More of a Mess Than Any of Us Can Comprehend

Those with good memories may remember that it was nearly one hundred three months ago that Jorge Mario Bergoglio, aka “Pope Francis” and the Argentine Apostate, said the following to the deluded young people from his native Argentina who attended World Hootenanny Day in Rio di Janeiro, Brazil:

Pope Francis told a gathering of some 30,000 youth from his homeland that they are to "make a mess," shaking up the comfort, self-satisfaction and clericalism of a Church closed in on itself.

"What do I hope for from World Youth Day? I hope for a mess ... that the Church takes to the streets. That we defend ourselves from comfort, that we defend ourselves from clericalism," the Pope told a group of pilgrims from Argentina during this week's World Youth Day.

"The Church must be taken into the streets," he said in the cathedral of Rio de Janeiro July 25. (Make a Mess of Things.)

Although Jorge Mario Bergoglio was urging the Argentine to militate for the sort of de-institutionalized, de-centralized church he has been methodically putting into place for the nearly nine years, starting from the time he walked out on the balcony of the Basilica of Saint Peter on Wednesday, March 13, 2013, he has never need the help of anyone to “make a mess” as the counterfeit church of conciliarism has done a superb job of this in almost every aspect of what most people believe has been the Catholic Faith ever since the crapulous old Rosicrucian Freemason named Angelo Roncalli walked out on to that same balcony on October 28, 1958, the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, usurped the Throne of Saint Peter.

What kind of mess am I talking about?

Well, most baptized Catholics alive today do know the basics of simple catechetical truths that us older folks learned by rote in a catechism, usually the Baltimore Catechism here in the United States of America.

How many Catholics know that Baptism frees one from Original Sin and infuses the soul with the very inner life of the Most Blessed Trinity by means of Sanctifying Grace?

How many Catholics believe, even on a level of object theological knowledge, that Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament?

How many Catholics believe that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the unbloody re-presentation or perpetuation of Our Lord’s one, bloody Sacrifice on the wood of the Holy Cross of Himself in Spirit and in Truth to His Co-Equal, Co-Eternal God the Father in atonement for our sins?

How many Catholics believe the Catholic Church to the one true Church outside of which there is no salvation and without which there can never be true social order?

How many Catholics believe that it always mortally sinful to use contraception?

There are many other like questions that can be asked, obviously, but the fact that there can any doubt about what Catholics believe is proof enough of the thorough-going mess that has been created by the “Second” Vatican Council and the magisterium of the postconciliar “popes.”

There are “liberal” parishes and there are “conservative parishes.

There are “liberal” priests/presbyters and “conservative” priests/presbyters in the same parish.

There are overtly sodomite-friendly parishes and there are some that as known as “pro-life” parishes.

There are the “social justice”/ecological friendly parishes and there are those where “Archbishop” Carlo Maria Vigano is considered to papabile even though he is not a true bishop.

As if this very far from exhaustive list demonstrates, the whole counterfeit church of conciliarism is a mess from top to bottom without even beginning to mention the fact that, other than Baptism and Holy Matrimony, there are no true Sacraments within the counterfeit church of conciliarism.

There are times, however, when the mess that exists within the counterfeit church of conciliarism requires conciliar authorities themselves to step in and reaffirm a few truths of the Holy Faith, which is happened recently when the authorities within the Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona, had to suspend a presbyter who had been using an invalid valid formula (“We baptize you” instead of “I baptize you”) in baptismal ceremonies for the past twenty years!

How does this go unnoticed for twenty years?

How is it possible that not one person until recently understood that the “We baptize you” formula was invalid?

As the story in The New York Times about this matter indicated, however, this is not an isolated problem as even a few conciliar presbyters realized upon watching videos of their baptisms that had been baptized invalidly, which means that, apart from the inherent invalidly of the conciliar rite of presbyteral installation, their very “ordinations” within the conciliar structures are invalid:

The Rev. Andres Arango was leading a baptism at St. Gregory Catholic Church in Phoenix last year when some people in the pews heard a slight variation in the religious ritual.

“We baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Father Arango said, his voice echoing in the church as he poured the holy water.

But there was a problem.

Saying “we baptize” was incorrect. The Vatican instructs priests to say “I baptize,” and if it is not said that way the baptism is deemed invalid.

Church leaders investigated and determined last month that Father Arango had incorrectly performed thousands of baptisms over more than 20 years, meaning those he had baptized in Phoenix and at his previous parishes in Brazil and San Diego were not properly baptized.

The oversight has caused headaches for those now seeking answers about whether their faulty baptisms have spilled over into other elements of their Catholic faith. For instance, would it affect those who were married by the church?

“Maybe! Unfortunately, there is no single clear answer,” the Diocese of Phoenix answered online.

Father Arango, who did not respond to calls on Sunday seeking an interview, apologized in a statement and said he was resigning as pastor of the parish, effective Feb. 1.

“It saddens me to learn that I have performed invalid baptisms throughout my ministry as a priest by regularly using an incorrect formula,” he said. “I deeply regret my error and how this has affected numerous people in your parish and elsewhere.”

Thomas J. Olmsted, the bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix, said in a statement that he did not believe Father Arango “had any intentions to harm the faithful or deprive them of the grace of baptism and the sacraments.”

The Catholic News Agency reported on the botched baptisms this month.

In the Catholic faith, a baptism is a sacrament in which people, often infants, have water poured over their foreheads, symbolizing purification and admission to the Church. It is a “requirement for salvation,” according to the diocese.

Adhering to the baptismal formula is “extremely important to continue the tradition of the Church,” said Neomi De Anda, a professor of religious studies at the University of Dayton in Ohio.

“It is not meant to be legalistic but about communion,” she added.

Indeed, the Diocese of Phoenix addressed the specific rules by creating an F.A.Q. section on its website about the case of Father Arango.

Just as a priest should not use “milk instead of wine during the Consecration of the Eucharist” — when the Catholic faith says that the wine becomes the blood of Christ — a priest should also not alter the wording of the sacrament of baptism, the diocese said.

The milk would not become the blood of Christ, the diocese said, and, similarly, a wrongly worded baptism would not purify a person.

Sandra Yocum, a professor of faith and culture at the University of Dayton, said that if a priest said “we,” it would imply that the source of the grace of the baptism came from the community, whereas saying “I” would correctly assert that “it’s God doing this work of grace” through the priest.

“In baptism, part of what makes it valid is the words that are used, and so that becomes significant,” Ms. Yocum said. Church officials might have been worried about setting a precedent if they suggested “these words are not that important,” she added.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a Vatican office that interprets doctrine and handles cases of misconduct, replied firmly when asked in 2020 if it was acceptable to use “we.”

“Negative,” it said.

That notice from the Vatican made some other priests wonder if they had been incorrectly baptized.

