Halloween

For more photos of the Parade in 13th Street 6th Avenue on Oct 31st Please check the Link Photos.

What is halloween ?

Hallow ,in old English,means holy or sacred. THerefore,Hallow's Eve, or Halloween simply means the evening of holy persons and refers to the evening before all saints Day.I new york the people get together in the village in 6th Avenue arround 13th Street to welcome and see the halloween Parade different Bands and the costumes.

This halloween originated from the Christian word but it became purely material now. It is like the Carnival.

The day before All Saints is called Halloween in the secular world. The name is Christian, Halloween means the eve of All Hallows, the eve of All Saints, but that is the only Christian element in it. All the rest that accompanies Halloween is of pagan origin so it goes back to the time before Christianity. It was a pagan Celtic feast. They believed that after sunset on Samhain, which we now called Halloween, the spirits of the dead and evil spirits roamed the skies seeking to harm humans, especially if the dead had been harmed by them. To protect themselves people disguised themselves by dressing up in costumes and carried lights inside in turnips. In order to turn a pagan feast into a Christian feast the Church placed the feast of All Saints on 1st November, to coincide with the pagan celebration. Children have fun on Halloween now and it is OK but it would be a pity if children did not know the Christian feast at this time, the feast of All Saints. So if your children are celebrating Halloween and know nothing about All Saints, please explain All Saints to them. We are Christians now, so let us not celebrate as pagans. The Church has tried to turn a pagan celebration into a Christian celebration. Is the reverse happening again now? Let us celebrate All Saints.

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Our lady of the Scapular and the Origin of the Carmelites in New York

Our lady of the Scapular Church
Our lady of the Scapular Church was formed in 1889 by the Irish Carmelite priests.
A loft in a Tobacco factory on First Avenue and 29th Street was temporarily hired, and here on April 1889, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was for the first time offered in the new Carmelite Parish.
Origin of the St Elias Province of the Order Of Carmelites.
It is due to the memory of those who “Have gone before us signed with the sign of the faith” to say they faced their many arduous duties cheerfully. The charism that handed over to the next generation was taken seriously by the followers and the Carmelites flourished in United States. The full habit of the Friars is brown with a white cloak, this obtaining for them the name of White Friars.
The Irish Carmelites introduced into the United States in 1889.
Early in the year 1887, the Rev. Fathere J.M. McMahon, of New York, whose name is imperishably associated with the Catholic University of Washington, wrote to provincial of the Irish Carmelites who resided in Dublin at the motherhouse for some information concerning the history of the order and especially with regard to its antiquity and to the fact that it has years been in a most particular was identifies with devotion to Our Blessed Lady. A correspondence sprung up in consequence between Fr McMahon and Fr of the Irish province, which ultimately resulted in an invitation of an informal nature being extended to very Rev. Fr. John Barkley and his conferrers to come to New York and, if possible participate in the work of the Diocese. The Very Rev. Michael Moore, then Assistant General of the Order, accepted the invitation and subsequently spent some time with Fr McMahon and the ecclesiastical authorities, discussing possible plans for the introduction of the Order into the New York Diocese.
The late Most Rev. Archbishop Corrigan granted the necessary permission for a foundation on the east side of the city in 29th Street, though it had been father McMahon’s hope that the scene of their labors should be elsewhere. All who are familiar with diocesan topography of New York, know that the present Carmelite parish is merely the Eastern end of the great Parish of St Stephen’s and includes in its limits the principal charity hospital of the city- Bellevue.
Early in the year 1889 that the first band of Irish Carmelites reached New York. There were four in numbers, viz., Rev. Fathers John Barkley, Paul McDonnell, Edward Southwell and Michael Daly. The Our Lady of Scapular Church blessed and dedicated on December 22,1889.
(Article source:- The Catholic Church in the United States of America,1908,Vol.I the Religious Communities. P.111)

Your faith has saved you-30th Sunday YearB homily

Your Faith has saved you!
Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Back in the late 1700’s a man named John Newton worked hard to destroy the Christian faith. He was an alcoholic and a moral libertine. By the grace of God he was rescued, restored, healed, and given the sight to see what he was and what God wanted him to be. In his gratitude he wrote a hymn the words of which you will recognize:
“Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.”
Yes dear brothers and sisters, It is difficult to answer “Who is really blind, and who really sees?”
The most debilitating form of blindness is found in folks who think they see the truth when they really don’t. There is a no more pitiable form of blindness than one who thinks he or she has all of the right answers, who thinks he or she knows all that one needs to know about God, about Jesus Christ, about the Church and about religion…but really doesn’t.
Today’s gospel account bids us to see and recognize ourselves as Bartimaeus, the blind beggar sitting on the roadside in Jericho.
I want you to notice some points out of today’s gospel account. The first and the most important point is that Bartimaeus knew he was blind. Do we know that we really don’t see reality as Jesus sees it, that we miss seeing the works and the hand of God in our lives, that we’re bedazzled and blinded by the glitz and glitter of this world, and that our souls are surrounded by a spiritual darkness, and that we often do not let the light of Christ illumine our way through that darkness? Do we realize we are blind when it comes to seeing ourselves as Jesus sees us?
Secondly: those around Bartimaeus tried to hush him up and keep him away from Jesus. It’s significant because that’s the situation in which we find ourselves today. There are a whole lot of voices and forces attempting to keep us from contacting and personally encountering Jesus Christ. Bartimaeus took the courageous risk of going against the crowd. In faith he approached Jesus. He didn’t wait but ran to Jesus.
Next, we notice that Jesus does something he rarely does. He stops in his tracks. Then he tells them to bring the blind beggar to him. Jesus stops what he is doing to put himself at the disposal of someone in need, especially those who call out to him for help. Jesus stopped everything to pay personal attention to him. I have no doubt whatsoever that you are just as important to Jesus as was Bartimaeus and that, if you call out to Jesus, He will drop everything to give you the same level of attention, love and compassionate care as He gave to Bartimaeus.
Jesus stresses that it is the man’s faith that has saved him. What do we want to do to be saved by our faith? Now here’s the clincher. What does the blind beggar Bartimaeus do when he is told that Jesus is asking for him? It says here that he throws aside his cloak, jumps up and runs to Jesus. What’s so important about that? If he’s a homeless, blind beggar, and is sitting there on the ground at the gate, he would lay his cloak on the ground in front of him so people could throw a few coins at him, so that he would have a few dimes to buy a piece of bread. In other words, that cloak contained his alms, all the money he had in the world. And at the call of Jesus, he instantly throws it all away. He cares nothing for money, everything for Jesus. By this simple action, Mark points out how Bartimaeus threw aside material things and went straight to Jesus.
His eagerness is further highlighted by the fact that he jumped up—no slowly getting to his feet with stiff joints after sitting so long by the wayside. No he leapt to his feet and left his material possessions behind on the ground. And he ran to Jesus.
When he recognized Jesus then he called out left everything behind jumps up and runs to Jesus.
So, I think the question for us is do we recognize Jesus as Bartimeaus when Jesus pass us by. Clearly, you have faith in him. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here this cool windy evening. But, how do you see him? What kind of person is Jesus for you? Is your recognition of him, perhaps, confined to Weekend Mass, and that, perhaps, distracted by the thought that you have arranged to go to dinner with some friends? And what about the rest of the week? Do we recognize Christ then? Do we even say “Hi” to him in a daily prayer? We are so distracted, so busy. So much goes on in our lives that, sometimes, it is a real struggle to aver to the fact that Jesus is here in our lives.
Jesus is present in the Word of God. Listening to Scripture, to the word of God: The Vatican Council said, “Christ is present in his word, since it is he himself who speaks when the Holy Scriptures are read in Church.” Let me repeat that. “Christ is present in his word, since it is he himself who speaks when the Holy Scriptures are read in Church.”
We all believe that he is really present in the Eucharist under the form of bread and wine. But, again, a question..... Do we actually grasp the reality of that presence? How does it affect our faithfulness, our commitment? Are we eager to come to church to receive him, body and blood, really present, to have him touch our lives in the deepest possible way, and most of all, do we carry his presence with us out into the wider world? Does it affect how we live for the rest of the week? Does it affect our relationship with family and friends, with neighbors, with co-workers, with strangers?
Remember that Scripture gives us a third way of recognizing the Risen Lord. Jesus himself said, “Whatever you do for the least of my brothers and sisters, you do for me.” He is really present in every human being. Do we grasp that? Does it really affect our relationships with others?
Yes brothers and sisters, today this poor, blind beggar, who has no home, no food, no family, and no security, cries out, “Jesus Son of David, have mercy on me,”. He identifies Jesus as the Messiah and begs for mercy. That is how we are to pray and come before Jesus from now on. So what does this story mean for us? Each one of us needs Jesus, just as Bartimaeus did. Each one of us needs to recognize Jesus in our lives. This Gospel calls us to learn from Bartimaeus--to call out for mercy from our God; to turn away from money and possessions; to run after Jesus; and to ask Jesus for the gift of vision, so that we too can begin to see Jesus standing in our midst saying your faith have saved you go in peace. Amen.

