a year of prayer: 365 Rosaries

Today, May 25, we celebrate the feast of Saint Bede the Venerable (672-735), prolific writer and commenter on Holy Scripture, and Doctor of the Church. The writings of Saint Bede, including his commentaries on the seven Catholic Epistles and the Gospel of Luke, as well as recorded homilies on varied topics including the Magnificat of Our Blessed Mother, well document Church history and teaching, and inform the Rite of Mass still used today. Much of what we know of the life of Saint Bede was recorded by his own hand, translated by himself into Latin, or written by his faithful friend, Saint Cuthbert. One of the few holy men and women to be honored as saints, even while they remained alive, the writings of Saint Bede were filled with such faith and learning that a Church council ordered them to be read publicly in the churches.


Below, an excerpt from a letter written by Saint Bede to the newly baptized at Easter, commenting on the first epistle of Saint Peter.



You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood. This praise was given long ago by Moses to the ancient people of God, and now the apostle Peter rightly gives it to the Gentiles, since they have come to believe in Christ who, as the cornerstone, has brought the nations together in the salvation that belonged to Israel.


Peter calls them a chosen race because of their faith, to distinguish them from those who by refusing to accept the living stone have themselves been rejected. They are a royal priesthood because they are united to the body of Christ, the supreme king and true priest. As sovereign he grants them his kingdom, and as high priest he washes away their sins by the offering of his blood. Peter says they are a royal priesthood; they must always remember to hope for an everlasting kingdom and to offer to God the sacrifice of a blameless life.


They are also called a consecrated nation, a people claimed by God as his own, in accordance with the apostle Paul’s explanation of the prophet’s teaching: My righteous man lives by faith; but if he draws back, I will take no pleasure in him. But we, he says, are not the sort of people who draw back and are lost; ,we are those who remain faithful until we are saved. In the Acts of the Apostles we read: The Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the Church of God which he bought with his own blood. Thus, through the blood of our Redeemer, we have become a people claimed by God as his own, as in ancient times the people of Israel were ransomed from Egypt by the blood of a lamb.


In the next verse, Peter also makes a veiled allusion to the ancient story, and explains that this story is to be spiritually fulfilled by the new people of God, so that, he says, they may declare his wonderful deeds. Those who were freed by Moses from slavery in Egypt sang a song of triumph to the Lord after they had crossed the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army had been overwhelmed; in the same way, now that our sins have been washed away in baptism, we too should express fitting gratitude for the gifts of heaven. The Egyptians who oppressed the people of God, and who can also stand for darkness or trials, are an apt symbol of the sins that once oppressed us but have now been destroyed in baptism.

Today, March 18, we celebrate the feast day of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (313-386), early catechist, and Doctor of the Church. Saint Cyril is remembered for his numerous catechetical writings and defense of the basic tenets of our Catholic faith. Below, an excerpt from a homily he delivered on “Baptism as a Symbol of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection.” As we move through our season of Lent, we look forward to the new birth of baptism of Easter!



You were led down to the font of holy baptism just as Christ was taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb which is before your eyes. Each of you was asked, “Do you believe in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit?” You made the profession of faith that brings salvation, you were plunged into the water, and three times you rose again. This symbolised the three days Christ spent in the tomb.


As our Saviour spent three days and three nights in the depths of the earth, so your first rising from the water represented the first day and your first immersion represented the first night. At night a man cannot see, but in the day he walks in the light. So when you were immersed in the water it was like night for you and you could not see, but when you rose again it was like coming into broad daylight. In the same instant you died and were born again; the saving water was both your tomb and your mother.


Solomon’s phrase in another context is very apposite here. He spoke of a time to give birth, and a time to die. For you, however, it was the reverse: a time to die, and a time to be born, although in fact both events took place at the same time and your birth was simultaneous with your death.


This is something amazing and unheard of! It was not we who actually died, were buried and rose again. We only did these things symbolically, but we have been saved in actual fact. It is Christ who was crucified, who was buried and who rose again, and all this has been attributed to us. We share in his sufferings symbolically and gain salvation in reality. What boundless love for men! Christ’s undefiled hands were pierced by the nails; he suffered the pain. I experience no pain, no anguish, yet by the share that I have in his sufferings he freely grants me salvation.