In 2020, the Rev. Matthew Hood of the Archdiocese of Detroit saw a video of his own childhood baptism and realized that the deacon had said “we.” Father Hood, as well as others who were baptized by that deacon from 1986 to 1999, had to then be properly baptized.

In Oklahoma City, the Rev. Zachary Boazman also saw a video of his childhood baptism and realized in September 2020 that the same thing had happened to him, too.

“It’s very hard to gauge how often this happens,” Dr. Yocum said.

Father Arango “remains a priest in good standing” and is still living and serving in the Diocese of Phoenix, Katie Burke, a spokeswoman for the diocese, said.

“His voluntary resignation allows him to dedicate his full-time ministry to helping and healing the families who were affected by this error,” Ms. Burke said.

Some members of St. Gregory Catholic Church, however, had wanted him to remain their priest, and a petition was circulated to keep Father Arango as the church’s pastor.

“Rather than giving Father Andres the opportunity to stay at St. Gregory and rectify the situation,” the petition said, “he is being removed from a community that loves and cares for him.”

A video shows dozens of people attending a farewell celebration for Father Arango in January.

In his letter to parishioners, he wrote, “I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience my actions have caused and genuinely ask for your prayers, forgiveness and understanding.” (Presbyer's Baptisms Ruled Invalid.)

There are several points to be made about the information contained in the article.

First, what was "Father" Arango using for his "baptismal" ceremonies, using the Novus Ordo Roman Ritual or a standard-issue pamphlet-style booklet containing the rite? If a booklet such as those printed by the Liturgical Press out of Collegeville, Minnesota, or Leaflet Press out of Saint Paul, Minnesota, or supplied by a diocese, was the "we" contained in the booklets? If not, why did "Father" Arango keep substiuting "We" for "I." It's awfully odd to keep making such a basic theological mistake for two decades. More telling about the state of religious illiteracy within the counterfeit church of conciliarism is that no one noticed.

Second, this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There is no way of knowing how many souls who believe that they have been baptized properly in the truncated conciliar rite of baptism are still in the grip of the devil by means of Original Sin and thus are pagans who have been going to what they thought was Holy Mass and receiving what they though is Holy Communion, something that would truly abominable if the Novus Ordo liturgical service was valid and that one could truly receive Holy Communion in it.

Moreover, how many marriages in the conciliar structures now have to be convalidated because the fact that one or both of the parties who thought themselves to be baptized were actually pagans through no fault of their own?

Third, although there was a time several decades ago when avant garde conciliar revolutionaries would use the formula “I baptize you in the Name of the Creator, the Redeemer, and Sanctifier” during baptismal ceremonies (a formula that was also expressed as “We baptize you in the Name of the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sanctifier” by a few Chock Full O’Nuts priests/presbyters in the conciliar structures), one of the reasons that men such as “Father” Andres Arango, who says he is sorry for his “mistakes” that went unchecked for over two decades in two countries, is that the theology of the counterfeit church of conciliarism is so “community” oriented that many of its  clergy and the faithful have lost sight of the fact that, though we worship together with others, we are judged by Christ the King individually at the moment of the Particular Judgment.

This mania for “community” is such that official English translation of the Nicene Creed in the Novus Ordo liturgy began with the entirely communitarian “We believe” instead of “I believe” until Joseph Alois Ratzinger/Benedict XVI changed this effective the First Sunday of Advent, December 4, 2011. The fiends at the International Committee for English in the Liturgy were trying to impose their own communitarian approach as opposed to what their fellow Jacobin/Bolshevik revolutionaries believed was the “individualistic” “style” of the Immemorial Mass of Tradition.

Pope Pius XII was very much aware of this revolutionary bent that disparaged “individualism” in the liturgy, reminding the world’s bishops that everyone prays together at Holy Mass but is judged individually when they die:

36. In the spiritual life, consequently, there can be no opposition between the action of God, who pours forth His grace into men’s hearts so that the work of the redemption may always abide, and the tireless collaboration of man, who must not render vain the gift of God.[36] No more can the efficacy of the external administration of the sacraments, which comes from the rite itself (ex opere operato), be opposed to the meritorious action of their ministers of recipients, which we call the agent’s action (opus operantis). Similarly, no conflict exists between public prayer and prayers in private, between morality and contemplation, between the ascetical life and devotion to the liturgy. Finally, there is no opposition between the jurisdiction and teaching office of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and the specifically priestly power exercised in the sacred ministry.

37. Considering their special designation to perform the liturgical functions of the holy sacrifice and divine office, the Church has serious reason for prescribing that the ministers she assigns to the service of the sanctuary and members of religious institutes betake themselves at stated times to mental prayer, to examination of conscience, and to various other spiritual exercises.[37] Unquestionably, liturgical prayer, being the public supplication of the illustrious Spouse of Jesus Christ, is superior in excellence to private prayers. But this superior worth does not at all imply contrast or incompatibility between these two kinds of prayer. For both merge harmoniously in the single spirit which animates them, “Christ is all and in all.”[38] Both tend to the same objective: until Christ be formed in us.[39] (Pope Pius XII, Mediator Dei, November 20, 1947.)

Although “Father” Arango may not have had any kind of ideological agenda in the “mistake” that he kept making for over two unchecked decades, there are plenty of other conciliar priests/presbyters who have known exactly what they have being whenever they have used the invalid “We baptize you” formula instead of “I baptize you,” leaving aside until later the fact the proper English translation of the true Catholic form is “I baptize thee,” not you.

This mania for “community” is such that there are some priests and presbyters within the conciliar structures who hold to what was standard revolutionary propaganda in many dioceses and in lot of religious congregations in the 1970s and thereafter, namely, that a man is not ordained to the priesthood until the “community” signals their “ratification” by applauding after the imposition of hands by the supposedly ordaining bishop. A vocations director for diocese on the East Coast told me this directly to me face in June of 1979 when I was told that my desire to be a priest to serve as an alter Christus in the sanctification and salvation of souls was “preconciliar” and self-centered.

This is all, as we would say back on native Long Island, nuts. It’s crazy. However, there are priests and presbyters who believe this bilge and who conform themselves accordingly.

Fourth, quite unlike what was contended by Neomi De Anda, who was quoted in The New York Times article above and who teaches at the University of Dayton, neither Baptism nor the formula of its administration are about “communion,” the are about salvation.

This sad situation is even more complex as the counterfeit church of conciliarism’s rite of baptism does not contain the various ceremonies that are used to this day by true priests in the Catholic Church in the underground at this time, which is why, while most fully traditional priests make it a point to supply for the ceremonies of Baptism when someone comes to them from the conciliar church. Given the fact that situations involving the “mistake” made by “Father” Andres Arango are not uncommon, many true priests will administer the Sacrament of Baptism itself conditionally to those who have been presumed to be baptized in the Novus Ordo structures.

