|
Pope Benedict XVI- Homilies |
 "Parents Thus Become Collaborators of God"
Homily
on Feast of Christ's Baptism
H.H. Benedict XVI
January 13, 2008
www.zenit.org
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today's celebration is always a cause of special joy for me.
Indeed, the administration of the sacrament of baptism on the
feast of the Baptism of the Lord is one of the most expressive
moments of our faith, in which we can almost see the mystery of
life through the signs of the liturgy.
In the first place, there is human life. It is represented here
in particular by these 13 children who are the fruit of your
love, dear parents, to whom I address my cordial greeting, which
I extend to the godparents and the other relatives and friends
present.
Then comes the mystery of divine life which God gives to these
little ones today through rebirth in water and the Holy Spirit.
God is life, as some of the pictures that embellish this Sistine
Chapel marvelously evoke.
Yet it does not seem out of place if we immediately juxtapose
the experience of life with the opposite experience, that is,
the reality of death. Sooner or later everything that begins on
earth comes to its end, like the meadow grass that springs up in
the morning and by evening has wilted.
In baptism, however, the tiny human being receives a new life,
the life of grace, which enables him or her to enter into a
personal relationship with the Creator forever, for the whole of
eternity.
Unfortunately, human beings are capable of extinguishing this
new life with their sin, reducing themselves to being in a
situation which sacred Scripture describes as "second death."
Whereas for other creatures who are not called to eternity,
death means solely the end of existence on earth, in us sin
creates an abyss in which we risk being engulfed forever unless
the Father who is in Heaven stretches out his hand to us.
This, dear brothers and sisters, is the mystery of baptism: God
desired to save us by going to the bottom of this abyss himself
so that every person, even those who have fallen so low that
they can no longer perceive Heaven, may find God's hand to cling
to and rise from the darkness to see once again the light for
which he or she was made.
Yearning for true life
We all feel, we all inwardly comprehend that our existence is a
desire for life which invokes fullness and salvation. This
fullness is given to us in baptism.
We have just heard the account of the baptism of Jesus in the
Jordan. It was a different baptism from that which these babies
are about to receive but is deeply connected with it. Basically,
the whole mystery of Christ in the world can be summed up in
this term: "baptism," which in Greek means "immersion."
The Son of God, who from eternity shares the fullness of life
with the Father and the Holy Spirit, was "immersed" in our
reality as sinners to make us share in his own life: He was
incarnate, he was born like us, he grew up like us and, on
reaching adulthood, manifested his mission which began precisely
with the "baptism of conversion" administered by John the
Baptist.
Jesus' first public act, as we have just heard, was to go down
into the Jordan, mingling among repentant sinners, in order to
receive this baptism. John was naturally reluctant to baptize
him, but because this was the Father's will, Jesus insisted (cf.
Matthew 3:13-15).
Why, therefore, did the Father desire this? Was it because he
had sent his only-begotten Son into the world as the Lamb to
take upon himself the sins of the world (cf. John 1:29)?
The Evangelist recounts that when Jesus emerged from the waters,
the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove, while
the Father's voice from heaven proclaimed him "my beloved Son in
whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17).
From that very moment, therefore, Jesus was revealed as the one
who came to baptize humanity in the Holy Spirit: He came to give
men and women life in abundance (cf. John 10:10), eternal life,
which brings the human being back to life and heals him
entirely, in body and in spirit, restoring him to the original
plan for which he was created.
The purpose of Christ's existence was precisely to give humanity
God's life and his Spirit of love so that every person might be
able to draw from this inexhaustible source of salvation. This
is why St. Paul wrote to the Romans that we were baptized into
the death of Christ in order to have his same life as the Risen
One (cf. Romans 6:3-4).
Fullness only God can give
For this reason Christian parents, such as you today, bring
their children to the baptismal font as soon as possible,
knowing that life which they have communicated calls for a
fullness, a salvation that God alone can give. And parents thus
become collaborators of God, transmitting to their children not
only physical but also spiritual life.
Dear parents, I thank the Lord with you for the gift of these
children and I invoke his assistance so that he may help you to
raise them and incorporate them into the spiritual Body of the
Church.
As you offer them what they need for their growth and salvation
may you always be committed, helped by their godparents, to
developing in them faith, hope and charity, the theological
virtues proper to the new life given to them in the sacrament of
baptism.
You will guarantee this by your presence and your affection; you
will guarantee it first of all and above all by prayer,
presenting them daily to God and entrusting them to him in every
season of their life.
If they are to grow healthy and strong, these babies will of
course need both material care and many other kinds of
attention; yet, what will be most necessary to them, indeed
indispensable, will be to know, love and serve God faithfully in
order to have eternal life.
Dear parents, may you be for them the first witnesses of an
authentic faith in God!
In the Rite of Baptism there is an eloquent sign that expresses
precisely the transmission of faith. It is the presentation to
each of those being baptized of a candle lit from the flame of
the Easter candle: It is the light of the risen Christ, which
you will endeavor to pass on to your children.
Thus, from one generation to the next, we Christians transmit
Christ's light to one another in such a way that when he returns
he may find us with this flame burning in our hands.
During the Rite I shall say to you: "Parents and godparents,
this light is entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly."
Dear brothers and sisters, always feed the flame of the faith by
listening to and meditating on the Word of God and assiduous
communion with Jesus in the Eucharist.
May you be assisted in this marvelous if far from easy role by
the holy protectors after whom these 13 children will be named.
Above all, may these saints help those being baptized to
reciprocate your loving care as Christian parents.
May the Virgin Mary in particular accompany both them and you,
dear parents, now and forever. Amen!
[Translation by L'Osservatore Romano. Text adapted]
Look
at the One they Pierced!
This page is the work of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
Mary
|
