make the water holy? 

He said "This is the very same water that Jesus Christ had stood in, the same water!  He has made it holy!"  He was very excited and animated, practically dancing on the walkway as he spoke!

Fr. N and Fr. T celebrating a baptism in the holy water of the Jordan River

I've thought about that a lot since then.  It is one of those things that will just float up into my mind and first thing you know I'm thinking about it again.

I could imagine the cousins, John and Jesus, in the waters of the Jordan as I looked at my photos and thought about what Fr. T had said.  I can't tell you how often this image and his statement would enter my mind. I thought and thought about it and I finally came to the conclusion that maybe I had misunderstood what Fr. T was saying.

Fr. T is Filipino, and although he has a excellent command of English, I thought maybe there was something in the translation that was different since it wasn't making sense to me?  I was just misunderstanding him.

All I know is that what he said came back to me multiple times.  Jesus was baptized to make the water holy.

Hmmmmm.

Fast forward several months.~~~~>

I'm a 6th grade Religious Education teacher at my church, and I was reviewing the Gospel for the upcoming Sunday in class, which just happened to be the story of St. John the Baptist and Jesus in the River Jordan.   Fr. T randomly pokes his head into my class to visit the kids and see what we are studying, so I tell him.

And he lights up!  He got very excited and says the exact same words he said in Israel that day "Jesus allowed himself to be baptized to make the water holy!".

!!!!  What??

I knew then that I had not heard the words wrong at the Jordan, I was somehow missing his point!

So.  I have made it a point to figure it out.

I have meditated on this, I have prayed about it.  I have read multiple catholic websites and all four Gospel passages regarding this.  You know it must be significant for that reason alone!

Now, sitting here in the Adoration Chapel at my church, it occurs to me that Jesus sanctified the water and the act of baptism with his participation.

Before Jesus, St. John and others might have been cleansing people with water from the river and the nugget of what was to come or what that act was to become, was there.  It was symbolic, a way to make the people understand they were starting spiritually fresh and clean and new.

But with Jesus' act, it brought the Three Persons of God together for the first time!  The heavens opened, the Spirit of God came down upon the Son of God and God the Father spoke!

Wow!

And with that, the act of baptism went from being a ritual to a sacrament!

Jesus made the water holy.

Holy for us all, because he took our sins upon him in the water that day and began the road that would take him to Calvary to die for all those sins.  He purified the water for us, he made a way for us to achieve heaven.

I read that when the heavens opened above him that this was the beginning of our open way to heaven, he initiated the purification of humankind which was soiled when Adam first sinned.  And Jesus most certainly did make the water holy for us all.

Per the catechism, Jesus stood on the bank and allows himself to be numbered with the sinners there.  He accepts, he submits to the will of the Father, he becomes the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world".  And the Father is pleased.  The heavens were opened - that Adam's sin had closed - and the waters were sanctified.

Yes, the water was made holy.

Thank you God for Holy Priests who open our minds to you!!!  Most especially, thank you for the one who evangelized to me with one single sentence (even though I did have to hear it twice!).  Bless and protect all our priest and protect their FIRE!!!

2012 Pilgrimage to Israel - Day 5

Renewal at the River Jordan

THE OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS

My first glimpse of the River Jordan - WOW!

(Wow!  There it is!!)

(Wow!  It's so small...?)  That's called a 'deep creek' where I come from.  But what was I expecting?  The Mississippi??   Considering my reaction, I guess so.

I mean, it's SO FAMOUS!  I've been hearing about it all my life.  I must have projected a lot into it, like it should be bigger just because it's so well-known?   This is one of the reasons that I was so blessed to be given the generous gift of a trip to Israel by my mother!  Because to be there helped me to identify with the sites, with Jesus and with His life.

The river starts in the northern part of Israel and runs down into the Sea of Galilee separating Israel from Syria.  Then, exiting the southern end of the sea, it creates the border (for now) between Israel and Jordan as it flows down into the Dead Sea.

The River Jordan was a very important waterway in Jesus' time and is now.  We Americans, we forget that everyone in this world can't just turn on a tap and have water - safe, clean and unlimited!  I'm on a wonderful well at my house that has never once not given me cold, clean, fresh water in unlimited quantities.   I have never, ever worried about  running dry, so my water is completely free!

Water is an amazing thing!  We all understand being dirty and water's cleansing properties.  Water is refreshing, both to drink and to cool off when we are hot.  Water is soothing, when we are cold we warm up in a hot shower or bath.

If we don't get it when we need it we will get sick.  If we drink it too fast we will get sick.  We will die if we don't get enough of it, it can kill us if we get too much of it.

Water can be good or bad, a life-saver or life-threatening.  It can easily be too hot, too cold, too violent and just a few inches of it can kill us.

What a remarkable thing water is!

