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Office Of Readings | Week 19, Saturday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Sermon Of Saint Pacian On Baptism | Oh My God, Oh My Jesus | You Take Away Sin
‘Oh my God, your take away sin.’
Saint Pacian continues his reflection on baptism by contrasting two forms of human existence: that of the earthly Adam and that of the heavenly Christ. Humanity inherits from Adam mortality and corruption, but through Christ, the ‘second man’ who came from heaven, believers are promised life that death cannot extinguish. Pacian echoes the words of Jesus in John 11:25: ‘Whoever believes in me, even if he die, shall live.’ Death, therefore, becomes not an end but a sleep from which the faithful are awakened in Christ.
To illustrate this confidence, Pacian turns to the patriarchs. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he reminds his hearers, are not lost in death but live with God, since God is ‘not of the dead but of the living’ (Luke 20:38). The apostle Paul himself longed for death, seeing it not as destruction but as gain, for it meant union with Christ (Philippians 1:21–23). Pacian sets this faith against the futility of placing hope in earthly life, which he describes as common even to beasts and birds. What is distinctively human, and what Christ grants uniquely through his Spirit, is eternal life—life that depends upon moral renewal and freedom from sin.
For Pacian, sin and death are inseparable. ‘The wages of sin is death,’ he recalls with Paul (Romans 6:23), whereas righteousness leads to life. Yet it is Christ alone who has destroyed the power of sin and death. Pacian cites Colossians 2:13–15, portraying Christ’s passion as the public triumph in which he bore our sins, nailed them to the cross, and stripped the hostile powers of their dominion. In this victory, Christ is the liberator who breaks chains, fulfilling the psalms: ‘The Lord frees those in shackles… You have destroyed my chains.’ (Psalm 146[145]:7; 116[115]:16)
Baptism, in Pacian’s vision, is the sacramental participation in this liberation. Through the waters, the believer is washed, forgiven, and incorporated into the immortal kingdom once for all. The language of finality is striking: ‘once’ recurs as a refrain, underlining both the sufficiency and the unrepeatable character of baptism. Having been cleansed, Christians are summoned to preserve their purity, to live as children who are spotless, awaiting the day of the Lord.
Pacian’s words affirm that eternal life is already given through Christ’s triumph, but they also remind the baptized that this gift must be safeguarded in daily living. Baptism is not the end of the Christian journey but its beginning, calling for perseverance, vigilance, and fidelity to the life of grace.
A Reading From The Sermon Of Saint Pacian On Baptism | Oh My God, Oh My Jesus | You Take Away Sin
As we have borne the image of the earthly man, so we shall bear the image of him who is from heaven; since the first man who came from the earth, is earthly, but the second man who came from heaven, is heavenly. And so, dearly beloved, we shall not die any more. Even if we fall asleep in this body, we shall live in Christ, as he said: Whoever believes in me, even if he die, shall live.
As the Lord is our witness, we are certain that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all saints of God are alive. For concerning them the Lord says: They are all alive. For God is a God of the living, not of the dead. And the Apostle says of himself: For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. I would rather die and be with Christ. And again: But while we are still in this body we are away from God, for we are guided by faith, and not by appearance. This is what we believe, dearest brothers. For the rest: If we place our hope in this world, we are the most miserable of men. Life in this world, whether it be that of beasts, wild animals or birds, as you yourself see, is either similar to ours or more tedious. What is peculiar to man, and what Christ gives through his Spirit, is eternal life, but only if we sin no more. Thus death is acquired by sin but avoided by right living; life is lost through sin and preserved through good living. The wages of sin is death; the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
It is Christ who redeemed us, as the Apostle says: Forgiving us all our sins and destroying what was recorded against us by disobedience, he bore our burden in public view, fixed it to the cross, stripped his own flesh, exposed the powers of this world and freely conquered them in himself. He released our shackles and destroyed our chains, as David had said: The Lord lifts up what has been torn down; the Lord frees those in shackles; the Lord gives light to the blind. And again: You have destroyed my chains; I will offer sacrifice to you with praise. And so when we come to the sign of the Lord in the sacrament of baptism we are freed of these chains and liberated by the blood of Christ and by his name.
Therefore, beloved, we are washed clean but once; we are freed only once; we are received into the immortal kingdom once and for all. Once and for all are they happy whose sins are forgiven and whose stains are blotted out. Hold fast to what you have received; preserve it joyfully; sin no more. Keep yourselves as children cleansed by that sacrament and made spotless for the day of the Lord.
Christian Prayer With Jesus Christ
Lord Jesus Christ, you broke the chains of sin and death upon the cross and set us free in the waters of baptism. Keep us faithful to the gift we have received, so that, washed clean once for all, we may walk in newness of life and remain spotless until the day of your coming. You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.
Glossary Of Christian Terms
Adam – In biblical thought, the first human, whose disobedience brought sin and death into the world (Genesis 3; Romans 5:12–19). In Christian theology, Adam represents humanity under sin.
Christ as the ‘second man’ – A title for Jesus, emphasising that where the first man, Adam, brought death, Christ brings eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:45–49).
‘Whoever believes in me…’ – A saying of Jesus (John 11:25), spoken at the tomb of Lazarus, proclaiming him as the source of resurrection and life.
God of the living – Phrase from Luke 20:38, stressing that the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) live with God beyond death.
The wages of sin – Expression from Romans 6:23: sin earns death, whereas God’s gift is eternal life through Christ.
