Tag: Christian Initiation
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Confirmation: Strengthened by the Holy Spirit
In the earliest centuries of the Church, Baptism was immediately followed by the laying on of hands and the anointing with oil. Through this act the apostles invoked the Holy Spirit upon the newly baptized. The sacrament we now call Confirmation continues that same moment of strengthening in the life of the Church.
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Lenten Sacraments, Week One: Baptism
Lent began as preparation for Baptism at the Easter Vigil. From the earliest centuries of the Church, catechumens fasted, prayed, and prepared to enter the waters that united them to Christ’s death and resurrection. Today, Lent remains a season not of rebaptism, but of remembrance—calling the faithful to return to the identity first given through…