Let no one imagine that baptism consists only in the forgiveness of sins and in the grace of adoption. Our baptism is not like the baptism of John, which conferred only the forgiveness of sins. We know perfectly well that baptism, besides washing away our sins and bringing us the gift of the Holy Spirit, is a symbol of the sufferings of Christ. This is why Paul exclaims: Do you not know that when we were baptized into Christ Jesus we were, by that very action, sharing in his death? By baptism we went with him into the tomb.

Today, January 9, we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in the River Jordan by Saint John the Baptist—the first of the Luminous Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. At the end of the Christmas season, we, like Saint John the Baptist look forward to what was foretold in the Old Testament, the coming of Jesus, and His entering into public ministry.


Below, a hymn of praise “Concerning Our Lord and Saint John the Baptist,” written by Saint Ephraem.

Hymn XIV
Hymn Concerning Our Lord and Saint John



Response: Glory to Thee, my Lord, for Thee with joy Heaven and earth worship!


1. My thought bore me to Jordan, and I saw a marvel when there was revealed the glorious Bridegroom Who to the Bride shall bring freedom and holiness.


2. I saw John filled with wonder, and the multitudes standing about him, and the glorious Bridegroom bowed down to the son of the barren that he might baptize Him.


3. At the Word and the Voice my thought marvelled: for lo! John was the Voice; our Lord was manifested as the Word, that what was hidden should become revealed.


4. The Bride was espoused but knew not who was the Bridegroom on whom she gazed: the guests were assembled, the desert was filled, and our Lord was hidden among them.


5. Then the Bridegroom revealed Himself; and to John at the voice He drew near: and the Forerunner was moved and said of Him "This is the Bridegroom Whom I proclaimed."


6. He came to baptism Who baptizes all, and He showed Himself at Jordan. John saw Him and drew back, deprecating, and thus he spake:


7. "How, my Lord, willest Thou to be baptized, Thou Who in Thy baptism atonest all? Baptism looks unto Thee; shed Thou on it holiness and perfection?"


8. Our Lord said "I will it so; draw near, baptize Me that My Will may be done. Resist My Will thou canst not: I shall be baptized of thee, for thus I will it."


9. "I entreat, my Lord, that I be not compelled,-for this is hard that Thou hast said to me, 'I have need that thou shouldst baptize Me;' for it is Thou that with Thy hyssop purifiest all."


10. "I have asked it, and it pleases Me that thus it should be; and thou, John, why gainsayest thou? Suffer righteousness to be fulfilled, and come, baptize Me; why standest Thou?"


11. "How can one openly grasp in his hands the fire that burns? O Thou that art fire have mercy on me, and bid me not come near Thee, for it is hard for me!"


12. "I have revealed to Thee My Will; what questionest thou? Draw near, baptize Me, and thou shalt not be burned. The bridechamber is ready; keep Me not back from the wedding feast that has been made ready."


13. "The Watchers fear and dare not gaze on Thee lest they be blinded; and I, how, O my Lord, shall I baptize Thee? I am too weak to draw near; blame me not!"


14. "Thou fearest; therefore gainsay not-against My Will in what I desire: and Baptism has respect unto Me. Accomplish the work to which thou hast been called!"


15. "Lo! I proclaimed Thee at Jordan in the ears of the people that believed not and if they shall see Thee baptized of me, they will doubt that Thou art the Lord."


16. "Lo! I am to be baptized in their sight, and the Father Who sent Me bears witness of Me that I am His Son and in Me He is well pleased, to reconcile Adam who was under His wrath."


17. "It becomes, me. O my Lord, to know my nature that I am moulded out of the ground, and Thou the moulder Who formest all things: I, then, why should I baptize Thee in water?"


18. "It becomes thee to know wherefore I am come, and for what cause I have desired that thou shouldst baptize Me. It is the middle of the way wherein I have walked; withhold thou not Baptism."


19. "Small is the river whereto Thou art come, that Thou shouldst lodge therein and it should cleanse Thee. The heavens suffice not for Thy mightiness; how much less shall Baptism contain Thee!"