St Stephen's Church

Links for this Information
http://www.churchcrawler.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/nyc03/nyc0310.htm
http://www.clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=241401&&
http://www.carmelitereview.org/issues/v43n2/more-on-scapular-mural.php
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0DEFDD153CF936A35751C1A9669C8B63
http://holyartworks.com/
http://holyartworks.com/ststephenchurch.html
http://www.sacredplaces.org/PSP-InfoClearingHouse/articles/Church%20of%20Our%20Lady%20of%20the%20Scapular%20and%20St.htm
http://www.gothamgazette.com/article//20050822/202/1514
http://www.nyc-architecture.com/GRP/GRP039.htm

Architect:- James Renwick Jr. 1818–95, American architect, b. New York City, grad. Columbia, 1836.
Location:- 151 East 28th Street. Between 3rd and Lexington Avenue.
Date:- 1854
Style:- Romanesque. Between 1840 and 1900, the round-arched medieval style that preceded the Gothic appealed to religious fervor and picturesque sensibilities, becoming a popular prototype for Christian churches in America.
Construction:- Brownstone facade, Cast Iron interior.

Richardsonian Romanesque (1870-1895)
Style named for Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-1886). It is a revival style based on French and Spanish Romanesque precedents of the 11th century. (Romanesque preceded Gothic in European architecture.) Richardson's style is characterized by massive stone walls and dramatic semicircular arches, and a new dynamism of interior space. Continuity and unity are keynotes of Richardson's style. The Richardsonian Romanesque eclipsed both the IInd Empire Baroque and the High Victorian Gothic styles; the style had a powerful effect on such Chicago architects as Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, and influenced architects as far away as Scandinavia.
Style Definition
The late 19th and early 20th century style of Romanesque is a revival of an early medieval style, which was in turn a revival of Roman architecture. This was one of the most popular forms of architecture in the United States during the 1880s, and along with the Chicago School it was the first style applied to tall buildings. Many courthouses and public buildings were built in Romanesque, even in small rural towns.
Distinguishing features include turrets, rounded arches, hipped or pointed roofs, and very heavy rusticated stonework. Proportions in this style tend to run large, both in the overall building form and in the size of the details.
The founder of this style was Boston architect Henry Hobson Richardson, and to this day it is frequently called "Richardsonian Romanesque". His successor firm Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge contributed to its development, while many smaller firms throughout the United States like Long & Kees adopted the style.

St. Stephen's Church -- Will It Ever Be A Landmark?
By Gary Papush
August 22, 2005
http://www.gothamgazette.com/article//20050822/202/1514
Hundreds gathered in the Capitol rotunda in Washington D.C. this summer, beneath the painting of George Washington and allegorical figures representing the 13 colonies, to mark the 200th birthday of the painter who created it, Constantino Brumidi. Several senators spoke, paying tribute to a man who, Senator Hillary Clinton said, "came to this country to find a better life and, in the greatest tradition of our nation made an indelible mark on our history."
But while Washington has heralded Brumidi, New York, the site of his other major American work, has been less kind. Brumidi's paintings grace the interior of Our Lady of the Scapular and St. Stephen's Church on East 28th Street. But despite 40 years of effort by preservationists, the building is still not a designated landmark. Many in the community, including those of us on Community Board 6, hope the bicentennial of Brumidi's birth will spur the city Landmarks Preservation Commission to act. We think the church is worthy of preserving and would like to see the process that began with Landmarks hearings in the 1960s, move forward.
The delay at St. Stephen's, as the church is popularly called, brings into focus a problem facing landmarking in New York. All too often the landmarks commission, perennially short of staff