There is quite an irony in all of this as Holy Mother Church, inspired by the Third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, God the Holy Ghost, has made sure to include in the Rituale Romanum the prayers for “supplying for the ceremonies in adult baptism” and “supplying for the ceremonies in infant baptism” for those baptized by heretics or schismatics as those ceremonies in the Rituale Romanum are now required for those baptized by alleged Catholic priests in what most people believe is the Catholic but is nothing other than her counterfeit ape. (Appended below are the complete Baptismal ceremonies in the Catholic Church as compared with the “simpler” ceremonies in the counterfeit church of conciliarism. One can see the stark differences. This is found, obviously, in the Volume 2 of the Roman Ritual, but has been lifted from an online source cited at the end of the citation below.)

The only word to describe the situation that will face a true pope however and whenever it is within the Providence of God that one will emerge to claim the Throne of Saint Peter is unfathomable.

Although it is my own personal belief, which means absolutely nothing, that we will have to undergo a major cataclysm that chastises Catholics across the ecclesiastical divide to such an extent that they will be ready for the miraculous restoration of right order by the Principle of Unity himself in the person of a true Supreme Pontiff, the facts as they are now facing such a true pope involve at least some of the following:

1. As of the end of 2020, there were 410,219 presumed priests (see Catholic News Agency for statistics) according to the official figures of the counterfeit church of conciliarism. How many of these presumed priests would be worthy of being truly ordained, whether de novo or sub conditione, and would be willing to abjure each and every of the errors of the “Second” Vatican Council and the magisterium of the postconciliar “popes, including but not limited to:

a. the hermeneutic of continuity (dogmatic evolutionism by another name)

b. the new ecclesiology

c. episcopal collegiality.

d. episcopal synodality.

e. false ecumenism, including interreligious prayer ceremonies.

f. religious liberty

g. separation of Church and State.

h. the invalidity of the conciliar liturgical rites save for Baptism and Holy Matrimony.

i. the inversion of the ends of Holy Matrimony, which means the abrogation of Humanae Vitae and Familiaris Consortio.

j. natural family planning.

k. “brain death”/human organ vivisection.

l. palliative care/hospice.

m. environmentalism and Laudato Si.

n. globalism.

o. open borders.

p. the feminization of the Vatican dicasteries and diocesan chancery offices.

q. explicit classroom instruction in matters pertaining to the Sixth and Ninth Commandments.

r. vaccine mandates for the CCP/Wuhan/Red Chinese/Covid-19/Coronavirus.

s. de facto support for sodomy, fornication, self-mutilation, and other vices in accord with “teaching” in Amoris Laetitia.

t. support for “Black Lives Matter” and other race-based ideological brainwashing.

u. the “demythologizing” of Sacred Scripture.

v. the “theology of encounter.”

w. the “theology of the body.”

x. the 1983 “Code of Canon Law.”

y. the so-called Catechism of the Catholic Church.

z. the pantheon of “saints” and “blesseds” created by the conciliar “popes” (noting that a true pope would have to separate the wheat from the chaff either by acting by means of equivalent canonizations for truly worthy candidates, such as Padre Pio and Pope Pius IX, or by a papal commission appointed to present a list of such candidates to the true pope for his consideration and subsequent formal or equivalent canonization).

aa. the abrogation of all acts, decrees, “apostolic” constitutions, motu proprios, encyclical letters, “apostolic” exhortations, and messages (Day of Peace, Day of the Dolphin, Day of the Jackal, etc.)

This is a far from exhaustive list of things that any true priest or presbyter in the conciliar structures would have to be required to be abjure by a true pope before being considered for actual priestly ordination.

Moreover, each of these priests/presbyters would have to make a Profession of Faith in all that is taught by the Catholic Church as even many well-meaning presbyters within the conciliar structures are confused about Original Sin and Special Creation, meaning that their understanding of Our Lord’s Incarnation and Redemptive Act is very defective.

Indeed, we once spoke with a religious sister who was stationed at the Indian College in Rome during the “Second” Vatican Council. The Indian bishops, who stayed in the college during while the council was in session, were aghast at what many of their fellow bishops from around the world were saying. Modernism may have pushed underground by Pope Saint Pius X, but it festered underground and had produced a crop of true revolutionaries within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the decades before the death of Pope Pius XII on October 9, 1958. A lot of these revolutionaries in the hierarchy and academic institutions were just waiting for Papa Pacelli to die and for a “liberal” to replace him, and Antipapa Roncalli gave them a platform the “Second” Vatican Council to profession their heretical beliefs, some of which have infected generations of even well-meaning presbyters within the conciliar structures.

2. As of the end of 2020, there were 5,363 conciliar “bishops” in the world (see Catholic News Agency for statistics) , although only around thirty of those in the Latin Rite are true bishops—and each of these is retired and over the age of ninety—while there are around 320 bishops of the various Eastern rites, most of whom are truly consecrated because of Apostolic Succession and a valid rite of consecration. How many of the rest believe in the Catholic Faith as handed down to us from the Apostles and adhere to all the decrees and canons of Holy Mother Church’s twenty true general councils and are willing to abjure the list of falsehoods and novelties provided just above? (I know of one such true bishop in the conciliar structures but am very hard pressed to think of any others.)

3. As a result of these facts, a true pope is going to have to sort through all this utter mess with the help of Our Lady's graces and the infallible guidance of God the Holy Ghost and attempt to reconstitute a functioning Catholic hierarchy.

4. Moreover, what is to happen to the millions of souls within the counterfeit church of conciliarism? How are they to be prepared for the offering of the Immemorial Mass of Tradition after over five (or perhaps more) decades of varying types of invalid liturgies under the umbrella of the Protestant and Judeo-Masonic Novus Ordo liturgical service in their secular languages?

5. Given the fact that a true pope and whoever advises him will have to move judiciously in the appointment of bishops, who will be given the charge of screening out however few or many worthy candidates for the priesthood from the conciliar presbyterate, how quickly can these men be trained and thus able to be ordained to provide the Sacraments to the people, who have been without them for long.

6. Hundreds of millions of Catholics would have to be confirmed in the true rite of the Catholic Church.

7. Countless numbers of marriage cases and putative decrees of nullity will have to be reviewed and acted upon one way or another.

8. While those who are truly sorry for their sins and who pray to Our Lady to make a perfect Act of Contrition every day, especially before they go to sleep after their Nightly Examen of Conscience, a true pope is going to have to instruct his bishops to prepare the faithful to make a general confession of their lives to true priests.

In other words, the “mistake” of “Father” Andres Arango is just the tip of that proverbial iceberg. Things in the counterfeit church of conciliarism are a mess, which is why we must pray for the conversion of our fellow Catholics even if it is neither prudent nor possible to try persuading them of that which they do not want to accept. Our prayers and sacrifices for others are more powerful than our words, which sometimes result in alienating people rather than helping them to accept the truth as our pride gets in the way of speaking the lips of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Christ and in the spirit of the ineffable mercy of His Most Sacred Heart.

