8/13/2019 Ask Father

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Almost-five-year-old Katie and her family recently witnessed the Baptism, Chrismation and Communion of the infantNicholas. At her request, they stood way up front where she could see the baby, instead of going up into the choir loft asusual. uring the service, Katie had some good questions! so she and her mom as"ed #ather$

%hy is #ather wearing white&%hy do the priest and deacon wear white vestmentswhen they celebrate the 'ystery of Baptism&(he 'ystery of )oly Baptism is the sacrament of purification * being made new by the power of +esus Christ and the

)oly pirit. (his purification occurs through the prayers that the priest reads and the immersion of the person who isbeing baptied into the water, which has been made holy by od. (he color that symbolies purity /cleanliness andwholeness0 and the new life in +esus Christ is white. Because of this, the priest and deacon wear white when they celebratethis holy 'ystery.%hy is #ather sha"ing that nap"inover the c1mmunion&%hy does the priest wave the aer over the acred ifts during the 2iturgy&(he aer is the cloth that the priest wears over his shoulders during the reat 3ntrance as the )oly ifts are ta"en from thetable of preparation /prothesis0 to the altar table. (his cloth is used to cover the ifts after the priest ta"es off the smallercovers /one for the discus or paten, and another for the chalice0.(he aer has a great deal of symbolism. %hen the ifts are covered with the aer after the reat 3ntrance, the aersymbolies the stone that covered the opening of +esus Christ1s tomb. %hen the priest waves the aer during the symbol offaith /the creed0, it symbolies the the earthqua"e that occurred when +esus rose from the dead /'atthew 4567-40. (he

priest stops waving the aer at the point in the creed when he says, 8and on the third day )e rose according to the

scriptures.9(han"s to #r. 'ichael 'onos, voithou of Annunciation ree" :rthodo; Church in A"ron, :), for answering Katie1squestions$

< 7===-4>>> by :rthodo; #amily 2ife and the original author/s0.?@26 http6www.theologic.comoflweb. (his web site is donated and maintained by (heo2ogic ystems, which providessoftware and information tools for :rthodo; Christians and parishes world wide.----------------------uestions for this issue come from Ale;andra /age 740 and +oshua /age 7>0!D:6ED:6E%hat is the difference

between luc" and a blessing&D:6ED:6E %ebster1s dictionary defines luc" as the 8force that brings good or bad9. (heancient ree"s and @omans used to worship luc" in the form of the goddess #ortuna. )er name even became another wordfor luc", Ffortune1. A blessing is defined as 8to invo"e ivine Care9. (he source of blessings is od )imself$D:6ED:6E2uc" is a pagan, non-Christian concept that views good or bad fortune * and success * as a tangible thing unto itself.

Certain items, li"e rabbits1 feet, four-leaf clovers, and other 8good luc"9 charms9 are said to 8bring luc"9. Certain days,and even people, are considered 8luc"y9. ee"ing 8luc"9 is closely connected with superstition, which in turn connected tomagic. According to this world view, humans are at the mercy of unseen powerful and uncertain forces that may help orhurt us.D:6ED:6EA blessing is very different from the idea of luc". od is 2ord of the world. A blessing as"s for )is ivine Erotection andhelp. %hereas luc" can be good or bad, a blessing is always good. od1s care for us and the world is called ivineErovidence. (his concern for us is grounded in love, and is personal and real. By e;tension the symbols of od, such asthe Cross, religious medals, or phylacta /little bags of earth from holy places0, are powerful when they are used not as8luc"y charms9, but as signs that we believe in od1s power and protection. (hey are not sources of power themselves butonly point bac" to od. (hose who do not "now od are trapped in a world that is full of fears and evil forces that they tryto manipulate with magic and superstition. Christians can loo" on life and not be afraid, for Christ has destroyed the

power of evil. Gf we trust in )im and follow )is ways, nothing can really harm us. Christians reHect the very e;istence ofthe idea of 8luc"9. Attracting 8luc"9 with a charm, a special day according to the odiac, or other such things, is nonsense$D:6ED:6E%hy do we say,8od bless you9&D:6ED:6E Gf someone sneees or does something very good, we often hear someone say, 8od blessyou$9 (his is a phrase that as"s the 2ord to protect you, "eep you in good health, ma"e you holy, and fill your life withgood and happiness. Gt is the very best thing we can want for someone.D:6ED:6ECenturies ago the causes of diseases were not well "nown, but people "new that sneeing often came before illnesses thatcould be life threatening. o, the immediate response was, 8od bless you$9 /meaning, 8od protect you from sic"ness anddeath$90. And even as we become better at treating disease, isn1t it still the best thing to as" od to "eep us well& o wesay, 8od bless you$9 to this very day.D:6ED:6EGf someone does something nice for us, we as" od to reward him or her. %e say to them, 8od bless you$9 /meaning,8od reward you with )is blessing in return for the good you have done$90. %henever we use the phrase 8od bless you$9we are actually saying a very short prayer. (he 3nglish language used to be full of all sorts of prayers and blessings. :nly

8/13/2019 Ask Father

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