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ARCHBISHOP BELTRAN

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March 30, 2008

The Good News...

...Rejoice in the Risen Lord!

Easter Vigil
Cathedral of Our Lady
March 22, 2008

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Tonight is a time of rejoicing and welcoming, truly a time of fulfillment. Therefore, I wish to congratulate those who are about to be baptized, those who will enter the Church through a Profession of Faith and all who will be confirmed. I welcome you to the family of God which is the Catholic Church. I pray that you will begin to experience a greater joy and appreciation for the gift of faith which the Lord is giving to you.

To all people present here tonight and in all the other churches of this archdiocese, I extend my best personal wishes to you and to your loved ones.  May this Easter season, which we are now entering, be a very special time of Grace for you. May Jesus, who is risen from the dead, grant you the peace, the joy and the love that we all seek. May you have a truly Blessed Easter.

Tonight, the Church Universal observes the Easter Vigil — a watch which culminates in the proclamation that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! Moreover, this Jesus who came to save us from our sins, now extends His redemption to every one of us. He has come that we might have life and have it more abundantly. This sharing in the more abundant life of Jesus is affected through the sacramental actions which He instituted. Three of these are called the Sacraments of Initiation. These three — Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist — are what we celebrate here tonight for they are the means whereby we are incorporated into the life of our Risen Lord.

In Baptism, original sin and any personal sins we may have committed are truly and absolutely forgiven. We are adopted as God’s children and God infuses His Sanctifying Grace in us. Yes, through Baptism we are reborn and become members of the Church, members of the Body of Christ.

In Confirmation, through the imposition of hands and the anointing with the Sacred Chrism, we receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. This is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Truth who is our Advocate and who confirms us in the Christian life by His presence, His inspiration and His guidance.

In the Holy Eucharist, we join with Jesus in praising and worshipping the Father. Jesus comes to us in a very special way by giving us His own Body and Blood. Thus He nourishes us and strengthens us for our continuing journey of faith. Remember, Jesus said: “I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” Then He said: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you cannot have life in you.”

We celebrate these three Sacra-ments of Initiation — Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist — for through them we first receive the new life God offers us. We also receive His pledge of support and nourishment, the inspiration and help we need to become His faithful sons and daughters.

Tonight then, after these catechumens and candidates are baptized and confirmed, I will invite all of you to make a renewal of your baptismal promises. Following that renewal I will bless all who are present here with this Easter Holy Water to remind you of your own baptism. Thus, all of us gathered here tonight, whether baptized earlier or now, whether confirmed tonight or previously, whether a lifelong member of the Catholic Church or a newly received one, all of us can stand in the presence of God with great faith and hope and love. We stand here with that assurance of faith because our salvation is a very special gift from God.

God so loved the world that He sent His Son Jesus to save us. Jesus, by His life, death and resurrection, does indeed save us. Therefore, tonight we experience our profound joy in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. And it is specifically for this reason that I say: May you and your loved ones have a most Blessed Easter. Alleluia!! 

... The Annunciation of the Lord

The Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord is one of the very special celebrations of our liturgical calendar. The Pro-life Office of the Conference of Catholic Bishops recently authored a beautiful article on the relevance of that feast to us as Christians and our recognition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The article was written by Deidre A. McQuade and I wish to share it with you.

Most Reverend Eusebius J. Beltran
Archbishop of Oklahoma City

Mary and Women’s History Month
by Deirdre A. McQuade

For 21 years, Women’s History Month has been celebrated in March. In 2008, this observance will end on the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord (celebrated on March 31 instead of the traditional March 25, so as not to conflict with Easter week). It’s fitting to end on this high note, paying tribute to the most pivotal woman in the history of humankind. Yet I wonder whether lesson plans for this awareness-raising month will raise any awareness of her!

The feast day marks that decisive moment when Mary, not yet fully understanding what the angel Gabriel was saying to her, nonetheless re-sponded out of her love for God and said “yes” in her famous “fiat”: “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done (fiat) to me according to your will.”

The rest, as they say, is history. Not a distorted feminist “her-story” that seeks to erase references to men. Indeed, Mary’s whole mission in life is to point others to her Son, the God-Man who could never exploit us in any way, and who is the source of all reconciliation, healing and authentic love, including between the sexes. Wherever women suffer injustice, exploitation and violence, the only hope for authentic justice will come through the transforming power of Christ and those who cling to him.

How different Mary’s fiat is from the era-defining book Our Bodies, Ourselves and early slogans of the pro-abortion movement such as “It’s my body, my choice.” These slogans popularized a false philosophy, rejecting the reality that we are not our own but were made by God in his image, male and female.

Secular feminists leave God out of “lifting up the lowly” and “casting the mighty from their thrones” in promoting their cause and take matters into their own hands. They assert autonomous women’s rights, including the legal right, established by Roe v. Wade, to have an abortion. That legal right extends throughout the nine months of pregnancy for virtually any reason since the definition of “health” in the health exception includes not only physical health, but all factors (emotional, financial, and familial factors) relevant to the well-being of the woman.

But true, Christian humanist feminism - the kind called for by John Paul II - doesn’t pit women against men or their unborn children. It refuses to embrace an ideology in which the rights of family members - born and unborn, male and female, young and old - are in competition with each other. He proposes that “women occupy a place, in thought and action, which is unique and decisive. It depends on them to promote a ‘new feminism’ which rejects the temptation of imitating models of ‘male domination’, in order to acknowledge and affirm the true genius of women in every aspect of the life of society and overcome all discrimination, violence and exploitation” (The Gospel of Life, 99).

Such cultural transformation will take much prayer. The Pro-Life Secretariat produces prayer resources for use in parishes, schools, homes, and ecumenical settings, including a beautiful Annunciation Novena called “A Heart Open to God’s Will” found at www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/nfp/AnnunciationNovena.pdf. You may also download our new “Say Yes to Life” ad for your pro-life outreach. Go to www.usccb.org/prolife and click on the thumbnail image.

In honor of Our Lady’s pivotal role in history, consider praying this novena before her feast day. May our imitation of her help bring an end to abortion and build the culture of life.

Deirdre A. McQuade is Assistant Director for Policy & Communications, at the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. To learn more about the bishops’ pro-life activities, go to www.usccb.org/prolife.