Today June 24 marks just 5 months left until the conclusion of the year of faith. It is also the feast day of Saint John the Baptist and so I wanted to highlight a grace that we may receive during this year of faith if we renew our baptismal vows in the church where we were baptized which may be easy for some. from the vatican decree on the year of faith http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/t...c_trib_appen_doc_20120914_annus-fidei_en.html Throughout the Year of Faith — established from 11 October 2012 to 24 November 2013 — all individual members of the faithful who are truly repentant, have duly received the Sacrament of Penance and Holy Communion and who pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff may receive the Plenary Indulgence in remission of the temporal punishment for their sins, imparted through God’s mercy and applicable in suffrage to the souls of the deceased: if they make a devout visit to the baptistery or other place in which they received the sacrament of Baptism, if they renew their baptismal promises in any legitimate form. Baptismal vows V. Do you reject Satan? R. I do. V. And all his works? R. I do. V. And all his empty promises? R. I do. V. Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth? R. I do. V. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father? R. I do. V. Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? R. I do. V. God, the all-powerful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever. R. Amen. You may renew your baptismal vows and sprinkle Holy water on yourself.
Thank you for posting this. This strikes me as something of a sign for me because my birthplace (and place of baptism) is Calgary, Alberta, where, as many might be aware, there has been serious, catastrophic flooding over the past number of days. Hearing about the floods and seeing the images on the internet, I was struck with a sudden desire to visit Calgary, where I have not been since the age of 5, when my family moved to Ireland. I got to thinking about the possibility of visiting and then remembered hearing about this plenary indulgence and thought, wouldn't it be wonderful to make it a sort of pilgrimage. I thought, I must look up the exact terms of that indulgence, but then the idea went out of my head. And now you have posted this very thing. Well, I guess all I need now is the airfare .
That is exactly what we did except by car. Six out of nine in my family have done the renewal. My baptismal church was about 1600 miles away in western Iowa. When we got there the bells were playing the hymn "Come to the water" It was a nice grace and the church is St. John's (the Baptist).
Should have mentioned, I will wait until the flooding subsides. It's a pilgrimage I'm after, not extreme adventure .