and money, does not act until a crisis is at hand. The case of St. Stephen's also serves as an example of the limits on what the community boards can do in such instances. A Romanesque brownstone church, St. Stephen's was designed and built from 1850 to 1854 by noted architect James Renwick, who also designed St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue, Grace Church in Greenwich Village and the original building of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. But it is the interior of St. Stephen's that is truly remarkable. Light pours through 100 stained glass windows created by Meyer of Munich, Germany. And then there are the Brumidi's. These include murals - such as a large crucifixion scene over the altar - and paintings depicting a variety of religious themes, including the Stations of the Cross. Brumidi also employed trompe l'oeil. What seem to be sculptures of figures such as David on closer examination turn out to be paintings. Similarly what on first glance looked like columns and stonework throughout the church were actually paintings. Much of this work, though, was covered over in the 1940s.
As he worked at St. Stephen's, Brumidi was also busy at the Capitol, creating not only the paintings in the rotunda but other works in the building, including much of the frieze of American history. Brumidi finished his painting at St. Stephen's but died in 1880 before he could complete his Capitol frieze.
Beyond its artistic merit, St. Stephen's played a role in New York's religious and political life. In 1860, it was the largest Catholic parish in the country with 24,000 members. The pastor at the time, Edward McGlynn, had an interest in the arts and brought Brumidi to the church. Later McGlynn became active in social and economic issues of the day, taking positions that ran counter to the teachings of the Catholic Church at the time. This led to his excommunication and departure from St. Stephen's.

So, given such an illustrious architectural, artistic and social history, why hasn't the landmarks commission acted on the designation? After all, no one has publicly come out in opposition to the idea.
For one thing, the building has not been in any immediate danger. My experience with the Landmarks Preservation Commission is that it rarely rejects a building for landmarks designation after holding a public hearing. Even if there is not enough support to landmark the building, the commission will usually not vote to deny the application -- unless the owner wants to tear the structure down. This seems to largely be a question of staff and money. Even in good financial times, certain city agencies get the short end - and the Landmarks Preservation Commission is among them. In the case of St. Stephen's, the Archdiocese of New York, which owns the building, has never expressed any interest in altering or destroying it. And so the landmarks commission has never been forced to act.
And landmarking St. Stephen's poses at least one major problem. The hearings in the 1960s dealt with designating the exterior of the building a landmark, but much of the current research and interest in the building centers on the interior, particularly the murals. The city's landmarks law does allow that interiors or parts of interiors of buildings be designated as landmarks - but, perhaps because of constitutional concerns about the separation of church and state -- not if the building is an active house of worship. And mass is still held at St. Stephen's every day.
A campaign is underway to raise millions of dollars needed to restore the murals. Some of the framed paintings have already been restored. Apparently there are some federal funds available to restore interiors of houses of worship - as long as the money goes to art and architecture, rather than promoting religion. Protecting the exterior of the church by designating it a landmark might generate publicity that would help the fundraising campaign for the murals.

This year, two things sparked renewed interest in getting landmark status for St. Stephen's. One is the Brumidi bicentennial. The 200th anniversary of his birth seemed to present a good opportunity for honoring Brumidi's work and doing what we could do, within the bounds of the law, to protect it. The other is that the archdiocese has been closing schools and merging churches. Although they have not said they have any plans to close St. Stephen's - which is already the result of a merger between two congregations - the downsizing has renewed concerns about the fate of St. Stephen's
Responding to these events, the community board examined the issue for about two or three months earlier this year. Then, we passed a resolution endorsing landmarks designation for the facade of St. Stephen's, supporting the restoration work on the murals, and urging that the interior be landmarked if St. Stephen's ever ceased to be a church. Our interpretation of the law is that the restriction on landmarking for churches, synagogues, mosques and so on only concerns active houses of worship. If the congregation was no longer in the St. Stephen's building -- even if the archdiocese still owned it -- we feel the interior would be eligible for landmarking, but I guess that would be for the lawyers to determine.
As much as the community board supports landmarking for the church, our role, unfortunately, is limited. The city charter gives the community boards only the authority to recommend. Our resolutions have the power to express the point of view of the community but they do not have the power of law.
This is in contrast to changes in land use or zoning, the city's process -- the Unified Land Use

Review Process, or ULURP -- requires that the community board review and pass resolutions supporting or opposing the recommended change. The city does not have to follow our recommendation but the very fact that it is required by law to get our opinion gives our viewpoint more influence than it would otherwise have.
Decisions on landmarks, though, are not part of this process. The community board does not have to be consulted.
Any courtesy or consideration the Landmarks Preservation Commission gives to the community boards is voluntary on their part. Community Board 6 has passed resolutions asking that landmarks be put under some sort of review similar to ULURP where an application would have to go to the community board for recommendation before landmarks ruled on it. This would require that they have our input, but, unfortunately, this idea hasn't gone anywhere. In the meantime, we do try to consider any landmark decisions that arise in our area.
We have had more success with the so-called Certificate of Appropriateness, which comes into play when an owner wants to make changes to a landmarked building. Owners applying for one are told to first go to their community board. This is a voluntary process and a new policy, but, as far as we are concerned, it is working so far.
Despite the limits on our role in designating landmarks, we do get involved. St. Stephen's is one example. Another is Stuyvesant Town. Met Life, which owns the housing complex, is opposed to making the development a landmark, including the outside green spaces, or ovals. The community board did vote to landmark, but the Landmarks Preservation Commission has not yet put it on their calendar. When they do act on this, on St. Stephen's and on other landmarks issues on the East Side, we at Community Board 6 hope they will consider our recommendations.
Gary Papush is chair of the parks and landmarks committee of Community Board 6 on Manhattan's East Side.
Church of Our Lady of the Scapular and St. Stephen
This Romanesque Revival-style church, built in 1854 to the designs of architect James Renwick, Jr., is an example of robust architecture that set the pace for the Victorian Romanesque. Equally important is the church's painted interior decorative scheme that was executed after the Civil War by the renowned artist, Constantine Brumidi (1805-1880), considered the last master of the Italian Baroque tradition. Renwick's strongly articulated tripartite composition inventively employs a lively pattern of repetitive round-arched motifs derived from the mature German Romanesque cathedrals.
Inside, plastered cast-iron columns with elaborate foliated capitals support multi-ribbed vaulting. The nave is lit by over 100 figurative painted stained glass windows by Meyer of Munich installed in the 1860s. After completing over $1 million in roofing and waterproofing work in the last year, the parish is now planning the conservation of the interior.The church is nationally significant for its decorative scheme commissioned in 1866 from Brumidi, consisting of a huge mural of the Crucifixion over the High Altar, forty-five murals and paintings around the walls, and a scheme of architectural illusion, called trompe l'oeil.Brumidi is renowned for his extensive murals in the U.S. Capitol that were recently restored.
The grand conception for the interior at St. Stephen's is a rare surviving example of Brumidi's work in churches. Initial probes by conservator Constance Silver of Preservar indicate that the overpainted trompe l'oeil scheme can be reclaimed. The urgency of conservation treatments for the flaking wall paintings has spurred the parish to begin a pilot project this summer with internally raised funds that will restore the100-foot entry. A conservation plan will also be developed for the interior painting and stained glass.
The building is located at 149 East 28th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues, in the Gramercy Park area of Manhattan. The sanctuary is normally open to the public for an hour before and an hour after each daily Mass (Monday through Friday 11.30:00 a.m-2pm; Saturday 4:00 p.m..; and on Sundays from 7:30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.). For additional information, call the Parish Office at (212) 683-1675.