20. "The womb is smaller than Jordan; yet was I willing to lodge in the Virgin: and as I was born from woman, so too am I to be baptized in Jordan."


21. "Lo! the hosts are standing! the ranks of Watchers, lo! they worship And if I draw near, my Lord, to baptize Thee, I tremble for myself with quaking."


22. "The hosts and multitudes call thee happy, all of them, for that thou baptizest Me. For this I have chosen thee from the womb: fear thou not, for I have willed it


23. "I have prepared the way as I was sent:-I have betrothed the Bride as I was commanded. May Thy Epiphany be spread over the world now that Thou art come, and let me not baptize Thee!"


24. "This is My preparation, for so have I willed; I will go down and be baptized in Jordan, and make bright the armour for them that are baptized, that they may be white in Me and I not be conquered."


25. "Son of the Father, why should I baptize Thee? for lo! Thou art in Thy Father and Thy Father in Thee. Holiness unto the priests Thou givest; water that is common wherefore askest Thou?"


26. "The children of Adam look unto Me, that I should work for them the new birth. A way in the waters I will search out for them, and if I be not baptized this cannot be."


27. "Pontiffs of Thee are consecrated, priests by Thy hyssop are purified; the anointed and the kings Thou makest. Baptism, how shall it profit Thee?"


28. "The Bride thou betrothedst to Me awaits Me, that I should go down, be baptized, and sanctify her. Friend of the Bridegroom withhold Me not from the washing that awaits Me."


29. "I am not able, for I am weak, Thy blaze in my hands to grasp. Lo! Thy legions are as flame; bid one of the Watchers baptize Thee!"


30. "Not from the Watchers was My Body assumed, that I should summon a Watcher to baptize Me. The body of Adam, lo! I have put on, and thou, son of Adam, art to baptize Me."


31. "The waters saw Thee, and greatly feared ; the waters saw Thee, and lo! they tremble! The river foams in its terror; and I that am weak, how shall I baptize Thee?"


32. "The waters in My Baptism are sanctified, and fire and the Spirit from Me shall they receive; and if I be not baptized they are not made perfect to be fruitful of children that shall not die."


33. "Fire, if to Thy fire it draw near, shall be burnt up of it as stubble. The mountains of Sinai endured Thee not, and I that am weak, wherein shall I baptize Thee?"


34. "I am the flaming fire; yet for man's sake I became a babe in the virgin womb of the maiden. And now I am to be baptized in Jordan."


35. "It is very meet that Thou shouldst baptize me, for Thou hast holiness to purify all. In Thee it is that the defiled are made holy; but Thou that art holy, why art Thou to be baptized?"


36. "It is very right that thou shouldst baptize Me, as I bid, and shouldst not gainsay. Lo! I baptized thee within the womb; baptize thou me in Jordan!"


37. "I am a bondman and I am weak. Thou that freest all have mercy on me! Thy latchets to unloose I am not able; Thy exalted head who will make me worthy to touch?"


38. "Bondmen in My Baptism are set free; handwritings in My washing are blotted out; manumissions in the water are sealed; and if I be not baptized all these come to nought."


39. "A mantle of fire the air wears, and waits for Thee, above Jordan; and if Thou consentest to it and willest to be baptized, Thou shall baptize Thyself and fulfil all."


40. "This is meet, that thou shouldst baptize Me, that none may err and say concerning Me, 'Had He not been alien from the Father's house, why feared the Levite to baptize Him?' "


41. "The prayer, then, when Thou art baptized, how shall I complete over Jordan? When the Father and the Spirit are seen over Thee, Whom shall I call on, as priest?"


42. "The prayer in silence is to be completed: come, thy hand alone lay thou on Me. and the Father shall utter in the priest's stead that which is meet concerning His Son."


43. "They that are bidden, lo! all of them stand; the Bridegroom's guests, lo! they bear witness that day by day I said among them, 'I am the Voice and not the Word.' "


44. "Voice of him that cries in the wilderness, fulfil thou the work for which thou camest, that the desert whereunto thou wentest out may resound with the mighty peace thou preachedst therein."