Now, God is God. He is outside of time and space and sees both the beginning and the end of the world as an instant “now.” He is Omnipotent and thus knows how all this will end, which is why we must travel by faith and remain a state of perfect equanimity about all that is happening at this time in the world and in the Church Militant on earth while we remain calm and trustful in the loving embrace of Our Lady, clinging to her so tenderly by means of her Most Holy Rosary as we promote and wear her Miraculous Medal, distribute blessed Green Scapaluars and beg her to send us the graces won for us by her Divine Son to fulfill the promises we made when being enrolled in her Brown Scapular of Carmel.

Various mystics have related how they believe a true pope will be restored after a time of confusion and apostasy:

Ven. Elizabeth Canori-Mora (d. 1825)
"St. Peter then chose the new pope. The Church was again organized..."

"... the sky was covered with clouds so dense and dismal that it was impossible to look at them without dismay... the avenging arm of God will strike the wicked, and in his mighty power he will punish their pride and presumption. God will employ the powers of hell for the extermination of these impious and heretical persons who desire to overthrow the Church and destroy its foundation. .... Innumerable legions of demons shall overrun the earth and shall execute the orders of Divine Justice... Nothing on the earth shall be spared. After this frightful punishment I saw the heavens opening, and St. Peter coming down again upon earth; he was vested in his pontifical robes, and surrounded by a great number of angels, who were chanting hymns in his honor, and they proclaimed him as sovereign of the earth. I saw also St. Paul descending upon the earth. By God's command, he traversed the earth and chained the demons, whom he brought before St. Peter, who commanded them to return into hell, whence they had come.

"Then a great light appeared upon the earth which was the sign of the reconciliation of God with man. The angels conducted before the throne of the prince of the Apostles the small flock that had remained faithful to Jesus Christ. These good and zealous Christians testified to him the most profound respect, praising God and thanking the Apostles for having delivered them from the common destruction, and for having protected the Church of Jesus Christ by not permitting her to be infected with the false maxims of the world. St. Peter then chose the new pope. The Church was again organized..." (Prophecy of Ven. Elizabeth Canori-Mora (d. 1825) as recorded in Fr. Culleton's book The Prophets and Our Times, 1941 A.D. Imprimatur)

"After the three days of darkness, St. Peter and St. Paul, having come down from Heaven, will preach in the whole world and designate a new Pope. A great light will flash from their bodies and will settle upon the cardinal who is to become Pope. Christianity, then, will spread throughout the world. He is the Holy Pontiff, chosen by God to withstand the storm. At the end, he will have the gift of miracles, and his name shall be praised over the whole earth. Whole nations will come back to the Church and the face of the earth will be renewed. Russia, England, and China will come into the Church." (Prophecy of Blessed Anna Maria Taigi, 1769-1837 A.D., who was Beatified by Pope Benedict XV in 1920.)

Our days are indeed short. We do not know the day or the hour of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour's Coming for us at the end of our lives. To prepare for this terrible moment of our Particular Judgment is never easy. It is even more difficult in these days of apostasy and betrayal, which is why we must flee from any association with the counterfeit church of conciliarism

Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ gave us His Most Blessed Mother to be our Mother as she stood so valiantly by the foot of His Most Holy Cross as He shed every single drop of His Most Precious Blood to redeem us. He has instructed her to give Saint Simon Stock the Brown Scapular, which was worn with such great priestly dignity by Saint John of the Cross, a true son of Carmel, and to give Saint Dominic de Guzman her Most Holy Rosary and to give Saint Catherine Laboure the Miraculous Medal. He has let His Most Blessed Mother teach us through her apparition to Juan Diego that He wants the entirety of the Americas converted to His Social Kingship as she is honored publicly by men and their nations, and He has warned us through her apparition at La Salette in France of impending doom in the Church and the world as a result of the sins of men. And He has told His Most Blessed Mother to console us with her Fatima Message, which is why we really should be earnest in praying as many Rosaries each day as our states-in-life permit.

Remember, every Ave Maria we pray helps us to prepare for the hour of our deaths as we seek to repair the damage caused by our sins and those of the whole world. May we be generous in praying our Rosaries as the consecrated slaves of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, remembering, as true Charity demands, to pray fervently for the conversion of the conciliar revolutionaries before they die. We must never be unbent in our own sins, and we must never be unaware of how we must give God the honor and glory that are His due as members of the Catholic Church who have fled to the catacombs to seek to sanctify an thus save our immortal souls.

Praying Our Lady’s Most Holy Rosary for our fellow Catholics, many of whom put fully traditional Catholics to shame insofar as modesty of attire and rejection of the popular culture are concerned, is the most efficacious means to help them to see the truth of the state of the Church Militant in this time of apostasy and betrayal, and we had better remember that seeing the truth of the papal vacancy during this time of apostasy and betrayal does not make us one whit better than anyone else.

Indeed, the biggest mess of them all is the one might exist right within our own immortal souls, which is why we must make frequent use of the Sacred Tribunal of Penance if it is all possible to do so during this time of apostasy and betrayal. We must pray to Our Lady that her Divine Son will give us the length of days necessary to clean up the mess we have made by means of our sloth, our anger, our impatience, our of lack of charity, our rash judgments, our harshness, our unwillingness to forgive others, our holding of grudges and stewing over offenses or dangers, real and/or imagined, to say nothing of our gossiping and time wasted on the farcical agitations of this passing, mortal vale of tears.

In truth, of course, most of us are the worst enemies of our salvation, and while none of us will be called to clean up the mess in the Church Militant on earth that has been created by the conciliar revolutionaries, we have to be about the business of cleaning up the mess that we have made of our lives by means of our sins, which have played their own nefarious roles in worsening both the state of the world at large and the state of the Church Militant.

Dom Prosper Gueranger, O.S.B., reflecting upon the Gospel reading on the Parable of the Sower and the Seed for today’s Holy Mass on Sexagesima Sunday, reminded us in his brief reflection for Sexagesima Sunday that must work assiduously for the seed of God’s Holy Word and His Holy Graces to take deep root in the soil of our immortal souls that we have despoiled so frequently through our own fault:

St. Gregory the Great justly remarks, that this Parable needs no explanation. since Eternal Wisdom himself has told us its meaning. All that we have to do, is to profit by this divine teaching, and become the good soil, wherein the heavenly Seed may yield a rich harvest. How often have we not, hitherto, allowed it to be trampled on by them that passed by, or to be torn up by the birds of the air? How often has it not found our heart like a stone, that could give no moisture, or like a thorn plot, that could but choke? We listened to the Word of God; we took pleasure in hearing it; and from this we argued well for ourselves. Nay, we have often received this Word with joy and eagerness. Sometimes, even, it took root within us. But, alas! something always came to stop its growth. Henceforth, it must both grow and yield fruit. The Seed given to us is of such quality, that the Divine Sower has a right to expect a hundred-fold. If the soil, that is, if our heart, be good; if we take the trouble to prepare it, by profiting of the means afforded us by the Church;- we shall have an abundant harvest to show our Lord on that grand Day, when, rising triumphant from his Tomb, he shall come to share with his faithful people the glory of  his Resurrection.