Constantino Brumidi
Constantino Brumidi, 1805-1880, was born in Rome and studied painting and sculpture at the Academia de San Luca. He painted frescos in several Roman palaces and in the 1840’s he was commissioned by Pope Gregory XVI and later by Pope Pius IX to work at the Vatican. In 1852, at the age of forty-seven, Brumidi emigrated to the United States. “I no longer have any desire for fame and fortune,” he remarked upon arriving in the United States. “My one ambition and my daily prayer is that I may live long enough to make beautiful the Capitol of the one country on earth in which there is liberty.”
His Apotheosis of George Washington in the Capitol Rotunda reflects that spirit of freedom, with his magnificent fresco of a seated Washington surrounded by a semi-circle of 15 maidens. Seated at his right is Liberty and at his left a trumpeting winged Victory. The other 13 maidens represent the original 13 states. It is an allegorical fresco of George Washington, whose deeds and virtue have found him worthy of ascending into Heaven.
Brumidi dedicated 27 years to decorating the United States Capitol building. He executed frescos in the north corridor, now called the “Brumidi corridor.” The Presidents room, the

Senate reception room and many other committee rooms and corridors are adorned with his work. Many biographers refer to him as the “Michelangelo of the Capitol.” The 108th United States Congress unanimously recognized the life and work of Constantino Brumidi (HCR 264 & SCR 61). Some 43 murals, paintings and trompe l’oeil were completed at St. Stephens while Congress was in session. When in recess, he would return to the Capitol to complete his work there, earning the same $8 and $10 per day as the legislators.
Brumidi is recognized not only as the last great Baroque artist but also as an expert in trompe l’oeil, “trick of the eye” illusionary painting. His St. Michael, Archangel, is an extraordinary example of two-dimensional art which gives the illusion of being a three-dimensional marble sculpture. One of his most fascinating and spiritually engulfing murals is the largest crucifixion mural (22 ft x 44 ft.) in the United States. Located behind the altar at St. Stephen’s, an unusual aspect of his work is the placement of Mary Magdalene in the center of the mural, directly beneath the Crucifixion.
Our Lady of the Scapular and St Stephen (151 East 28th Street) This brownstone church was built in 1854 in a Romanesque style to the designs of James Renwick Jr. Outside it looks rather dull but the painted interior comes as a complete surprise. Thin cast-iron columns divide the interior into nave, aisles, crossing and transepts, and chancel with double aisles, the outer ones with galleries. The piers also carry large foliated capitals and a fine lierne-vault with bosses.
The frescoes and murals are all the work of Constantine Brumidi, commissoned in 1866 and including a huge altarpiece of the Crucifixion in the style of the Italian baroque. In addition most of the windows have stained glass from Meyer & Co of Munich, Germany, and installed in the 1860s.

In whose Hand

Hands!

A basketball in my hands is worth about $19.A basketball in Michael Jordan's hands is worth about $33 million.It depends whose hands it's in.

A baseball in my hands is worth about $6.A baseball in Mark McGuire's hands is worth $19 million.It depends on whose hands it's in.

A tennis racket is useless in my hands.A tennis racket in Venus Williams' hands is a championship winning.It depends whose hands it's in.

A rod in my hands will keep away a wild animal.A rod in Moses' hands will part the mighty sea.It depends whose hands it's in.
A sling shot in my hands is a kid's toyA sling shot in David's hand is a mighty weapon.It depends whose hands it's in.

Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in my hands is a couple of fish sandwiches.Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in God's hands will feed thousands.It depends whose hands it's in.

Nails in my hands might produce a birdhouse.Nails in Jesus Christ's hands will produce salvation for the entire world.It depends whose hands it's in.

As you see now it depends whose hands it's in.So put your concerns, your worries, your fears, your hopes, your dreams, your families and your relationships in God's hands because...It depends whose hands it's in.

It Depends on WHO'S Hands it's in!!

Constantine Brumidi

Constantine Brumidi
Brumidi was an Italian who was born in 1805. His artistic talents brought him to the attention of Pope Pius IX and they became close personal friends. When the revolutionaries in Italy were trying to overthrow the authority of the Papal State, Brumidi, because of his intimate connection with the Pope, had to flee the country. He arrived in the United States in 1852, and immediately indicated his desire to become a citizen. In 1868 he began the murals in St Stephen’s Church. The best known of these , the crucifixion over the high Altar is reproduced in natural color for the first time in the Centennial Journel(1948). All of the murals, two large canvasses over the side altars, and the stations of the cross are the work of Brumidi. He later distinguished himself by his work in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., where he died in 1880.

Pastor Dr Edward McGlynn

Pastor Dr. Edward McGlynn.
He was born in New York City September 27, 1837. His parents came from Donegal., Ireland in 1824. He ordained a priest March 24, 1860 in Rome and soon afterwards returned home to New York. He was first assigned to St Joseph’s Parish on Sixth Avenue. In January 1866, at the age of 29 he became the second pastor of St Stephen’s Parish. It was estimated at that time, that there were about 25000 to 28000 parishioners.
It was also during the pastorate of Father McGlynn that the present altars were constructed in the Church. The high Altar of pure statuary marble was erected under the supervision of Patrick Keeley a well known architect of the day at a cost of $30,000. It was completed in 1870.
Since it was obviously impossible for one parish to care for so many thousands of souls, early in 1867 Archbishop McClosky created a new Parish to the south, Parish of Epiphany. It was under Dr McGlynn that the extension of the church was completed. He also supervised the Church appointments- altars and decorations.
In January 1887, he withdrew from St Stephen’s because of a controversy with his bishop, and in January, 1895, was appointed pastor of St Mary’s Newburgh, NY. Five years later, on January 7, 1900, his funeral was held,- as was fitting,- from St Stephen’s , the scene of his greatest labors.

