El Colacho: Corpus Christi and the Devil’s Leap

May 30, 2013 By 1 Comment

Corpus Christi Procession – Painting by Carl Emil Doepler

If you are a baby in the town of Castrillo de Murcia, near Burgos, Spain, LOOK OUT!

Around the world, Catholics and some other Christians celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi two weeks after Pentecost, the Sunday following Trinity Sunday on the liturgical calendar. This year, the feast will be celebrated in the United States on Sunday, June 2.

On the feast, which is also called the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Catholics honor Christ fully present, Body and Blood, in the Eucharist. Many parishes have Corpus Christi processions, carrying the Blessed Sacrament through the streets in a monstrance. Following the procession, the faithful gather in the church for Benediction and Eucharistic adoration.

But the town of Castrillo de Murcia celebrates Corpus Christi with a tradition of their own: Baby jumping.

In a tradition dating back to 1620, parents dress up their infants and bring them to the town square, where the babies are placed on a mattress on the ground. Then a man, costumed in a yellow jumpsuit with red trim (symbolizing the devil) and brandishing a whip and a baton, gets off to a running start and LEAPS over the mattress full of babies. The Brotherhood of Santísimo Sacramento de Minerva, which organizes the festivities, chases people around the town throughout the day.


According to tradition, the “devil’s leap”—or “El Colacho,” as it is called in Spain—cleanses the babies of original sin, putting them on a path to a good life and entrance into heaven. Sin is driven from the infants and from the whole town.

Although there are no known reports of injuries caused by falling “devils,” the festival is considered one of the most dangerous in the world. In recent years, Pope Benedict has asked Spanish priests to distance themselves from El Colacho, and to downplay the tradition’s connection with Catholicism. The Church still teaches that it is baptism by water, not a giant leap by an airborne devil, which cleanses the soul of original sin.

Filed Under: Baptism Tagged With: , , , 1 Comment

Protesters Strip in St. Peter’s Square; Pope Stays on Target

January 14, 2013 By 1 Comment

Four women from the Ukrainian feminist group Femen shed their shirts and bared their breasts during Pope Benedict’s Sunday audience in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, January 13; but the pontiff remained unruffled, delivering a beautiful reflection on the sacrament of Baptism.

The women had painted “In Gay We Trust” and “Shut Up” on their bodies, protesting against the Catholic Church and its stand on homosexuality.

Their protest was cut short, though; as Vatican security officials led the four away, the Pope told thousands of pilgrims gathered in a light rain in St. Peter’s Square to “contemplate our share in the divine life through the gift of the Holy Spirit in the waters of Baptism.”

Earlier in the Sistine Chapel, Pope Benedict had celebrated the traditional liturgy for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, baptizing twenty infants. In his Angelus address, he encouraged all Christians to rediscover the beauty of being born again from above, from the love of God, and to live as a child of God.

Following is Vatican Radio’s unofficial translation of the Pope’s beautiful Angelus address:

Dear brothers and sisters!

This Sunday after the Epiphany ends the liturgical season of Christmas time: time of light, the light of Christ, as new sun appearing on the horizon of humanity, dispels the darkness of evil and ignorance. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus: the Child, the son of the Virgin, whom we contemplated in the mystery of his birth, we see today an adult emerging himself in the waters of the Jordan River, thus sanctifying the waters and the entire cosmos – as evidenced by the Eastern tradition.

But why did Jesus, in whom there was no shadow of sin, go to be baptized by John? Because he wanted to make that gesture of penance and conversion, along with so many people who wanted to prepare for the coming of the Messiah? That gesture – which marks the beginning of Jesus’ public life, takes the same line of the Incarnation, of God’s descent from the highest to the abyss of hell.

The meaning of this downward movement of God can be summed up in one word: love, which is the name of God. The Apostle John writes: “In this was manifested the love of God in us, that God sent into the world his only Son so that we might live through him” and He sent him” as a victim of expiation for our sins “(1 Jn 4.9 to 10). That is why the first public act of Jesus was His baptism by John, who, seeing him, said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29).

The Evangelist Luke recounts that when Jesus once baptised, “was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit in a bodily shape like a dove descended upon him, and a voice came from heaven: “You are the Son my beloved, in you I am well pleased ‘”(3:21-22).

This Jesus is the Son of God who is totally immersed in the will of the Father’s love. This Jesus is the One who died on the cross and resurrected by the power of the same Spirit that now rests upon Him, and consecrates him. This Jesus is the new man who wants to live as a son of God, that is in love; the man who, in the face of evil in the world, chooses the path of humility and responsibility, chooses not to save himself but give his own life for truth and justice.

