Snow-lined walkways, brisk air, and rays of sunshine adorned the landscape at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame on Sunday, December 7, a day of celebration where 26 students embarked on the Rite of Reception into full communion in the Catholic Church. “At this lit urgy, 26 of our brothers and sisters in Christ will receive through the Sacrament of Confirmation the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit,” said Bishop Rhoades, who celebrated the Mass. “They will receive an increase and a deepening of the grace they received at baptism. They will become more firmly united to Christ and more perfectly bound to the Church.” Lisa KochanowskiMembers of the University of Notre Dame community coming into full communion in the Church stand during a Mass celebrating the Rite of Reception at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Sunday, December 7.   The first reading from Isaiah reflected on the sprout of Jesse. “On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom,” Bishop Rhoades said in his homily. “That shoot, of course, is the Messiah, a descendant of David. He will be different from other kings because the spirit of the Lord will rest upon him, a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge.” In Psalm 72, King Solomon asks God to grant him wisdom to defend the poor and oppressed. “O God, give your judgment to the king; your justice to the king’s son; / That he may govern your people with justice, your oppressed with right judgment” (Psalm 72:1-2). “In Advent, we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Messiah, the new king, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Mary, and the Son of God,” Bishop Rhoades said. “We have been called to live in His dream, to spread it. To carry out the will of His Father, Christ inaugurated the kingdom of heaven on earth. In His signs and in His miracles, Jesus manifested that the Kingdom was present in Him, that He was the Messiah, and He instituted the Church as the seed and beginning of that kingdom. By His death and resurrection, Jesus accomplished the coming of His kingdom. But we still pray the High Kingdom come, since, as is all too evident in the world, His kingdom has not yet fully come. This will only happen when Christ returns to glory. And the Advent season is not only about the celebration of Christmas but for His second coming.” Lisa KochanowskiBishop Rhoades preaches during a Mass welcoming 26 members of the University of Notre Dame community into full communion in the Church at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Sunday, December 7.   According to Bishop Rhoades, we’re called to extend Christ’s kingdom until it is brought to perfection by Christ at the end of time, when He will judge the living and the dead and pronounce the final word on all of history. The last judgment, which John the Baptist alluded to at the end of the Gospel reading, will reveal that God’s justice triumphs over all the injustices committed by His creatures, and that God’s love is stronger than death. At the end of time, the kingdom of God will come in its focus. After the universal judgment, the righteous will reign forever with Christ, glorified in body and soul, and the universe itself will be renewed. Scripture calls this marvelous renewal the new heaven and the new earth. Human beings and the whole cosmos, the visible universe, will be transformed. The prophetic message of Isaiah will be fully realized, and the words of his Psalm 72 fulfilled. During the homily, Bishop Rhoades reminded everyone that the gifts the prophet Isaiah proclaimed as belonging to the Messiah are also gifts bestowed on us, His people. “It’s these gifts that sustain our moral life,” Bishop Rhoades said, noting the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord. “It’s good for us, all of us, to reflect on these seven gifts that we receive in baptism and confirmation.” Bishop Rhoades continued, saying: “The saints our candidates have chosen for their confirmation names, as their special patrons, were men and women who opened their minds and hearts to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, to the graces that they received at baptism and confirmation,” said Bishop Rhoades. “The saints are models and intercessors for you who will be confirmed today. Models of openness to the Holy Spirit of living a life in the Spirit.” Bishop Rhoades told the candidates that in the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Holy Spirit equips them for the mission to witness Christ in all their words and deeds, to spread His kingdom on earth. All were instructed to follow St. Paul’s lists of 12 fruits of eternal glory that the Holy Spirit forms in us – charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control, and chastity. “Dear candidates, if you live by the Spirit, your Christian lives will bear these fruits. And you know what will happen? You will become saints,” Bishop Rhoades said. “And that’s my prayer for every one of you. … In this season of Advent, may the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen of all Saints … intercede for all of us, especially those who will now be received into full communion in the Church, who will receive her son’s body and blood in the Eucharist for the first time, and for all who will be strengthened by the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation. The post Bishop Rhoades Welcomes 26 into Full Communion at Notre Dame appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less