St Stephen's Church

The History of
St Stephen’s Church

The Catholic Church in the United States of America., Vol.II , The province of Baltimore and New York, 1909, The Catholic Editing Company, New York. P 228 Para 4-11

St Stephen- New York, NY- In the Month of November, 1848,Rev.Jeremiah W. Cummings, an American priest who had been graduated with distinction at Rome, was appointed by Archbishop Hughes to Organize a parish and build a church on Madison Avenue near twenty eighth Street. The site at first selected was on the block now covered by Madison Square Garden and at a temporary Church was erected there at a cost os $14,000 and dedicated on December 23,1849,by Archbishop Hughes. Soon after its erection, however, the Harlem Railroad company gained possession of the rest of the block and the noise and confusion of shifting cars and other din connected with a railway station made the site unsuitable for a church. After this nuisance had been endured for five years, the site was finally sold on January 6, 1853, to the railroad company, for $46,000 and a new grounds were bought on the north side of Twenty eighth street near Lexington Avenue. The new church was designed by James Renwick; the lots cost about $40,000 and the church some $50,000, with out including a fine organ. It was opened on March 5, 1854, though the solemn dedication was deferred till the return of Archbishop Hughes. On the opening day the High Mass was offered by the Very Rev. William Starrs,V G. The Solemn dedication took place on May 21,1854.
Dr Cummings remained pastor of St Stephen’s until his death, January 4, 1866. He was born in Washington in April,1814.
Before the death of Dr Cummings it had become clear that the church was much too small for its congregation and in 1865 the work of extending it through to the next street was began and finished in 1866 by Dr McGlynn, at the cost of $100,000. The entire value of the church in 1909 was 700,000.
The Church is one of the finest in the city. Above the high Altar is a crucifixion by Brumidi and other paintings are Immaculate Conception and the Martyrdom of St Stephen. The altars are among the finest ever made for a Catholic Church in the Country.
The Pastors and Assist Priests of St Stephen’s Church

First pastor:- Dr. Jeremiah W. Cummings,D.D., December,1849 to January 1866, under whom served Rev.Fathers Joseph Andrade, Ambrose Manahan,D.D., James Quinn, John McCarthy, John L. Doyle, Louis Gambosville, Wm.H. Clowry, John Arsenigo, and Edward McGlynn D.D.
Second pastor:- Rev. Edward Mcgynn,D.D., January 1866 to January 1887
Third Pastor:- Rev.Charles H. Colton , September 1887 to 1903
Fourth Pastor:- Rt. Rev. Thos. F. Cusack, D.D., 1904 to 1915
Fifth Pastor:-His Eminence, Cardinal Patrick j Hayes, D.D., 1915 to 1919
Sixth Pastor:- Rev. Francis P.J. Cummings,1919 to 1922
Seventh Pastor:- Rt.Rev. William A. Courtney, Sept.1922 to August,1948
Eighth Pastor:- Rev. Michael A. McGuire September 15,1948

Rev. Dr Cummings

Jeremiah Cummings was born at Washington, D.C., April 5, 1824. He was of North Ireland Protestant stock, his ancestors having immigrated to this country from the North of Ireland about the year 1782, during the heat of the Revolutionary War. Shortly before the birth of Father Cummings, his mother entered the Catholic Church, which resulted in an estrangement from her family. At the age of fourteen he began his studies for the Priesthood. He was ordained January 3rd, 1847 by Monsignor Brunelli, and received his degree of Doctor of Divinity at the hands of Pope Gregory XVI. Returning to America, he was assigned to the Cathedral parish of the Diocese- in those days, St Patrick’s in Mott Street. Shortly thereafter he was assigned to prepare for the founding of St Stephen’s Parish; He threw himself with ardor into the work of raising funds and getting his Parish started. The Parish of St Stephen’s was cut out of the Parish of St John the Evangelist which at that time was situated at the present site of the Cathedral at 50th Street and Fifth Avenue, and the Parish of the Nativity on lower Second Avenue. Work had already begun on the extension of the Church when on January 4, 1866 Dr Cummings died. He was buried on January 8th from the church he had founded and although it was bitterly cold because of the portions of the walls were open with the work of extension, the church was thronged with people. (From the “Centennial Journal, 1848-1948”, Nov.29th, 1948 P.13)

To laugh from an malayalam answer paper

Street Market Photos Oct 22,2006 from 23rd to 34 3rd avenue

Visit to Whte Friars Hall Oct.19,2006

Empire State Building

Flee Market

Church of Our Lady of the Scapular and St stephen

A beautiful Church in the middle of the City. Breath-breaking art and God's Presenced interior beauty.

God's artistic Mind is above all mystery

How wonderful is God's Creation and how beautiful we are the greatest art work of God the Father.

