In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love You. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love You. Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference’s by which He is offended. And by the infinite merits of his most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg the conversion of poor sinners.
Catechism 441-445
III. The Only Son of God
441 In the Old Testament, “son of God” is a title given to the angels, the Chosen People, the children of Israel, and their kings. [44] It signifies an adoptive sonship that establishes a relationship of particular intimacy between God and his creature. When the promised Messiah-King is called “son of God”, it does not necessarily imply that he was more than human, according to the literal meaning of these texts. Those who called Jesus “son of God”, as the Messiah of Israel, perhaps meant nothing more than this. [45]
442 Such is not the case for Simon Peter when he confesses Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God”, for Jesus responds solemnly: “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” [46] Similarly Paul will write, regarding his conversion on the road to Damascus, “When he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles…” [47] “and in the synagogues immediately [Paul] proclaimed Jesus, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’“ [48] From the beginning this acknowledgment of Christ’s divine sonship will be the centre of the apostolic faith, first professed by Peter as the Church’s foundation. [49]
443 Peter could recognize the transcendent character of the Messiah’s divine sonship because Jesus had clearly allowed it to be so understood. To his accusers’ question before the Sanhedrin, “Are you the Son of God, then?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am.” [50] Well before this, Jesus referred to himself as “the Son” who knows the Father, as distinct from the “servants” God had earlier sent to his people; he is superior even to the angels. [51] He distinguished his sonship from that of his disciples by never saying “our Father”, except to command them: “You, then, pray like this: ‘Our Father’“, and he emphasized this distinction, saying “my Father and your Father”. [52]
444 The Gospels report that at two solemn moments, the Baptism and the Transfiguration of Christ, the voice of the Father designates Jesus his “beloved Son”. [53] Jesus calls himself the “only Son of God”, and by this title affirms his eternal pre-existence. [54] He asks for faith in “the name of the only Son of God”. [55] In the centurion’s exclamation before the crucified Christ, “Truly this man was the Son of God”, [56] that Christian confession is already heard. Only in the Paschal mystery can the believer give the title “Son of God” its full meaning.
445 After his Resurrection, Jesus’ divine sonship becomes manifest in the power of his glorified humanity. He was “designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his Resurrection from the dead”. [57] The apostles can confess: “We have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” [58]
Today on the liturgical calendar:
Ash Wednesday
The first day of Lent.
Anglo-Saxon: lencten, spring
A season of penance set apart by the Church in memory of the forty days fast of Our Lord in the desert, and as a means of sanctification for her members. It begins on Ash Wednesday, consists of 6.5 weeks preceding Easter, and includes 40 fasting days, which are weekdays. The Sundays are a part of the Lenten season, but are not days of fasting or abstinence. The date of Lent varies according to the date of Easter. The origin of this penitential season is obscure; its length has varied in different ages, but the principle of a fast of 40 days (Latin: quadragesima Italian: quaresima French: careme) has been recognized since the 4th century.
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Mother of Perpetual Help, we call upon your most powerful name. Your very name inspires confidence and hope. May it always be on our lips, especially in time of temptation and at the hour of our death. Blessed Lady, help us whenever we call on you. Let us not be content with merely pronouncing your name. May our daily lives proclaim that you are our Mother and our Perpetual Help.
Numbers 6:24-26
24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee; 25 The LORD make His face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; 26 The LORD lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
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