Colossians 2:13–15 – Passage describing Christ’s cross as the place where he forgives sins, defeats hostile powers, and triumphs over them publicly.
Baptism – The sacrament by which Christians are washed from sin, reborn by the Spirit, and incorporated into Christ and his Church. For Pacian, baptism is unrepeatable and definitive.
Chains/shackles – Biblical images of captivity to sin or oppression, often used in the psalms (e.g. Psalm 146[145]:7). In baptism, Christ breaks these chains and grants freedom.
Once for all – Pacian emphasises that baptism is received only once, echoing Hebrews 9:26–28, where Christ’s sacrifice is also described as ‘once for all.’
Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan and Doctor of the Church, reflects on the soul’s journey toward God, urging believers to set their hearts on God alone. Echoing Christ’s teaching—’Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’ (Matthew 6:21)—Ambrose emphasizes that God, who never refuses good gifts, calls us to seek God with our whole being. This recalls the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-5), which commands love for God with all our heart, soul, and strength [ … ]
Christian Art | Our Lord Jesus On The Cross | God The Father | God The Son Office Of Readings | Advent December 23rd | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Hippolytus Against The Heresy Of Noetus | The Hidden Sacrament Is Revealed ‘The hidden sacrament is revealed.’ In this reading, Saint Hippolytus writes against the Noetic heresy, which denied the real distinction between the Father and the Son by treating them as the same person acting under different names. The purpose of Saint Hippolytus is to defend the Church’s confession of one God who is not solitary, but who exists with his Word and Spirit. Hippolytus begins by setting a principle: knowledge of God comes from the Holy Scriptures, not from speculation or private reasoning. Faith is not shaped by human preference but by what God has chosen to reveal. The Father determines how He is believed, the Son how He is glorified, and the Spirit how He is received. This establishes Scripture as the rule of faith and guards against theological invention. Hippolytus then affirms that God existed alone before creation, with nothing co-eternal alongside Him. At the same time, God was not without reason, wisdom, or power. Hippolytus insists that plurality within God does not compromise divine unity. God contains within himself Word, wisdom, and counsel. Creation begins when God wills and manifests His Word. The Word is not created from nothing but proceeds from God and acts as the agent of creation. The Word is first invisible to the created world, though known to God. When God chooses, He makes the Word visible, described as ‘Light of Light’. This language safeguards both distinction and unity: the Word comes from God and reveals God, without being separate from Him. The manifestation of the Word is ordered towards salvation, so that the world may see and be saved. Hippolytus identifies this Word clearly with the Son of God. Through him all things were made, and he alone comes forth from the Father. The Law and the prophets belong to the same saving plan. God speaks through them by the Holy Spirit, so that they proclaim not their own ideas but the Father’s will. Revelation is therefore coherent: creation, prophecy, and incarnation belong to one divine purpose. Hippolytus appeals to the Gospel of John to show continuity between prophecy and fulfilment. The Word spoken of by the prophets is the Word made flesh. Though the world was made through him, it failed to recognise him. This failure does not negate God’s plan but reveals the depth of the mystery now disclosed. A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Hippolytus Against The Heresy Of Noetus | The Hidden Sacrament Is Revealed There is, brethren, one God, the knowledge of whom we gain from the Holy Scriptures and from no other source. Whatever things the Holy Scriptures declare, at these let us look; and whatever they teach, let us learn it; and as the Father wills our belief to be, let us believe; and as he wills the Son to be glorified, let us glorify him; and as he wills the Holy Spirit to be bestowed, let us receive him. Not according to our own will, nor according to our own mind, nor yet storming by force the things which are given by God, but even as he has chosen to teach them by the Holy Scriptures, so let us discern them. God, subsisting alone, and having nothing coeval with himself, chose to create the world. And conceiving the world in mind, and willing and uttering the Word, he made it; and at once it appeared, formed it in the way he desired. For us it is sufficient simply to know that nothing was coeval with God. Outside him there was nothing; but he, while existing alone, yet existed in plurality. For he did not lack reason, or wisdom, or power, or counsel. All things were in him, and he was the All. At a time and in a manner chosen by him he made his Word manifest, and through his Word he made all things. He bears this Word in himself, as yet invisible to the created world. He makes him visible, uttering the voice first, and begetting him as Light of Light. He presents him to the world as its Lord; and whereas the Word was visible formerly to God alone, and invisible to the world which is made, God makes the Word visible in order that the world might see him and be able to be saved. This is the mind which came forth into the world and was manifested as the Son of God. All things came into being through him, and he alone comes from the Father. He gave us the Law and the prophets; and in giving them, he made them speak by the Holy Ghost, in order that, receiving the inspiration of the Father’s power, they might declare the Father’s counsel and will. Thus, then, was the Word made manifest, even as the blessed John says. For he sums up the things that were said by the prophets, and shows that this is the Word, by whom all things were made. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him, and without him nothing was made. And later, The world was made by him, and the world did not know him; he came to his own, and his own did not receive him. Christian Prayer With Jesus Lord God,You are one, and from You come the Word and the Spirit.You have chosen to make Yourself known, not by human effort,but by what You have revealed in the scriptures. You spoke Your Word, and all things were made.You made that Word visible, so that the world might see and be saved.Grant that we may receive what You give,believe what You teach,and worship You as You have shown Yourself to be. Keep us […]
‘O God and Heavenly Father, grant to us the serenity of mind to accept that which cannot be changed, courage to change that which can be changed, and wisdom to know the one from the other through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.’ Serenity Prayer [ … ]