Talk on Sacrament of baptism.Preparation class

Baptism
Baptism is generally a water purification ritual practiced in many of various religions including Christianity, Mandaeanism, and Sikhism.
The word Baptism is derived from the Greek word, bapto, or baptizo, to wash or to immerse. It signifies, therefore, that washing is of the essential idea of the sacrament. Scripture uses the term baptize both literally and figuratively. It is employed in a metaphorical sense in Acts 1:5, where the abundance of the grace of the Holy Ghost is signified, and also in Luke 12:50, where the term is referred to the sufferings of Christ in His Passion. Otherwise in the New Testament, the root word from which baptism is derived is used to designate the laving with water, and it is employed, when speaking of Jewish lustrations, and of the baptism of John, as well as of the Christian Sacrament of Baptism (cf. Hebrews 6:2; Mark 7:4). In ecclesiastical usage, however, when the terms Baptize, Baptism are employed without a qualifying word, they are intended to signify the sacramental washing by which the soul is cleansed from sin at the same time that water is poured upon the body. Many other terms have been used as descriptive synonyms for baptism both in the Bible and Christian antiquity, as the washing of regeneration, illumination, the seal of God, the water of eternal life, the sacrament of the Trinity, and so on. In English, the term christen is familiarly used for baptize. As, however, the former word signifies only the effect of baptism, that is, to make one a Christian, but not the manner and the act, moralists hold that "I christen" could probably not be substituted validly for "I baptize" in conferring the sacrament.
Form of Baptism
Among those Christians espousing the practice of baptism, the ritual is performed as:
Aspersion - sprinkling water over the head,
Affusion - pouring water over the head, or
Immersion - lowering the entire body into a pool of water.
For Christians who baptize by pouring or sprinkling, the washing with water from above pictures the cleansing of one's sins by the blood of Christ, by the Holy Spirit, who unites the baptized person to Christ in his death, and in His resurrection from the dead. It is administered from above to point to that gift of the life-giving Spirit, and to portray baptism as an act not of man, but of God. In contrast, a person baptized by immersion is enclosed under the water and brought out, to signify cleansing through death and burial with Christ, and consequent raising again in newness of life by the Holy Spirit. Regardless of the form, baptism is a public rite, in testimony to others of the grace of God bestowed upon the person, and as a seal of God's promises in Christ to those who believe.
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for the baptism of children and adults. It is typically intended for baptisms using a non-immersion method. The simplest of fonts has a pedestal (about 1.5 metres tall) with a holder for a basin of water. The materials vary greatly consisting of carved and sculpted marble, wood, or metal.
The shape can vary. Many are 8-sided as a reminder of the "new creation" and as a connection to the practice of circumcision which traditionally occurs on the 8th day. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate new beginning. In the perfect Wisdom of God, it occurred on Sunday, simultaneously the First Day and the Eighth Day of the Week. It is the temporal equivalent of the Octave, established from the foundation of the World to teach us forever the glory of the resurrected Lord of the Universe. This is reiterated yet again in Christ's appearance to Thomas on the Eighth Day after his resurrection. There is a strong typological association between Noah's Flood which washed away the wicked people of the world and Baptism which is the symbol of the washing away of our wicked sins. The correlation is simply astounding - it is a typological prophecy that everyone can see fulfilled in Christian Baptism. Of particular beauty is the correlation with the Baptism of Christ when the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ in the form of the Dove - there very animal released by Noah from the Ark as the sign of the new beginning! We have multiple independent converging lines of association between Baptism, Salvation through the Flood, Resurrection, and the Number Eight that points clearly to the deliberate design and Teaching of God's Wisdom. It is for this reason that the Church has traditionally designed baptismal fonts as octagons. (I Peter 3.18f)
Some are 3-sided as a reminder of the Holy Trinity Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. They are often placed at or near the entrance to a church's nave to remind believers of their baptism as they enter the church to worship, since the rite of baptism served as their initiation into the Church. There are some fonts where water pumps, a natural spring, or gravity keeps the water moving to mimic the moving waters of a stream. This visual and audible image communicates a "living waters" aspect of baptism.

Godparent
A godparent is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather and a female godparent is a godmother. The child is a godchild.
At a Roman Catholic Baptism, there is always a Godparent or Godparents present if possible. A Godparent is much like a patron saint on earth, who prays for the newly baptised, looks after them spiritually and gives them guidance. The Catholic Church sees Baptism as an entry into the Kingdom of God, and entry into the Church. It is not something which is just between the person and God, but a whole-Church event wherein the Holy Spirit dwells. Traditionally, the godparents were counted informally responsible for ensuring that the child's religious education was carried out, and for caring for the child should he/she be orphaned.
The Roman Catholic Church also requires that the godparents have undergone Confirmation. In the US, a non Roman Catholic cannot become a godparent but is technically known as a Christian Witness.
Roman Catholic dogma holds that it is a grave sin to baptize a person who has already been baptized. In case of uncertainty about whether a person has been baptized, that person may be baptized conditionally. Such uncertainty may result from questions about whether a church from which someone is converting to Catholicism baptizes in a valid manner. For some Protestant denominations, Catholics do not raise such questions.
In cases where an emergency baptism is performed, if impure water is used the validity of the baptism may be in question. In that case a conditional baptism is later performed by an ordinary minister of the sacrament with certainly valid matter.
In a typical baptism, the minister of the sacrament (usually a deacon or a priest, but sometimes, especially when the baptized is in imminent danger of death, a lay person) says
I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
or words to that effect, explicitly naming the three Persons of the Trinity, while pouring or sprinkling water upon the head of the baptized, or immersing them in water. In a conditional baptism, the minister of the sacrament says
If you are not yet baptized, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Oil of Catechumen is the oil used in some baptisms to show the strength to turn away from evil, temptation and sin.
The catechumen, the person prepared for baptism, is also anointed as a symbol of being the heir of the Kingdom of God, as kings and queens were anointed at coronations. The oil used is specially blessed by a bishop at the Chrism Mass on Maundy Thursday.
Oil as a Symbol

We are all familiar with oil, in one form or another, in all aspects of our daily lives. We use it for cooking, heating, lubricating, and in a thousand and one other ways. Without it there would be no industry, no transport, and we would have to do without many of the 'plastic' goods we take for granted.

Oil has always been the 'life-blood' of society, a fact of which the Jewish people of the Old Testament were very aware. The oil which the Jews knew, and which is still in use today, is olive oil and it is the same oil which we use in Church. For the Jews a plentiful supply of oil, along with corn and wine, was a sign of God's favor. Oil was, and still is, a sign of God's blessing because it represents all that is best in life, God's generosity to the people He loves.
Sacramental Oil
Oil as a symbol reminds us of God's boundless generosity towards us, and of His never-ending love of us. When we use it to anoint people in Church, it is more than merely a symbol, or reminder. It becomes one of the channels by which God's power comes into the world, by which He blesses us with His Holy Spirit.
The oil is essentially no different from any other olive oil, but it is made special by being set aside specially for God's purposes. God takes the ordinary things of this world, in this case olive oil, and makes them holy. He works through material things to show Himself to the world and to bring people back to Himself.

The Three Oils
The oils used for anointing are specially blessed for this purpose by the Bishop at the Chrism Mass on Maundy Thursday, so called because one of the oils used is called 'Chrism.'

1. The oil of the sick. In the letter of St. James (5:14) we read, "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the Lord will raise him up." The rite of anointing the sick in mind or body, those about to undergo surgery, those nearing death, is one of God's gifts available to His people through His priests.
This kind of anointing is itself a Sacrament. Those who receive it can be confident that God will respond to the prayer of faith.

2. The oil of catechumens. A 'catechumen' is somebody who is preparing to become a Christian, and so this oil is used to accompany the Rite of Baptism. Anointing at Baptism is a symbol which points to the gift of the Holy Spirit, which comes to the newly baptized person as it did upon Christ at His Baptism in the Jordan. In Baptism we are "born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5), the Holy Spirit which is the gift of Christ to His Church.
This anointing also reminds us at Baptism that we are made inheritors of the Kingdom of God. The head of the person is anointed with the oil of Chrism. (Kings and Queens are anointed at their coronations.)