Inspirited by this hope, and full of confidence in Him, who has once more thrown his Seed in this long ungrateful soil, let us sing with the Church, in her Offertory, these beautiful words of the Royal Psalmist: they are a prayer for holy resolution and perseverance:

Perfect thou my goings in thy paths; that my footsteps be not moved. O incline thine ear unto me and hear my words. Show forth thy wonderful mercies; who savest them that hope in thee, O Lord. (Dom Prosper Gueranger, O.S.B., The Liturgical Year, Sexagesima Sunday.)

Our Lady's Immaculate Heart will triumph. We simply need to be faithful we accept hardship as the price of our sanctification and salvation:

For which cause I admonish thee, that thou stir up the grace of God which is in thee, by the imposition of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power, and of love, and of sobriety. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but labour with the gospel, according to the power of God. (2 Tim. 1: 6-8.) 

With our Rosaries prayed well, let us take refuge in the simple fact that millions upon millions who have gone before us marked with the Sign of Faith, that is, the Sign of the Cross, have been willing to embrace that Cross with love, joy and gratitude.

Why can't we in the midst of our own difficulties?

Why can't we?

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Joseph, pray for us.

Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.

Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.

Saint Michael the Archangel, pray for us.

Saint Gabriel the Archangel, pray for us.

Saint Raphael the Archangel, pray for us.

Saints Joachin and Anne, pray for us. 

Saints Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar, pray for us.

Appendix A

Saint Alphonsus de Liguori on Sexagesima Sunday

On The Unhappy Life Of Sinners, And On The Happy Life Of Those Who Love God

 “And that which fell among the thorns are they who have heard, and, going their way, are choked with the cares and riches of this life, and yield no fruit.” LUKE viii. 14.

In the parable of this day’s gospel we are told that part of the seed which the sower went out to sow fell among thorns. The Saviour has declared that the seed represents the divine word, and the thorns the attachment of men to earthly riches and pleasures, which are the thorns that prevent the fruit of the word of God, not only in the future, but even in the present life. Misery of poor sinners! By their sins they not only condemn themselves to eternal torments in the next, but to an unhappy life in this world. This is what I intend to demonstrate in the following discourse.

First Point. The unhappy life of sinners.

Second Point. Happy life of those who love God.

 First Point. Unhappy life of sinners.

 1. The devil deceives sinners, and makes them imagine that, by indulging their sensual appetites, they shall lead a life of happiness, and shall enjoy peace. But there is no peace for those who offend God. ”There is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord.” (Isa. xlviii. 22.) God declares that all his enemies have led a life of misery, and that they have not even known the way of peace. ”Destruction and unhappiness in their ways: and the way of peace they have not known.” (Ps. xiii. 3.)

2. Brute animals that have been created for this world, enjoy peace in sensual delights. Give to a dog a bone, and he is perfectly content; give to an ox a bundle of hay, and he desires nothing more. But man, who has been created for God, to love God, and to be united to him, can be made happy only by God, and not by the world, though it should enrich him with all its goods. What are worldly goods? They may be all reduced to pleasures of sense, to riches, and to honours. “All that is in the world,” says St. John,” is the concupiscence of the flesh,” or sensual delights, and “the concupiscence of the eyes,” or riches, and “the pride of life” that is, earthly honours. (1 John ii. 16.) St. Bernard says, that a man may be puffed up with earthly goods, but can never be made content or happy by them. ”Inflari potest, satiari, non potest.” And how can earth and wind and dung satisfy the heart of man? In his comment on these words of St. Peter”Behold, we have left all things” the same saint says, that he saw in the world different classes of fools. All had a great desire of happiness. Some, such as the avaricious, were content with riches; others, Ambitious of honours and of praise, were satisfied with wind; others, seated round a furnace, swallowed the sparks that were thrown from it these were the passionate and vindictive; others, in fine, drank fetid water from a stagnant pool and these were the voluptuous and unchaste. O fools! adds the saint, do you not perceive that all these things, from which you seek content, do not satisfy, but, on the contrary, increase the cravings of your heart?”Hæc potius famem provocant, quam extinguunt.” Of this we have a striking example in Alexander the Great, who, after having conquered half the world, burst into tears, because he was not master of the whole earth.

 3. Many expect to find peace in accumulating riches; but how can these satisfy their desires?” Major pecunia,” says St. Augustine, “avaritiæ fauces non claudit, sed extendit.” A large quantity of money does not close, but rather extends, the jaws of avarice; that is, the enjoyment of riches excites, rather than satiates, the desire of wealth. ”Thou wast debased even to hell; thou hast been wearied in the multitude of thy ways; yet thou saidst not, I will rest.” (Isa. Ivii. 9, 10.) Poor worldlings! they labour and toil to acquire an increase of wealth and property, but never enjoy repose: the more they accumulate riches, the greater their disquietude and vexation. “The rich have wanted, and have suffered hunger; but they that seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good.” (Ps. xxxiii. 11.) The rich of this world are, of all men, the most miserable; because, the more they possess, the more they desire to possess. They never succeed in attaining all the objects of their wishes, and therefore they are far poorer than men who have but a competency, and seek God alone. These are truly rich, because they are content with their condition, and find in God every good. ”They that seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good.” To the saints, because they possess God, nothing is wanting; to the worldly rich, who are deprived of God, all things are wanting, because they want peace. The appellation of fool was, therefore, justly given to the rich man in the gospel (Luke xii. 19), who, because his land brought forth plenty of fruits, said to his soul: “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years: take rest, eat, drink, make good cheer.” (Luke xii. 19.) But this man was called a fool. ”Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee; and whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?” (v. 20.) And why was he called a fool. Because he imagined that by these goods by eating and drinking he should be content, and should enjoy peace. “Rest,” he said, “eat, drink.” “Num quid,” says St. Basil of Seleucia, “animam porcinam habes ?” Hast thou the soul of a brute, that thou expectest to make it happy by eating and drinking?

4. But, perhaps sinners who seek after and attain worldly honours are content? All the honours of this earth are but smoke and wind (“Ephraim feedeth on the wind” Osee xii. 1), and how can these content the heart of a Christian? “The pride of them,” says David, “ascendeth continually.” (Ps. lxxiii. 23.) The ambitious are not satisfied by the attainment of certain honours: their ambition and pride continually increase; and thus their disquietude, their envy, and their fears are multiplied.

