Throughout my priesthood, I’ve found great joy in the celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism. Some of my fondest memories have come through this beautiful Sacrament. In one case, the child to be baptized would light up in a big, contagious smile every time I looked at him, which made it hard to continue the ritual without breaking out in laughter. A couple other times, I had the opportunity to bring entire families into the Church, including baptising all their children. It truly has been a joy for my priesthood.
It’s good to reflect on the experience of the Sacrament of Baptism in our lives. Do we remember the date of our baptisms? Have we heard stories of our own baptisms as infants, or do you remember the event if you were baptized at a later age? Do we ever stop and think about the importance of the Sacrament in our lives, not just at the moment of baptism but throughout our life’s journey?
This weekend is a great time to think about that event. Each and every one of us have received powerful and amazing gifts through the Sacrament, but do we recognize them? There is an unfortunate trend to view the Sacrament as something you have to do after having a child, sometimes due to the “encouragement” of grandparents. Others seem to view baptism as an elaborate initiation ritual, done to initiate the child into the Church, but has no further effect or responsibilities.
Of course, baptism is considered one of the Sacraments of Initiation. It is how we became Christians, followers of Our Lord Jesus Christ and members of His Body here on earth. It is an important event, and one we shouldn’t take likely. It is also a great moment of joy, worth celebrating and remembering.
However, it’s not a stand-alone event to be celebrated, then forgotten. At the moment of our baptisms, we were renewed, made new by the grace of Christ. As we entered the waters of baptism, we died to the old, and we rose out of the waters to the new. No longer would original sin cut us off from God, but now the gates of Heaven were opened to us! A laudable practice would be to celebrate the anniversary of baptism out of gratitude for this great gift from God.
This feast of the Baptism of the Lord is also a great reminder to us of the need to renew ourselves in our baptismal promises. For most of us, these promises were made on our behalf by our parents and godparents. Fortunately, we’ve been given opportunities since then to renew those promises and make that choice for ourselves. These promises are simple: reject Satan and sin, and embrace and follow the Triune God and His Church. They really are a call to being a disciple of Christ with our very lives.