3. The Holy Chrism. Holy Chrism is the oil used to anoint people at their Confirmation, and is also used to anoint priests at their ordination. It is also used in the consecration of altars and Church buildings. 'Consecration' means making holy or setting apart for God's purposes. It differs from the other two oils in that it alone is not pure olive oil. A scented balsam is mixed with the oil to make the Chrism.

How the Oil is Used
The oil is almost always applied using the right thumb, or occasionally is poured on. When applied with the thumb, it is usually applied in the form of a cross. This is to remind us that all blessing come from the crucified Christ, the source of all healing and life for the world.

When anointing accompanies Baptism, the cross is marked in oil on the baptized person's forehead. In this way they are 'sealed' with the Holy Spirit as a reminder of Revelation 7:3 in which the servants of God are "sealed . . . upon their foreheads." In Baptism we are made servants of God.

Confirmation candidates and the sick are anointed in the same way on their foreheads, and for the same reasons. The sick are also anointed, as the need arises, on the infected part of their bodies. In this way their prayer is acted out.

In the Sacraments of Confirmation and Ordination the anointing is in addition to the action of "Laying-on of Hands'. In the Sacrament of Unction the anointing with prayer is at the heart of the rite, and although accompanied by the 'Laying-on of Hands', is itself the essential element.
The trinitarian formula is the phrase "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (original Greek εις το ονομα του πατρος και του υιου και του αγίου πνεύματος, eis to onoma tou patros kai tou huiou kai tou hagiou pneumatos), or words to that form and effect referring to the persons of the Holy Trinity.
Roman Catholic Holy Water
Holy Water is water that has been blessed and set apart for baptism. It is also used as a sacramental. Holy water is kept in the font, the church furnishing used for baptisms, which is typically located at either the entrance to the church (or sometimes in a separate room or building called a baptistery); its location at the entrance serves as a reminder of the centrality of baptism as the primary rite of initiation into the Christian faith. Smaller vessels, called stoups, are usually placed at the entrances of the church. As a reminder of baptism, Catholics dip their fingers in the holy water and make the sign of the cross when entering the church. The liturgy may begin on Sundays with the Rite of Blessing and Sprinkling Holy Water, in which holy water is sprinkled upon the congregation; this is called aspersion, from the Latin, to sprinkle. This ceremony dates back to the ninth century. An aspergill or aspergillum is a brush or branch used to sprinkle the water. An aspersorium is the vessel which holds the holy water and into which the aspergillum is dipped. Salt may be added to the water "where it is customary."
Sacramentals are things (sacramentalia) set apart or blessed by the Catholic Church to manifest the respect due to the Sacraments, and so to excite good thoughts and to increase devotion, and through these movements of the heart to remit venial sin, according to the Council of Trent (Session XXII, 15). When the term is used in the singular it is preceded by an article ("a sacramental" or "the sacramental") as sacramental is also an adjective describing the Sacraments.
The Catholic Church recognizes two differences between the Sacraments and the sacramentals:
The Sacraments were instituted by Jesus Christ; most, but not all, of the sacramentals were instituted by the Church.
The Sacraments give grace of themselves and are always fruitful when the faithful place no obstacle in the way; the sacramentals excite pious dispositions, by means of which the faithful may obtain grace. It is not the sacramental itself that gives grace, but the devotion, the love of God, or sorrow for sin that it inspires, and the prayers of the Church that render sacramentals efficacious against evil.
Although the Church places restrictions on the reception by non-Catholics of Catholic Church-administered Sacraments, this is not true of the sacramentals. The pious use of sacramentals by non-Catholics is permitted. As blessed objects or rituals that represent sacred beliefs and persons, disrespect to sacramentals is considered a form of sacrilege.
EFFECTS OF BAPTISM
This sacrament is the door of the Church of Christ and the entrance into a new life. We are reborn from the state of slaves of sin into the freedom of the Sons of God. Baptism incorporates us with Christ's mystical body and makes us partakers of all the privileges flowing from the redemptive act of the Church's Divine Founder.
(1) The Remission of All Sin, Original and Actual
This is clearly contained in the Bible. Thus we read (Acts 2:38): "Be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins; and you shall receive the Holy Ghost. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, whomsoever the Lord our God shall call." We read also in the twenty-second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles (verse 16): "Be baptized, and wash away thy sins." St. Paul in the fifth chapter of his Epistle to the Ephesians beautifully represents the whole Church as being baptized and purified (5:25 sq.): "Christ loved the Church, and delivered Himself up for it: that he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the washing of water in the word of life: that he might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." The prophecy of Ezechiel (36:25) has also been understood of baptism: "I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness (inquinamentis), where the prophet is unquestionably speaking of moral defilements.
(2) Remission of Temporal Punishment
Baptism not only washes away sin, it also remits the punishment of sin. This was the plain teaching of the primitive Church. We read in Clement of Alexandria (Pædagog., i) of baptism: "It is called a washing because we are washed from our sins: it is called grace, because by it the punishments which are due to sin are remitted." St. Jerome (Ep. Ixix) writes: "After the pardon (indulgentiam) of baptism, the severity of the Judge is not to be feared." And St. Augustine (De Pecc. et Mer., II, xxviii) says plainly: "If immediately [after baptism] there follows the departure from this life, there will be absolutely nothing that a man must answer for [quod obnoxium hominem teneat], for he will have been freed from everything that bound him."
(3) Infusion of Supernatural Grace, Gifts, and Virtues
Another effect of baptism is the infusion of sanctifying grace and supernatural gifts and virtues. It is this sanctifying grace which renders men the adopted sons of God and confers the right to heavenly glory.
(4) Conferral of the Right to Special Graces
Theologians likewise teach that baptism gives man the right to those special graces which are necessary for attaining the end for which the sacrament was instituted and for enabling him to fulfill the baptismal promises.
(5) Impression of a Character on the Soul
Finally, baptism, once validly conferred, can never be repeated. The Fathers (St. Ambrose, Chrysostom, and others) so understand the words of St. Paul (Hebrews 6:4), and this has been the constant teaching of the Church both Eastern and Western from the earliest times. On this account, baptism is said to impress an ineffaceable character on the soul, which the Tridentine Fathers call a spiritual and indelible mark.
MINISTER OF THE SACRAMENT
The Church distinguishes between the ordinary and the extraordinary minister of baptism.
(1) Ordinary Minister
