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Sunday, April 15, 2012

The "Pure Spiritual Milk" of Christians

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JMJ

Low Sunday

Today’s Liturgy is concerned in a very special way with the newly baptized, who, at the close of Easter week, laid aside the white garments which they had received at the baptismal font. It is actually to them that St. Peter addressed his affectionate recommendation which we read in the Introit of the Mass: As newborn babes, desire the pure spiritual milk that thereby you may grow unto salvation (2 Pet. 2.2). These words continue to express the maternal solicitude of the Church for the children whom she has regenerated in Christ : in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti (Mt. 28.19), and especially for the newly born. We, too, are the object of this solicitude. Although we were baptized as infants, we can say that every Easter regenerates us in Christ by means of our spiritual resurrection in Him. Therefore, we also must be like newborn babes in whom there is no malice, deceit, pride, or presumption, but only candor and simplicity, confidence and love. This is a wonderful invitation to the spiritual childhood which Our Divine Savior told us is an indispensable condition for attaining salvation: unless you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 18.3).

Each wave of grace purifies and cleanses our soul from sin and its roots, giving us rebirth to a new life in Christ a pure, innocent lifewhich craves only the pure spiritual milk of the doctrine of Christ we receive through His Church (the pillar and ground of the truth, 1 Tim. 3.15) built on Cephas,* His love and His grace (through prayer and the reception of the Sacraments, particularly Penance and the Holy Eucharist).

* “Rock” plain and simple in the original Aramaic spoken by the Savior, without the gender distinctions we consider as in Greek or in Latin.

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