BAPTISM

Always when I meet with parents in preparation for a Baptism, I ask, “What are your dreams? What do you want for your child?” Their response, “a good education”, “a good career”, “to stay away from drugs and gangs”, “to know how much we love them”, “for them to be happy…fulfilled…the very best!” This is what God wants for us. Jesus tells us, “I came so that you might have abundant life.” This is what the Sacrament of Baptism is all about…the gift of abundant life…new life…in Christ.

The sacrament is filled with symbols of new life: water, which in ancient Israel ~ and today, a land which is mostly desert ~ meant life. Just as we enter our biological life by a mother’s breaking her water, so, too, we enter new life in Christ through the waters of Baptism. The white garment and the candle we receive, lit from the Paschal Candle, which represents the Light of Christ among us, also indicate a newness of life.

The sacrament begins with marking the sign of the cross on the child’s forehead, an invitation to join the community of faithful…to become an active member in the Catholic Church. That sign is also in thanksgiving for the blessing that this child is to us. Parents and Godparents are invited to make the sign on the child’s forehead, and to raise the child with love to affirm them of the blessing that they are.

Three times the child is marked with the sign of the cross. The second time is on the chest with Holy Oil, to make us evermore aware that we are protected, much like the steel armor of ancient knights. GOD IS WITH US, and therefore WE NEED NOT FEAR. The demon of this Original Sin is vanquished ~ if we live this sacrament! Lastly, the child is marked on the forehead once more, this time with the Oil of Chrism, the same oil that is used to anoint the hands of priests. All who are baptized are anointed to be Priest, Prophet, and King or Queen.

To be a priest, as Jesus showed us the night before he died, is to get on our knees to wash each other’s feet…to humbly serve one another. To be a prophet is to proclaim the Word of God, but before we can proclaim it, we must take time…to listen to it…in silence. God’s own prayer to us says, “Be still and know that I Am God” (Psalm 46). “Be still” means put away all our thoughts and plans and fears, to simply be aware that we are in the presence of the Holy Presence. Once we have heard God’s Word, we cannot contain it….but must proclaim it, and as St. Francis of Assisi said, “to use words only if necessary”. To be a king or queen says that we are more than mere hired workers for God’s peaceable kingdom; we are heirs. This is our world…our Church. Thus, we are commissioned to act as owners and not mere tenants…much as we would with our home or a family business…to take proprietary interest.

The candle we receive calls US to be the Light of Christ, and parents are directed to guard and nurture this holy light in their child…by the way they model their faith. (I always recommend to parents that they celebrate each anniversary of this new life in Christ just like a birthday.) Sadly, all too often, parents seem to be more interested in the festivity after the Baptism than the meaning and responsibilities of this new life. This is not meant as a comment on the goodness of these parents, but simply in how they live their faith; and not to judge but to do everything possible to help them truly encounter Christ.

When I was pastor and met parents who were not active in the Church but nonetheless wanted to baptize their child, I would ask them, “Why do you want to baptize your child?” They would say, “Because we are Catholics.” “Why do you believe you are Catholic if you are not active in the Church?” “Because we were baptized Catholic.” Typically the one who is less active (perhaps more resistant to practicing the faith) is the father. Sometimes I would ask them, “Did you ever play sports when you were young? Did you belong to a team?” “Yes.” “Are you still a member of that team?” They would laugh, “Father, that was a long time ago.” “What makes you think that you are still a member of Christ’s team if you do not practice with that team, you do not ‘play’ with that team, you do not celebrate with that team, you do nothing to support it?”

They would shrug, perhaps pensive, perhaps unmoved. Many would often say, “I don’t really need to be at Church. God is with me wherever I am.” I could not agree more that God is always with us. But it was Christ who founded His Church, and wants us to gather as a family to grow in our relationship with one another and with God.

I would ask the parents if they wanted their child, in time, to learn how to play soccer would it be enough to simply buy them a ball and have them practice at home, or would they put the child on a team? Would they register the child only to receive a jersey and never return to practice or play? Would they register their child for school and expect a diploma without ever attending classes? And if so, what would the jersey or diploma mean in helping the child to be the best soccer player, the best student?

I wish I could say that this engagement persuaded many parents to become more active in their faith. The reality is that most baptized their child and would not return for a number of years until it would be time to receive another sacrament. But sacraments are NOT received, they are actualized. Perhaps there is a lesson here for all of us: if we don’t practice what we believe, we soon believe what we practice...and faith becomes a meaningless tradition. We end up losing the gift of new life. Baptism, and each sacrament, is an invitation to enter new life in Christ… to be Christ-like…but only if they are lived. Only then do we have the happy, abundant life we and God desire.