45. "The shout of the Watchers has come to my ears; lo! I hear from the Father's house the hosts that sound forth the cry, 'In Thy Epiphany, O Bridegroom, the worlds have life.' "


46. "The time hastes on, and the marriage guests-look to Me to see what is doing. Come, baptize Me, that they may give praise to the Voice of the Father when it is heard!"


47. "I hearken, my Lord, according to Thy Word: come to Baptism as Thy love constrains Thee! The dust worships that whereunto he has attained, that on Him Who fashioned him he should lay his hand."


48. The heavenly ranks were silent as they stood, and the Bridegroom went down into Jordan; the Holy One was baptized and straightway went up, and His Light shone forth on the world.


49. The doors of the highest were opened above, and the voice of the Father was heard," This is my Beloved in Whom I am well pleased." All ye peoples, come and worship Him.


50. They that saw were amazed as they stood, at the Spirit Who came down and bare witness to Him. Praise to Thy Epiphany that gladdens all, Thou in Whose revelation the worlds are lightened!

Today, January 9, we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in the River Jordan by Saint John the Baptist—the first of the Luminous Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. At the end of the Christmas season, we, like Saint John the Baptist look forward to what was foretold in the Old Testament, the coming of Jesus, and His entering into public ministry.

Below, an excerpt from the writings of Saint Proclus, early Church father and Patriarch of Constantinople. Describing Jesus as “Fire Immersed in Water,” Saint Proclus proclaims the joy and power of the adult Christ, washing the world in a flood of sanctity and love!



Christ appeared in the world, and, bringing beauty out of disarray, gave it luster and joy. He bore the world’s sin and crushed the world’s enemy. He sanctified the fountains of waters and enlightened the minds of men. Into the fabric of miracles he interwove ever greater miracles.


For on this day land and sea share between them the grace of the Savior, and the whole world is filled with joy. Today’s feast of the Epiphany manifests even more wonders than the feast of Christmas.


On the feast of the Saviour’s birth, the earth rejoiced because it bore the Lord in a manger; but on today’s feast of the Epiphany it is the sea that is glad and leaps for joy; the sea is glad because it receives the blessing of holiness in the river Jordan.


At Christmas we saw a weak baby, giving proof of our weakness. In today’s feast, we see a perfect man, hinting at the perfect Son who proceeds from the all-perfect Father. At Christmas the King puts on the royal robe of his body; at Epiphany the very source enfolds and, as it were, clothes the river.


Come then and see new and astounding miracles: the Sun of righteousness washing in the Jordan, fire immersed in water, God sanctified by the ministry of man.


Today every creature shouts in resounding song: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is he who comes in every age, for this is not his first coming.


And who is he? Tell us more clearly, I beg you, blessed David: The Lord is God and has shone upon us. David is not alone in prophesying this; the apostle Paul adds his own witness, saying: The grace of God has appeared bringing salvation for all men, and instructing us. Not for some men, but for all. To Jews and Greeks alike God bestows salvation through baptism, offering baptism as a common grace for all.


Come, consider this new and wonderful deluge, greater and more important than the flood of Noah’s day. Then the water of the flood destroyed the human race, but now the water of baptism has recalled the dead to life by the power of the one who was baptized. In the days of the flood the dove with an olive branch in its beak foreshadowed the fragrance of the good odor of Christ the Lord; now the Holy Spirit, coming in the likeness of a dove, reveals the Lord of mercy.

Today, January 9, we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in the River Jordan by Saint John the Baptist—the first of the Luminous Mysteries of the Holy Rosary.  At the end of the Christmas season, we, like Saint John the Baptist look forward to what was foretold in the Old Testament, the coming of Jesus, and His entering into public ministry.

Below, and excerpt from a sermon written by Saint Gregory Nazianzen, Early Church Father, reminding us that Christ was baptized not for Himself, but for us—that the waters of baptism might sanctify the faithful!


Christ is bathed in light; let us also be bathed in light. Christ is baptized; let us also go down with him, and rise with him.

John is baptizing when Jesus draws near. Perhaps he comes to sanctify his baptiser; certainly he comes to bury sinful humanity in the waters. He comes to sanctify the Jordan for our sake and in readiness for us; he who is spirit and flesh comes to begin a new creation through the Spirit and water.

