Friday in the Octave of Easter

We pray Friday within the Octave of Easter and meditate on the Jerusalem catechesis on baptism, chrism, and the Holy Spirit’s anointing. We reflect on how God seals us as his own and calls us to live what we profess with real deeds. 
• opening prayers and offering of the day through the Immaculate Heart of Mary 
• baptism as transformation into the likeness of Christ and adoption as sons of God 
• why Christians are called the anointed ones in communion with God’s Anointed 
• Christ’s baptism in the Jordan and the Spirit descending upon him 
• chrism as a sign of the Holy Spirit and not merely ordinary oil 
• the Holy Spirit as the oil of gladness and source of spiritual joy 
• being sealed with the Spirit as the pledge of our inheritance and freedom 
• prayer for a life that matches our faith and a closing act of trust through Mary 
If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at the Cristeros.org. 

Transcript

Baptism And The Anointing

Chrism Is More Than Oil

Sealed With The Spirit

Closing Prayer And Blessing

Invitation To Join Cristeros

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Friday within the octave of Easter. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the remission of my sins, for the intentions of my family and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen. From the Jerusalem catechesis, the anointing with the Holy Spirit. When we were baptized into Christ and clothed ourselves in him, we were transformed into the likeness of the Son of God. Having destined us to be his adopted sons, God gave us a likeness to Christ in his glory. And living as we do in communion with Christ, God's anointed, we ourselves are rightly called the anointed ones. When he said, Do not touch my anointed ones, God was speaking of us. We became the anointed ones when we received the sign of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, everything took place in us by means of images, because we ourselves are images of Christ. Christ bathed in the river Jordan, imparting to its waters the fragrance of his divinity. And when he came up from them, the Holy Spirit descended upon him, like resting upon him. So we also, after coming up from the sacred waters of baptism, were anointed with chrism, which signifies the Holy Spirit, by whom Christ was anointed, and of whom blessed Isaiah prophesied in the name of the Lord. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor. Christ's anointing was not by human hands, nor was it with ordinary oil. On the contrary, having destined him to be the Savior of the whole world, the Father Himself anointed him with the Holy Spirit. The words of Peter bear witness to this. Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit. And David the prophet proclaimed, Your throne, O God, shall endure forever. Your royal scepter is a scepter of justice. You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above all your fellows. The oil of gladness with which Christ was anointed was a spiritual oil. It was in fact the Holy Spirit Himself, who is called the oil of gladness, because He is the source of spiritual joy. But we too have been anointed with oil, and by this anointing we have entered into fellowship with Christ and have received a share in his life. Beware of thinking that this holy oil is simply ordinary oil and nothing else. After the invocation of the Spirit, it is no longer ordinary oil, but the gift of Christ, and by the presence of his divinity it becomes the instrument through which we receive the Holy Spirit. While symbolically, on our foreheads and senses, our bodies are anointed with this oil that we see, our souls are sanctified by the Holy and Life-Giving Spirit. You have believed the good news, and have been sealed according to the promise with the Holy Spirit. He is the pledge of our inheritance, the promise of freedom for those whom God has won for himself to the praise of his glory. Alleluia. God has anointed us and sealed us as his own, and as a pledge of what is to come, he has given us the spirit that dwells in our hearts, the promise of freedom for those whom God has won for himself to the praise of his glory. Alleluia. Almighty, ever-living God, who gave us the paschal mystery and the covenant you established for reconciling the human race. So dispose our minds, we pray, that what we celebrate by professing the faith we may express in deeds, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen. Let us praise the Lord and give him thanks. All that I have and all that I am, I give to your hands, Jesus, through the heart of Mary, your blessed mother. Amen. Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at the Cristeros.org.