Being Christian means living like this, but this kind of life involves a rebirth: reborn from above, from God, by grace. This rebirth is Baptism, which Christ has given to the Church to regenerate men to new life. An ancient text attributed to St. Hippolytus says: “Who enters with faith in this bath of rebirth, renounces the devil and sides with Christ, denies the enemy and recognizes that Christ is God, is stripped of slavery and is clothed in filial adoption “(Discourse on the epiphany, 10: PG 10, 862).

According to tradition, this morning I had the joy of baptising a large group of children who were born in the last three or four months. At this time I would like to extend my prayer and my blessing to all newborns, but especially encourage everyone to make a memorial of his or her own Baptism, to the spiritual rebirth that has opened the way to eternal life. May every Christian, in this Year of Faith, rediscover the beauty of being born again from above, from the love of God, and live as a child of God.

Filed Under: Baptism, Catholic, Feminism, Pope Benedict XVI 1 Comment

The Essential Pregnancy Companion for Catholic Moms

October 21, 2012 By 3 Comments

Elizabeth Scalia called her a “tiny, dynamic ball of energy smarts”; and so she is.  Sarah Reinhard—Catholic author extraordinaire, wife and mother of three—blows into a room laughing and pouting and ad libbing and telling mommy stories, and you are captured by her wit and her self-deprecating humor.  I’ve met Sarah a few times at Catholic Writers Guild conferences; but last August I really got to watch her in action when we, both in Texas for the Catholic New Media Conference, found ourselves at the same house party.

So when I was asked to review Sarah’s newest book, A Catholic Mother’s Companion to Pregnancy: Walking with Mary from Conception to Baptism, I was excited.  I mean, we are both Catholic; we’d both birthed three children—it’d be a piece of cake!

The day I called Sarah for the interview, she was surrounded by Small People who were doing what children do:  crowding underfoot, playing with toys, enjoying their day.  Sarah was unruffled, balancing between Mommy Sarah and Writer Sarah, and we got to the business of swapping stories.

A Catholic Mother’s Companion to Pregnancy is a week-by-week tour; but it’s hardly a medical text.  Instead, Sarah and her various contributors explain what the developing fetus looks like at each week along the development continuum:  like a pinto bean, a large lime, a peach, a Cabbage Patch doll….  More important, though, these experienced moms dole out solid advice on the issues expectant families must face:  the surprise of the unintended pregnancy; when to announce you’re pregnant; who should join you for the labor and delivery (Sarah insists that only her husband can share that intimate experience of welcoming a new life); naming your child; big families (and the joy of mothering many). and so much more.  Pregnancy is a great mystery; and on the road to labor and delivery, Sarah draws wisdom from the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, Mary, leading the reader on a great mystery tour, offering reflections on each mystery of the Rosary.  Each chapter ends with a prayer, and Sarah hopes that the reader will “pray along and even personalize, so that you’ll grow deeper in faith as your baby grows inside of you.”

The spiritual focus continues in section two, which addresses labor and delivery.  Sarah’s real-life experience passing through this difficult time makes her an expert in finding a comfortable position, preparing mentally, enlisting (and accepting) help when needed, the importance of sleep, and more.  But again, it’s the spiritual tools she offers which make this book stand out among pregnancy and birth self-help books.

There were two themes which I especially want to mention:  (1) the sadness of loss, and (2) the joy of Baptism.

Sarah had never personally experienced the loss of a pregnancy, but she enlisted guest contributors who helped mothers through the difficulties which occasionally beset the expectant mother:  Miscarriage  (by Mary deTurris Poust), Coming to Terms with a Baby Who Might Not Live (Jane Lebak), When Labor Doesn’t Go as Expected (Dorian Speed), and Finding Peace in Stillbirth (Karen Murphy Corr).

And the inclusion of Baptism (there’s an entire section on planning for the baby’s christening day, when he or she is welcomed into God’s family) is just the pièce de résistance:  a beautiful finale to the nine months of waiting and worrying and planning.

If you’re expecting your first child or your fifth, if you’re hoping to have a child, if your daughter or your friend or your co-worker is pregnant, this book is for you.  It’s Sarah’s hope that  you’ll grow in faith and holiness as you work your way through the book; and I’m pretty confident that will be your experience.

If you get to the end and you can’t get enough of Sarah’s grace-filled writing, check out her blog, snoringscholar.com.  It’s not too late to participate in the Sarah Reinhard Blog Tour (October 6-26), where you have a chance to win a Nook tablet!

Filed Under: Babies, Baptism, Books, Family, Prayer Tagged With: , , 3 Comments
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