 5. They who live in the habit of sins of impurity, feed, as the Prophet Jeremiah says, on dung. “Qui voluptuose vescebantur, amplexati sunt stercora.” (Thren. iv. 5.) How can dung content or give peace to the soul? Ah! what peace, what peace can sinners at a distance from God enjoy? They may possess the riches, honours, and delights of this world; but they never shall have peace. No; the word of God cannot fail: he has declared that there is no peace for his enemies. ”There is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord.” (Isaias, xlviii. 22.) Poor sinners! they, as St. Chrysostom says, always carry about with them their own executioner that is, a guilty conscience, which continually torments them. ”Peccator conscientiam quasi carnificem circumgestat.” (Serm. x. do Laz.) St. Isidore asserts, that there is no pain more excruciating than that of a guilty conscience. Hence he adds, that he who leads a good life is never sad. ”Nulla poena gravior poena conscientiæ: vis nunquam esse tristis? bene vive.” (S. Isid., lib. 2, Solit.)

 6. In describing the deplorable state of sinners, the Holy Ghost compares them, to a sea continually tossed by the tempest. “The wicked are like the raging sea, which cannot rest.” (Isa. Ivii. 20.) Waves come and go, but they are all waves of bitterness and rancour; for every cross and contradiction disturbs and agitates the wicked. If a person at a ball or musical exhibition, were obliged to remain suspended by a cord with his head downwards, could he feel happy at the entertainment? Such is the state of a Christian in enmity with God: his soul is as it were turned upside down; instead of being united with God and detached from creatures, it is united with creatures and separated from God. But creatures, says St. Vincent Ferrer, are without, and do not enter to content the heart, which God alone can make happy. “Non intrant ibi ubi est sitis.” The sinner is like a man parched with thirst, and standing in the middle of a fountain: because the waters which surround him do not enter to satisfy his thirst, he remains in the midst of them more thirsty than before.

7. Speaking of the unhappy life which he led when he was in a state of sin, David said: ”My tears have been my bread, day and night, whilst it is said to me daily: Where is thy God ?” (Ps. xli. 4.) To relieve himself, he went to his villas, to his gardens, to musical entertainments, and to various other royal amusements, but they all said to him: “David, if thou expectest comfort from us, thou art deceived.  “Where is thy God? Go and seek thy God, whom thou hast lost; for he alone can restore thy peace.” Hence David confessed that, in the midst of his princely wealth, he enjoyed no repose, and that he wept night and day. Let us now listen to his son Solomon, who acknowledged that he indulged his senses in whatsoever they desired. “Whatsoever my eyes desired, I refused them not.” (Eccl. ii. 10.) But, after all his sensual enjoyments, he exclaimed: “Vanity of vanities:… behold all is vanity and affliction of spirit.” (Eccles. i. 2 and 14.) Mark! he declares that all the pleasures of this earth are not only vanity of vanities, but also affliction of spirit. And this sinners well know from experience; for sin brings with it the fear of divine vengeance. The man who is encompassed by powerful enemies never sleeps in peace; and can the sinner, who has God for an enemy, enjoy tranquility?” Fear to them that work evil.” (Prov. x. 29.) The Christian who commits a mortal sin feels himself oppressed with fear every leaf that moves excites terror. ”The sound of dread is always in his ears.” (Job xv. 21.) He appears to be always flying away, although no one pursues him. ”The wicked man fleeth when no man pursueth.” (Prov. xxviii. 1.) He shall be persecuted, not by men, but by his own sin. It was thus with Cain, who, after having killed his brother Abel, was seized with fear, and said: ”Every one, therefore, that findeth me shall kill me.” (Gen. iv. 14.) The Lord assured him that no one should injure him: “The Lord said to him: ’No; it shall not be so’” (v. 15.) But, notwithstanding this assurance, Cain, pursued by his own sins, was, as the Scripture attests, always flying from one place to another “He dwelt a fugitive on the earth.” (v. 16.)

 8. Moreover, sin brings with it remorse of conscience that cruel worm that gnaws incessantly, and never dies. ”Their worm shall not die.” (Isa Ixvi. 24.) If the sinner goes to a festival, to a comedy, to a banquet, his conscience continually reproaches him, saying: Unhappy man! you have lost God; if you were now to die, what should become of you? The torture of remorse of conscience, even in the present life, is so great that, to free themselves from it, some persons have put an end to their lives Judas, through despair, hanged himself. A certain man who had killed an infant, was so much tormented with remorse that he could not rest. To rid himself of it he entered into a monastery; but finding no peace even there, he went before a judge, acknowledged his crime, and got himself condemned to death.

9. God complains of the injustice of sinners in leaving him, who is the fountain of all consolation, to plunge themselves into fetid and broken cisterns, which can give no peace. ”For my people have done two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have digged to themselves cisterns broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jer. ii. 13.) You have, the Lord says to sinners, refused to serve me, your God, in peace. Unhappy creatures! you shall serve your enemies in hunger, and thirst, and nakedness, and in want of every kind. “Because thou didst not serve the Lord thy God with joy and gladness, … thou shalt serve thy enemy in hunger, and thirst, and nakedness, and in want of all things.” (Deut. xxviii. 47, 48.) This is what sinners experience every day. What do not the vindictive endure after they have satisfied their revenge by the murder of an enemy? They fly continually from the relations of their murdered foe, and from the minister of justice. They live as fugitives, poor, afflicted, and abandoned by all. What do not the voluptuous and unchaste suffer in order to gratify their wicked desires? What do not the avaricious suffer in order to acquire the possessions of others? Ah! if they suffered for God what they suffer for sin, they would lay up great treasures for eternity, and would lead a life of peace and happiness: but, by living in sin, they lead a life of misery here, to lead a still more miserable life for eternity hereafter. Hence they weep continually in hell, saying: “We wearied ourselves in the way of iniquity and destruction, and have walked through hard ways.” (Wis. v. 7.) We have, they exclaim, walked through hard ways, through paths covered with thorns. We wearied ourselves in the way of iniquity: we have laboured hard: we have sweated blood: we have led a life full of misery, of gall, and of poison. And why? To bring ourselves to a still more wretched life in this pit of fire.

 Second Point. The happy life of those who love God.

 10. “Justice and peace have kissed.” (Ps. lxxxiv. 11.) Peace resides in every soul in which justice dwells. Hence David said: “Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart.” (Ps. xxxvi. 4.) To understand this text, we must consider that worldlings seek to satisfy the desires of their hearts with the goods of this earth; but, because these cannot make them happy, their hearts continually make fresh demands; and, how much soever they may acquire of these goods, they are not content. Hence the Prophet says: ”Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart.” Give up creatures, seek your delight in God, and he will satisfy all the cravings of your heart.

11. This is what happened to St. Augustine, who, as long as he sought happiness in creatures, never enjoyed peace; but, as soon as he renounced them, and gave to God all the affections of his heart, he exclaimed: “All things are hard, O Lord, and thou alone art repose.” As if he said: Ah! Lord, I now know my folly. I expected to find felicity in earthly pleasures; but now I know that they are only vanity and affliction of spirit, and that thou alone art the peace and joy of our hearts.