The Baptist protests; Jesus insists. Then John says: I ought to be baptised by you. He is the lamp in the presence of the sun, the voice in the presence of the Word, the friend in the presence of the Bridegroom, the greatest of all born of woman in the presence of the firstborn of all creation, the one who leapt in his mother’s womb in the presence of him who was adored in the womb, the forerunner and future forerunner in the presence of him who has already come and is to come again. I ought to be baptized by you: we should also add, “and for you”, for John is to be baptized in blood, washed clean like Peter, not only by the washing of his feet.

Jesus rises from the waters; the world rises with him. The heavens like Paradise with its flaming sword, closed by Adam for himself and his descendants, are rent open. The Spirit comes to him as to an equal, bearing witness to his Godhead. A voice bears witness to him from heaven, his place of origin. The Spirit descends in bodily form like the dove that so long ago announced the ending of the flood and so gives honor to the body that is one with God.

Today let us do honor to Christ’s baptism and celebrate this feast in holiness. Be cleansed entirely and continue to be cleansed. Nothing gives such pleasure to God as the conversion and salvation of men, for whom his every word and every revelation exist. He wants you to become a living force for all mankind, lights shining in the world. You are to be radiant lights as you stand beside Christ, the great light, bathed in the glory of him who is the light of heaven. You are to enjoy more and more the pure and dazzling light of the Trinity, as now you have received - though not in its fullness - a ray of its splendor, proceeding from the one God, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

Today, January 9, we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in the River Jordan by Saint John the Baptist—the first of the Luminous Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. At the end of the Christmas season, we, like Saint John the Baptist look forward to what was foretold in the Old Testament, the coming of Jesus, and His entering into public ministry. The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord—like Pentecost—reveals to us the Trinity, and makes the divinity of Christ evident through the descent of the Spirit and the words of the Lord, Our Father—the same words later to be repeated at the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor.

But the question becomes, why would Jesus, the Son of God, both human and divine, and free from all sin, be baptized at all? And the simple answer lies in the revelation of the Trinity, in the descent of the Spirit, in the commanding voice of the Father: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” In this moment, Jesus is revealed to the nations in His Glory, the Word made manifest. The true and unique God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, shows Himself in Christ, through Him, with Him and in Him.

1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:


“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”


4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.


11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”



Our own baptism, therefore, echoes that of Christ’s baptism in the River Jordan. Just as He was identified by the Lord, from Heaven, as His Beloved Son, so, too, are we identified in baptism as beloved sons and daughters of the Lord. We are baptised in water, but enlighted by the Spirit, called to our ministry: to build a community of faith on earth—humbly, lovingly, obediently, and faithfully. Let us look to the perfect model of these virtues, Jesus Christ, on this the day He began His public ministry, and walk in His footsteps, enlighted and purified by our own baptisms!


Almighty, eternal God,
when the Spirit descended upon Jesus
at His baptism in the Jordan,
You revealed Him as Your own beloved Son.
Keep us, Your children born of water and the Spirit,
faithful to our calling.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God forever and ever. Amen.



Looking Back: Find my post on the Baptism of the Lord from 2010 by clicking on the “rearview mirror” to the left. Saint John the Baptist is also my chosen Confirmation saint. To read more about this holy and humble man, visit the following links:

Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Saint John the Baptist: Precursor and Forerunner of Christ (A Homily written by Saint Bede)

Saint John the Baptist: Anticipation of Christ (A Sermon written by Saint Augustine of Hippo)

Litany of Saint John the Baptist

Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist



Year 2: Day 9 of 365
Prayer Intentions: Lives that are pleasing to the Lord.
Requested Intentions: Improved financial stability (A); Improved relationship with business partner (A); For employment (N); Reconciliation of a workplace relationship (R); Healing of son, cousin, and friend (L); Healing of a husband from cancer, end to medical problems (T); Freedom from persecution (E); Successful employment (R); Reconciliation of a marriage (M); Successful marriage, employment, healing (J); For a family struggling with a difficult situation (M); For family intentions (I); Reconciliation of a marriage (S); For blessings upon a family (R); Permanent employment (N); Successful employment (M); Healing of a father following stroke (S).