River Jordan

Thinking on this now, I remember a conversation I had with our Israeli Guide, Hillel.  He said he had spent 4 months in the United States, traveling all around and seeing the famous sites.  I asked him what was his favorite place and was surprised when he said "Niagara Falls".  Really?  I asked him if he had seen Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, the Badlands....he said oh yes, he'd seen all those places.  But he told me "I am from a desert country.  I've seen plenty of canyons and mountains.  But I have never seen a waterfall anything like that before!". 

It's all in perception.  Seeing something from someone else's point of view. And getting one of those "ah ha" moments of understanding of where another human being is coming from.

The Jordan River was life-sustaining for the people for thousands of years.  Water was precious.  Hillel gave us some background about the river, how the peoples used it over the years, conflicts over damning the water, etc.  And of course he related the story of John the Baptist and Jesus.

But none of this was in my mind as we arrived at the Baptismal Site on the River Jordan - called "Yardenit", which means "little Jordan" in Hebrew. 

To be completely honest - I must confess - what I was actually thinking was "what a tourist trap!"...I had looked this place up online ahead of time and it seemed really cheesy to me.  This was suppose to be a pilgrimage and I felt like I was in Disney World or something!  Like when you are on one of the rides and there are animatronic robots are making it look like you are in the jungle or in the future or in a haunted house.

Besides, hadn't we all already been baptized as infants?  You can't be baptized twice.  I understand renewal of the baptismal promises, we do it every year in Mass and also if you ever attend a baptism.  But the robes and the full immersion, people singing and swaying....it all felt so protestant to me!

But all my fellow travelers seemed so very excited and couldn't wait!  ???  Well, I had no intention of participating in this!  I would just watch from the bank, thank-you-very-much.

I went into the building with everyone and was surprised by the JOY inside!  My goodness!  It was a tangible, physical thing - the room was electrified with excitement and anticipation! Everyone was purchasing gowns and renting towels, trying to cox me into participating "come on, you must do it!".

First thing I know, I'm paying for a gown and towel and heading up the walk to the changing room (which was flat insanity - around 40 or so women chattering excitedly in a dozen languages in all stages of dress....it was CRAZY!).  I emerged from the bathhouse just as excited as anyone else, it was infectious!

Mom & I and our fellow Pilgrims about to renew our Baptismal Promises!

We stopped to have Hillel take a group shot of a bunch of us and then we practically skipped down the path to the water!  I'm telling you, I found myself to be full of anticipation, but nothing like the stressful oh-I-hope-I-make-a-spiritual-connection-to-this-site I felt at some of the other holy places!  This was like pure exhilaration!

Everyone was so happy and child-like, silly might be a good word, as we stood in line to take our turn with Fr. T & Fr. N.

Entering the water was a shock!  It was freezing!!!!!  I wasn't expecting that at all, I'd gone wading in the Sea of Galilee earlier in the day and the water was so warm (and that sea fed this river!), how could this water be so icy!!!   I thought, oh my gosh, how in the world am I going to be able to go under?!?!?!??!

But when my turn came, I waded right down to Fr. T & Fr. N and stood between them.  They each took an arm and with the words "I Baptize you in the Name of the Father..." and they pulled me over backwards and I was under!

It happened so fast, I was being pulled back up before the freezing water could even register on my brain!

And then back down, "And in the Son...."

and under into a surreal upside-down world,

and there was lightening-quick disorientation as my equilibrium was not keeping up with the physical movements,

and then strong arms pulling me back up, hands under my back holding me steady,

up and out of the water for a quick breath and I could hear them say "And the Holy Spirit..."

and the dizzying feeling of being pulled back down,

the soft enveloping of the water which by now had no temperature to me at all,

and again the safe and secure arms of the priests pulling me up and out into the light.....

Oh it was GLORIOUS!

It was a complete feeling of cleanliness~  it was like the moment you walk out of the confessional and you know you are pure of sin at that time!  And even though there was no confessing, no contrition, no penance, I felt completely clean, completely perfect in God's eyes at that moment!  And it was just beautiful!

It was so spiritually uplifting and I felt such oneness with my fellow pilgrims and with the water and the trees and the flowers and the grass and the sky and with God!  Such peace!  Such joy!

Everyone must have been feeling similarity because Di was yelling from out in the middle of the river "Come Swim with me!" and many of us went out into the water like children - splashing and laughing, cutting flips and dunking each other!  We were all just so exuberant!

Too soon we had to get out to get dressed.

It was an awesome bonding experience!  I think all my fellow travelers felt the same way.  I sat next to Vi and her mother for 8 hours on the plane coming to Israel, yet I felt closer to her now after those few moments shared in the water!

It was truly a mystical thing, a wonderful spiritual event that I will never forget - one that I can reconnect with every time I dip my fingers into the holy water font and bless myself as I enter the sanctuary with the words "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit".  