 12. The Apostle says, that the peace which God gives to those who love, surpasses all the sensual delights which a man can enjoy on this earth. ”The peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding. ” (Phil. iv. 7.) St. Francis of Assisium, in saying “My God and my all,” experienced on this earth an anticipation of Paradise. St. Francis Xavier, in the midst of his labours in India for the glory of Jesus Christ, was so replenished with divine consolations, that he exclaimed: “Enough, Lord, enough.” Where, I ask, has any lover of this world been found, so satisfied with the possessions of worldly goods, as to say: Enough, O world, enough; no more riches, no more honours, no more applause, no more pleasures? Ah, no! worldlings are constantly seeking after higher honours, greater riches, and new delights; but the more they have of them, the less are their desires satisfied, and the greater their disquietude.

 13. It is necessary to persuade ourselves of this truth, that God alone can give content. “Worldlings do not wish to be convinced of it, through an apprehension that, if they give themselves to God, they shall lead a life of bitterness and discontent. But, with the Royal Prophet, I say to them: ”taste, and see that the Lord is sweet.” (Ps. xxxiii. 9.) Why, sinners, will you despise and regard as miserable that life which you have not as yet tried?” “Taste and see.” Begin to make a trial of it; hear Mass every day; practise mental prayer and the visitation of the most holy sacrament; go to communion at least once a week; fly from evil conversations; walk always with God; and you shall see that, by such a life, you will enjoy that sweetness and peace which the world, with all its delights, has not hitherto been able to give you. 

Appendix B

The Catholic Rite of Baptism Compared with the Novus Ordo Rite

Here is the New Baptism Rite for children:

The celebrant greets all present, and especially the parents and godparents, reminding them briefly of the joy with which the parents welcomed this child as a gift from God, the source of life, who now wishes to bestow his own life on this little one.

First the celebrant questions the parents:
Celebrant:

What name do you give your child? (or: have you given?)

Parents: N.

Celebrant: What do you ask of God’s Church for N.?

Parents: Baptism.

In the second response the parents may use other words, such as, “faith,” “the grace of Christ,” “entrance into the Church,” “eternal life.”

The celebrant speaks to the parents in these or similar words:

You have asked to have your child baptized. In doing so you are accepting the responsibility of training him (her) in the practice of the faith. It will be your duty to bring him (her) up to keep God’s commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbor. Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?

Parents: We do.

Then the celebrant turns to the godparents and addresses them in these or similar words:

Are you ready to help the parents of this child in their duty as Christian parents?

Godparents: We do.

The Celebrant continues:

N., the Christian community welcomes you with great joy. in its name I claim you for Christ our Savior by the sign of his cross. I now trace the cross on your forehead, and invite your parents (and godparents) to do the same.

He signs the child on the forehead, in silence. Then he invites the parents and (if it seems appropriate) the godparents to do the same.

The celebrant invites the parents, godparents, and the others to take part in the liturgy of the word. If circumstances permit, there is a procession to the place where this will be celebrated, during which a song is sung e.g., Psalm 84: 7, 8, 9ab.

CELEBRATION OF GOD’S WORD

Scriptural Readings and Homily

One or even two of the following gospel passages are read, during which all may sit if convenient.

John 3: 1-6: The meeting with Nicodemus.

Matthew 28: 18-20: The apostles are sent to preach the gospel and to baptize.

Mark 1: 9-11: The baptism of Jesus.

Mark 10: 13-16: Let the little children come to me.

After the reading, the celebrant gives a short homily, explaining to those present the significance of what has been read. His purpose will be to lead them to a deeper understanding of the mystery of baptism and to encourage the parents and godparents to ready acceptance of the responsibilities which arise from the sacrament.

After the homily, or in the course of or after the litany, it is desirable to have a period of silence while all pray at the invitation of the celebrant. If convenient, a suitable song follows, such as one chosen from nos. 225-245.

Intercessions

Then the prayer of the faithful is said:

Celebrant: My dear brothers and sisters, let us ask our Lord Jesus Christ to look lovingly on this child who is to be baptized, on his (her) parents and godparents, and on all the baptized.

Leader: By the mystery of your death and resurrection, bathe this child in light, give him (her) the new life of baptism and welcome him (her) into your holy Church.

All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Leader: Through baptism and confirmation, make him (her) your faithful follower and a witness to your gospel.

All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Leader: Lead him (her) by a holy life to the joys of God’s kingdom.

All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Leader: Make the lives of his (her) parents and godparents examples of faith to inspire this child.

All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Leader: Keep his (her) family always in your love.

All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Leader: Renew the grace of our baptism in each one of us.

All: Lord, hear our prayer.

The celebrant next invites all present to invoke the saints:

Holy Mary, Mother of God. All: Pray for us.

Saint John the Baptist. All: Pray for us.

Saint Joseph. All: Pray for us.

Saint Peter and Saint Paul. All: Pray for us.

The names of other saints may be added, especially the patrons of the child to be baptized, and of the church or locality. The litany concludes:

All holy men and women. All: Pray for us.

Prayer of Exorcism and Annointing Before Baptism

After the invocation, the celebrant says:

Almighty and ever-living God, you sent your only Son into the world to cast out the power of Satan, spirit of evil, to rescue man from the kingdom of darkness, and bring him into the splendor of your kingdom of light. We pray for this child: set him (her) free from original sin, make him (her) a temple of your glory, and send your Holy Spirit to dwell with him (her). We ask this through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

For another form of the prayer of exorcism, see no. 221.

the celebrant continues:

We anoint you with the oil of salvation in the name of Christ our Savior; may he strengthen you with his power, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

All: Amen.

He anoints the child on the breast with the oil of catechumens.

If, for serious reasons, the conference of bishops so decides, the anointing before baptism may be omitted. [in the United States, it may be omitted only when the minister of baptism judges the omission to be pastorally necessary or desirable.] In that case the celebrant says:

May you have strength in the power of Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

All: Amen.

And immediately he lays his hand on the child in silence.

Then they go to the baptistry, or to the sanctuary when baptism is celebrated there on occasion.

CELEBRATION OF THE SACRAMENT

A. My dear brothers and sisters, we now ask God to give this child new life in abundance through water and the Holy Spirit.

B. My dear brothers and sisters, God uses the sacrament of water to give his divine life to those who believe in him. Let us turn to him, and ask him to pour his gift of life from this font on this child he has chosen.

Blessing and Invocation of God over Baptismal Water

Then, turning to the font, he says the following blessing (outside the Easter season).

A. Father, you give us grace through sacramental signs, which tell us of the wonders of your unseen power. In baptism we use your gift of water, which you have made a rich symbol of the grace you give us in this sacrament. At the very dawn of creation your Spirit breathed on the waters, making them the wellspring of all holiness. The waters of the great flood you made a sign of the waters of baptism, that make an end of sin and a new beginning of goodness.

Through the waters of the Red Sea you led ?Israel out of slavery, to be an image of God’s holy people, set free from sin by baptism. In the waters of the Jordan your Son was baptized by John and anointed with the Spirit. Your Son willed that water and blood should flow from his side as he hung upon the cross.