The ordinary minister of solemn baptism is first the bishop and second the priest. By delegation, a deacon may confer the sacrament solemnly as an extraordinary minister. Bishops are said to be ordinary ministers because they are the successors of the Apostles who received directly the Divine command: "Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." Priests are also ordinary ministers because by their office and sacred orders they are pastors of souls and administrators of the sacraments, and hence the Florentine decree declares: "The minister of this Sacrament is the priest, to whom it belongs to administer baptism by reason of his office." As, however, bishops are superior to priests by the Divine law, the solemn administration of this sacrament was at one time reserved to the bishops, and a priest never administered this sacrament in the presence of a bishop unless commanded to do so, How ancient this discipline was, may be seen from Tertullian (De Bapt., xvii): "The right to confer baptism belongs to the chief priest who is the bishop, then to priests and deacons, but not without the authorization of the bishop." Ignatius (Ep. ad Smyr., viii): "It is not lawful to baptize or celebrate the agape without the bishop." St. Jerome (Contra Lucif., ix) witnesses to the same usage in his days: "Without chrism and the command of the bishop, neither priest nor deacon has the right of conferring baptism." Deacons are only extraordinary ministers of solemn baptism, as by their office they are assistants to the priestly order. St. Isidore of Seville (De Eccl, Off., ii, 25) says: "It is plain that baptism is to be conferred by priests only, and it is not lawful even for deacons to administer it without permission of the bishop or priest." That deacons were, however, ministers of this sacrament by delegation is evident from the quotations adduced. In the service of ordination of a deacon, the bishop says to the candidate: "It behooves a deacon to minister at the altar, to baptize and to preach." Philip the deacon is mentioned in the Bible (Acts 8) as conferring baptism, presumably by delegation of the Apostles. It is to be noted that though every priest, in virtue of his ordination is the ordinary minister of baptism, yet by ecclesiastical decrees he can not use this power licitly unless he has jurisdiction. Hence the Roman Ritual declares: The legitimate minister of baptism is the parish priest, or any other priest delegated by the parish priest or the bishop of the place." The Second Plenary Council of Baltimore adds: "Priests are deserving of grave reprehension who rashly baptize infants of another parish or of another diocese." St. Alphonsus (n. 114) says that parents who bring their children for baptism without necessity to a priest other than their own pastor, are guilty of sin because they violate the rights of the parish priest. He adds, however, that other priests may baptize such children, if they have the permission, whether express, or tacit, or even reasonably presumed, of the proper pastor. Those who have no settled place of abode may be baptized by the pastor of any church they choose.
(2) Extraordinary Minister
In case of necessity, baptism can be administered lawfully and validly by any person whatsoever who observes the essential conditions, whether this person be a Catholic layman or any other man or woman, heretic or schismatic, infidel or Jew. The essential conditions are that the person pour water upon the one to be baptized, at the same time pronouncing the words: "I baptize thee in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." Moreover, he must thereby intend really to baptize the person, or technically, he must intend to perform what the Church performs when administering this sacrament. The Roman Ritual adds that, even in conferring baptism in cases of necessity, there is an order of preference to be followed as to the minister. This order is: if a priest be present, he is to be preferred to a deacon, a deacon to a subdeacon, a cleric to a layman, and a man to a woman, unless modesty should require (as in cases of childbirth) that no other than the female be the minister, or again, unless the female should understand better the method of baptizing. The Ritual also says that the father or mother should not baptize their own child, except in danger of death when no one else is at hand who could administer the sacrament. Pastors are also directed by the Ritual to teach the faithful, and especially midwives, the proper method of baptizing. When such private baptism is administered, the other ceremonies of the rite are supplied later by a priest, if the recipient of the sacrament survives.
Baptismal Name
From the earliest times names were given in baptism. The priest is directed to see that obscene, fabulous, and ridiculous names, or those of heathen gods or of infidel men be not imposed. On the contrary the priest is to recommend the names of saints. This rubric is not a rigorous precept, but it is an instruction to the priest to do what he can in the matter. If parents are unreasonably obstinate, the priest may add a saint's name to the one insisted upon.
The "laying on of hands" (Heb. 6:2) is the key that solves this apparent enigma. The Holy Spirit is given to a person by prayer and the laying on of hands of God’s ministry following baptism. Notice the sequence: first repentance; then water baptism; next the laying on of hands; then the receipt of the Holy Spirit as a result of the laying on of hands. And as we just learned, the receiving of God’s Spirit "immerses" or "plunges" the person into the Church (the spiritual body of Christ) and into the divine Family of God.
THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
1213 Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua),4 and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word.
Baptismal Robe
A white garment is worn by all who receive the Sacrament of Baptism. This signifies our new life in Christ. It is an out word sign of our redemption by the blood of our savior and Lord. Those who are brought into the full communion with the Church during Easter Vigil and receive Baptism will wear their white garment until Pentecost. Infants usually are dressed in white gowns, oftentimes adorned with lace and the like. Sometimes a liturgical garment (like a Baptismal bib) is made and given at the Baptism.
Baptismal Vows
In the Baptismal Vows or Promises, one promises to reject Satan and be a faithful servant to God. After renouncing Satan and all his empty promises, the person being baptized (or the parents speak for the baby) professes the Faith by responding to questions asked by the celebrant. This is much like the Rite of Baptism was bestowed in the early Church.
Baptism of Blood & Baptism of Desire
If, for some reason, a person isn’t able to receive baptism of water, the same sanctifying grace and benefits can come through Baptism of Blood, which is when martyrdom is suffered for the Catholic Church or some virtue, or through Baptism of Desire, when a person has repented and has the intention of being faithful to God, and desires a life in Christ.

Rite of Baptism for One Child
1. What name do you give your Child?
2. What do you ask of God’s Church for Name…?
Baptism.
3. 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 are you undertaking?
We do.
4. Are you ready to help the parents of this child in their duty as Christian parents?
We are.
5. 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 on your forehead, and invite your parents and Godparents to do the same.
Word of God & Intercessions Prayer of Exorcism and Anointing before baptism , Blessing of water, Renunciation of Sin:
6 Do you reject Satan?
I do.
7. And all his works?
I do.
8. And all his empty promises?
I do.
Then Profession of faith Do you believe…. I do.
This is our faith. This is the faith of the Church. WE are proud to profess it, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
9. Is it your will that N….. should be baptized in the faith of the Church, which we have all professed with you?
It is.
Baptism. N….. I baptize you in the name of the Father+ and of the Son+ and of the Holy Spirit+
Amen.
Anointing with the Chrism on the crown of the head. & clothing with the white garment, Lighted candle. Our Father. Final Blessing.

Way of the cross

 

 

Canadian View of Nayagra Fall

Canadian Nayagra Fall Sept.30,2006

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Nayagra Fall from American view point