Oh Lord, thank you so much for that wonderful spiritual gift on my trip, a souvenir I hope to cherish forever and ever!  Amen!

 Matt 3:13-17     Mk 1:9-11     Lk 3:21-23

2012 Pilgrimage to Israel - Day 5

The Epiphany

THE OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS

Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth

On the Epiphany, Fr. T gave a wonderful sermon - the entire thing was wonderful - but one part stuck with me and I still found myself contemplating what he said in the days that followed.


Fr. T said that the Three Kings brought Jesus gifts....well, we all know that.


Then he likened those gifts to the gifts that God gives us.... Yes, we've probably heard that before too.


But then he said, not outer gifts like beauty or wealth or a good job, house, money, etc.


He said he meant the inner gifts, gifts from God that we can either choose to use or ignore.


Our personal talents. Our inner treasure.


Then he said that those gifts were like a stain glass window.






When light shines on a stain glass window from inside, it looks flat. One can't see the colors or even make out the picture sometimes.

The Wedding Church, Cana, Israel

But when a light is shone from inside, though our window, people see it! People see the picture, the meaning, the vitality, the beauty.

Church of All Nations, Jerusalem, Israel

The light from inside shows the vibrant colors, the patterns, the true picture. And in that illumination, we share the gift.

The gift of ourselves.

Basilica of the Annunciation                       The Wedding Church

       Nazareth, Israel                                     Cana, Israel

       

Church of St. John the Baptist                       Church of the Multiplication

       Ein Kerem, Israel                                     Tabgha, Galilee, Israel

We show, and we share, the inner treasure God has given us.

Chapel of the Flagellation - Jerusalem, Israel

God is calling us to shine our internal light, to illuminate our gifts so that others can benefit from the sharing of it.

We must use our blessings to bless others, to allow our light to shine from inside ourselves for people to see the gifts God has given us.

St. Joseph's Catholic Church - Lodi, NJ

Without the using of our gifts by illuminating and sharing them with others, we waste our treasure and are flat and colorless.

Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu - Jerusalem, Israel

Dear Lord, today I want to shine forth the gifts you've given me so that others may see and benefit from them.  Please let me always share the treasure you've given me with anyone I come in contact with to your glory.  Amen.

We must share our gifts so that others can acquire the light and shine themselves.

St. Joseph's Catholic Church - Lodi, NJ

epiphany with a little e

CHRISTMAS

In reading back over the Gospel Stories of the Birth of Jesus, I wonder why it is only mentioned in Luke and Matthew?

(The kids from my church at this year's Christmas Program
 which both my youngest son & oldest granddaughter sang in!)

I've seen many tv shows about how further writings from those times (the era when the gospels were written) have been found by archaeologists and others and there seems to be other books and letters written about the circumstances of the birth and youth of Jesus.

My snap/first reaction is - oh, they need to update the Bible now that this new data has come to light! Oh how wonderful it will be to know more about him and his life before he started his public mission. And with any other instance, site, event or writing in history this would be true. But not with the Bible.

The Bible was divinely inspired. It was led to exactly what is is today, by the Holy Spirit all those years ago.

If God had wanted more information included, He would have arranged for the information to have come to light at that time and it would have been part of the Bible.

I'm going to liken my trip to Israel to this idea.

I prayed about my trip ahead of time before I left. I prayed while I was there. I prayed while I was standing in some of the holiest places in the universe.

Inside the edicule, the burial site of Christ

I tried to stay open to the Holy Spirit everywhere I went in Israel. I wanted to be open to receive any spiritual experience God would grant me. I prayed that I would be where I need to be, to see what I needed to see. I prayed to hear anything I needed to hear. To feel whatever God wanted me to feel.

With all my wishing and hope in and expecting and wanting and trying and anticipating and stressing - for the prayers of a connection, a deepening of relationship, for the desire of an epiphany of faith - I'm going to be satisfied and say that I received exactly what God wanted me to have.

God is mystical. , so I may never (in this life) ever understand some of the things that did or did not happen on my trip.

But I'm going to continue to mull it over and meditate on each aspect as I now travel through this Liturgical Year.

As I read the biblical stories I will continue to ponder and consider the events and experiences I had in Israel. I will examine my thoughts and feelings. And I hope and pray to continue to have my own personal epiphanies!

* Epiphany (capitalized) - January 6 observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.

* epiphany (small e) - (1) a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something. (2) an intuitive grasp of reality through something usually simple or striking. (3) an illuminating discovery, realization or disclosure.

Dear Lord, Thank You for the gift of this project.  Thank You for giving me a way to express my desire to align myself, my visit to the holy land and your son and your word into one in my mind and heart.  Please let me comprehend your messages and glean all the understanding I can from them.  Thank You.  Amen.