Fr. Kevin

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

May I offer a challenge as we begin this season of Advent? Consider these passages from scripture focusing on the word “rejoice.”

Colossians 1:24 – Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking
in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church …
Romans 5:3–4 – Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces
endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope …
Romans 12:12 – Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Philippians 3:1a – Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. …
Philippians 4:4 – Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is
the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Interestingly, all these are from letters written by the apostle Paul and, if you know anything about his life, he endured a fair amount of hardship. Further, in the last three verses, the verb rejoice is in the present, active tense which further emphasizes the word “always.”

In other words, St. Paul thinks it is possible for us to rejoice all the time! That sounds odd to our modern ears.

Today we’ll begin a 4-week homily series entitled “Rejoice!” It isn’t hard to understand how this word fits into our modern Christmas. It may be a bit more challenging to see how we can rejoice at other times of the year and especially in seasons of trial.

Join Fr. Anthony and I on an Advent journey leading us not only to the joys of Christmas morning, but also to a closer walk with our Lord.

A bit more food for thought…
“This Christmas season finds us a rather bewildered human race. We have neither peace within nor peace without. Everywhere paralyzing fears harrow people by day and haunt them by night. Our world is sick with war; everywhere we turn we see its ominous possibilities. And yet, my friends, the Christmas hope for peace and goodwill toward all men can no longer be dismissed as a kind of pious dream of some utopian. If we don’t have goodwill toward men in this world, we will destroy ourselves by the misuse of our own instruments and our own power.”— Martin Luther King, Jr., “A Christmas Sermon on Peace”

The Church doesn’t want anything to stand in the way of a child receiving this critical sacrament and so, as my Canon Law instructor taught us, “the bar is set pretty low.” Here at St. Anne, we try to honor that intent and so, if you have a child or grandchild here’s what you would need to do to have them receive the sacrament.

• Desire: The parents must want and seek baptism for their child. In the event of divorce and joint custody, we especially want to be sure that both parents desire the sacrament.
• Paperwork: We have a short form that needs to be completed giving us the information we need to record the baptism. A copy of the birth certificate is also needed, though we can do without that, if necessary.
•  Godparent(s): A child should have at least 1 and at most 2 godparents. (It is possible to baptize the child with no godparents.) Since the godparents are promising to assist the parents in raising the child in the Catholic faith, they must be confirmed Catholics who are actively living out their faith through regular Mass attendance, prayer, confession, and service. If married, that marriage must have been celebrated in the Catholic Church.
• Preparation: We ask the parents and godparents to attend a short preparation class to help them better appreciate the sacrament of baptism and their responsibilities. If necessary, a similar class can be taken at another parish.

I hope that does not appear burdensome. We want to welcome the child into God’s family and only ask for those few things required by Canon Law.  It may help to point out what is not included in these requirements.

• The parents do not have to register with our parish. We’d like that, of course, but it isn’t required.
• We do not charge a fee of any kind. The offerings of our parishioners pay for the small expenses we incur.
• The parents do not have to be married in the Church or even married at all. Of course, we want couples to marry in the Church and will be happy to help them make that happen. (And, yes, it seems odd that godparents must be married in the Church and parents do not. That’s what Canon Law teaches. The Church’s primary concern is for the child, and the Church doesn’t want the circumstances of the parents to get in the way of the child’s salvation.)

If you have any questions, please contact the office. We’d be happy to clarify anything or talk you through an unusual situation.