Baptism

  "Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in His love than in your  own weakness." - Mother Teresa

 From the Gospel according to John John 5:31-47 Jesus said to the Jews: "If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true. But there is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. I do not accept human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John's. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But you do not want to co...

  Elisha  refusing the gifts of Naaman, by  Pieter de Grebber

  Gospel of the day From the Gospel according to Luke Lk 4:24-30 Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth: “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

Spiritual Exercises of the Curia: Rebirth https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2025-03/spiritual-exercises-of-the-curia-12-march-2025.html The Preacher of the Papal Household, Fr. Roberto Pasolini, OFM Cap, delivers the sixth in his series of reflections for the 2025 Spiritual Exercises of the Roman Curia. You can read a summary of the reflection, entitled 'Rebirth', below.   By Fr. Roberto Pasolini, OFM Cap The path of salvation is revealed as a spiritual rebirth, illustrated in the Gospel of John through the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus. Jesus states that in order to see the Kingdom of God, one must be “born from above,” a concept that confounds Nicodemus and highlights the necessity of a profound and radical transformation. This change is not easy and often provokes fear, as it requires letting go of certainties and deeply rooted habits. Jesus explains that this rebirth happens through water and the Spirit—not as a biological return to infancy but as a new...

Resident Scholar Leads Lenten Retreat on Baptism