After his resurrection he told his disciples: “Go out and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Father, look now with love upon your Church, and unseal for her the fountain of baptism. By the power of the Spirit give to the water of this font the grace of your Son. You created man in your own likeness: cleanse him from sin in a new birth to innocence by water and the Spirit.

The celebrant touches the water with his right hand and continues:

We ask you, Father, with your Son to send the Holy Spirit upon the water of this font. May all who are buried with Christ in the death of baptism rise also with him to newness of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

B. C. Other forms may be chosen from nos. 223-224.

During the Easter season, if there is baptismal water which was consecrated at the Easter Vigil, the blessing and invocation of God over the water are nevertheless included, so that this theme of thanksgiving and petition may find a place in the baptism. The forms of this blessing and invocation are those found in nos. 223-224, with the variation indicated at the end of each text.

Renunciation of Sin and Profession of Faith

The celebrant speaks to the parents and godparents in these words:

Dear parents and godparents: You have come here to present this child for baptism. By water and the Holy Spirit he (she) is to receive the gift of new life from God, who is love.  On your part, you must make it your constant care to bring him (her) up in the practice of the faith. See that the divine life which God gives him (her) is kept safe from the poison of sin, to grow always stronger in his (her) heart.  If your faith makes you ready to accept this responsibility, renew now the vows of your own baptism. Reject sin; profess your faith in Christ Jesus. This is the faith of the Church. This is the faith in which this child is about to be baptized.

The celebrant questions the parents and godparents:

A. Celebrant: Do you reject Satan?        Parents and Godparents: I do.

Celebrant: And all his works?                 Parents and Godparents: I do.

B. Celebrant: Do you reject sin, so as to live in the freedom of God’s children?  Parents and Godparents: I do.  Celebrant: Do you reject the glamor of evil, and refuse to be mastered by sin?  Parents and Godparents: I do.  Celebrant:Do you reject Satan, father of sin and prince of darkness?  Parents and Godparents: I do.

According to circumstances, this second form may be expressed with greater precision by the conferences of bishops, especially in places where it is necessary for the parents and godparents to reject superstitious and magical practices used with children.

Next the celebrant asks for the threefold profession of faith from the parents and godparents:

Celebrant: Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth?

Parents and Godparents: I do.

Celebrant: Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?

Parents and Godparents: I do.

Celebrant: Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?

Parents and Godparents: I do.

The celebrant and the congregation give their assent to this profession of faith:

Celebrant: This is our faith. This is the faith of the Church. We are proud to profess it, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

All: Amen.

If desired, some other formula may be used instead, or a suitable song by which the community expresses its faith with a single voice.

Baptism

The celebrant invites the family to the font and questions the parents and godparents:

Celebrant: Is it your will that N. should be baptized in the faith of the Church, which we have all professed with you?

Parents and Godparents: It is.

He baptizes the child, saying:

N., I baptize you in the name of the Father, He immerses the child or pours water upon it. and of the Son, He immerses the child or pours water upon it a second time. and of the Holy Spirit.

He immerses the child or pours water upon it a third time. After the child is baptized, it is appropriate for the people to sing a short acclamation. (See nos. 225-245.) If the baptism is performed by the pouring of water, it is preferable that the child be held by the mother (or father). Where, however, it is felt that the existing custom should be retained, the godmother (or godfather) may hold the child. If baptism is by immersion, the mother or father (godmother of godfather) lifts the child out of the font.

Annointing with Chrism

Then the celebrant says:

God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin, given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and welcomed you into his holy people. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.

All: Amen.

Then the celebrant anoints the child on the crown of the head with the sacred chrism, in silence.

Clothing with the White Garment

The celebrant says:

N., you have become a new creation, and have clothed yourself in Christ. See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity. With your family and friends to help you by word and example, bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven.

All: Amen.

The white garment is put on the child. A different color is not permitted unless demanded by local custom. It is desirable that the family provide the garment.

Lighted Candle

The celebrant takes the Easter candle and says:

Receive the light of Christ.

Someone from the family (such as the father or godfather) lights the child’s candle from the Easter candle.

The celebrant then says:

Parents and godparents, this light is entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly. This child of yours has been enlightened by Christ. He (she) is to walk always as a child of the light. May he (she) keep the flame of faith alive in his (her) heart. When the Lord comes, may he (she) go out to meet him with all the saints in the heavenly kingdom.

Ephphetha or Prayer over Ears and Mouth

If the conference of bishops decides to preserve the practice, the rite of Ephphetha follows. [in the United States it may be performed at the discretion of the minister.] The celebrant touches the ears and mouth of the child with his thumb, saying:

The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father.

All: Amen.

CONCLUSION OF THE RITE

Next there is a procession to the altar, unless the baptism was performed in the sanctuary. The lighted candle is carried for the child. A baptismal song is appropriate at this time, e.g.:

You have put on Christ, in him you have been baptized. Alleluia, alleluia.

Other songs may be chosen from nos. 225-245.

Lord’s Prayer

. The celebrant stands in front of the altar and addresses the parents, godparents, and the whole assembly in these or similar words:

Dearly beloved, this child has been reborn in baptism. He (she) is now called the child of God, for so indeed he (she) is. In confirmation he (she) will receive the fullness of God’s Spirit. In holy communion he (she) will share the banquet of Christ’s sacrifice, calling God his (her) Father in the midst of the Church. In the name of this child, in the Spirit of our common sonship, let us pray together in the words our Lord has given us:

All present join the celebrant in singing or saying:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Blessing

The celebrant first blesses the mother, who holds the child in her arms, then the father, and lastly the entire assembly:

A. Celebrant: God the Father, through his Son, the Virgin Mary’s child, has brought joy to all Christian mothers, as they see the hope of eternal life shine on their children. May he bless the mother of this child. She now thanks God for the gift of her child. May she be one with him (her) in thanking him for ever in heaven, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

All: Amen.

Celebrant: God is the giver of all life, human and divine. May he bless the father of this child. He and his wife will be the first teachers of their child in the ways of faith. May they be also the best of teachers, bearing witness to the faith by what they say and do, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

All: Amen.

Celebrant: By God’s gift, through water and the Holy Spirit, we are reborn to everlasting life. In his goodness, may he continue to pour out his blessings upon these sons and daughters of his. May he make them always, wherever they may be, faithful members of his holy people. May he send his peace upon all who are gathered here, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

All: Amen.

Celebrant: May almighty God, the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit, bless you.

All: Amen.

B. C. For other forms of the blessing, see nos.247-249.

After the blessing, all may sing a hymn which suitably expresses thanksgiving and Easter joy, or they may sing the song of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Magnificat. Where there is the practice of bringing the baptized child to the altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary, this custom is observed if appropriate. (As found at: Latin Baptism vs. New Rite of Baptism.)