Saturday, February 17, 2018
Saturday, February 17, 2018
1 Peter 3:18-22
"And baptism, which this
prefigured, now saves you not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an
appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Christ
Jesus." ( 1 Peter 3:21)
By sometime in the
4th century, Lent had also become established as a final forty-day period of
preparation and catechesis for those desiring to be baptized at the Easter
Vigil. This preparation involved examination and confession, time for amendment
of life, and fasting, all moving toward the threefold immersion in the waters
of the baptistery. We might assume that the three immersions represented the
Trinity, but they also signified the three days Christ spent in the earth, to
be raised up anew at the Easter dawn. "Baptism is both a burial and a
resurrection," spoke Cyril of Jerusalem in his Catechetical Lectures.
Open our hearts to your word,
O God, and give us understanding. Amen
- · place a small bowl of water on your alter and make the sign of the cross on yourself with it.
