Baptism

Our Lifelong Call

by Nicholas Lohkamp, O.F.M. Do you know the date of your Baptism? It was the most important day of your life! In this Update well take a closer look at the mystery of our baptismal calling. Well look first at being loved into e isting !creation". #hen well e plore what it means to be loved into being$in$%hrist !through water and the &pirit". 'inally well consider( in greater detail( how we are called( through our Baptism( to live the life )od wants for us.

A mystery of love
*ver my long life+I was born in ,-./+little by little( by grace and e perience( through teaching and study( I have come to believe in the depth and wonder of the mystery of my baptismal calling. It is a mystery that defines me( marks me( purges me( penetrates me( and transforms me to the depth of my being. 0y Baptism shapes who I am and the way I try to live. 'or me( and for everyone( it all starts with )od. #hrough faith I know I am loved by )od. 1verything flows from this. I dont understand it( and I surely dont deserve it! But thats why I am a %atholic2 to become more and more caught up in the love of )od( the 3oly #rinity. Did you ever get on your knees before a little child? )od+'ather( &on and &pirit+abides in and continually loves each little child. 3ow precious and sacred that child! #hrough Baptism I( too( have become a child of )od. 4ike everyone else( I take )ods love for granted. We forget the gentle and creative power of the 'athers love. We presume 5esus will continue to be merciful and compassionate to us. &adly( we easily take for granted the abiding presence and activity of the 3oly &pirit in our lives. 6et we are loved by )od( in every moment( in every way! We dont earn the love of )od. #hrough grace( it is freely and mysteriously given! 1verything good in our lives( in the world( is a gift of )od. Without )ods love( we are nothing( and I am nothing. We can do nothing good. We cannot live( we cannot love. #hats why gratitude is at the heart of being a %atholic. *nce we reali7e how little we can be without )od( we can only be thankful. Baptism means I am Christened. I am plunged into the mystery of 5esus. I cant fully imagine what that means. 8aul puts it clearly2 9I live( no longer I( but %hrist lives in me: !)al .2.;". %hristening is not <ust some nice social event. It is )ods work. It defines who I am2 a %hristian. %hristening describes how I live( following 5esus. %hristening challenges me to be true to my calling. It challenges me to follow 5esus daily with the help of the &pirit( to live every day to the glory of the 'ather( to live every day as a member of the %hurch( thus( to be a %atholic.

Jesus: fully human, fully divine

*ur Baptism puts us in touch with 5esus( the Word made flesh( the incarnate e pression of )ods love. #he 'ather so loved the world that he gave us his son that we might have life through him. 5esus became human= and he is our )od. 5esus is( precisely as human( the way( the truth( the life. 5esus is my way to live and find )od. 5esus is the truth of who I am( and who I am called to become. 5esus is my very life. 3e shows me how to live as a son of )od. 8ut simply( 5esus is my all.

I paid little attention to the humanness of 5esus before ,->/. I was striving to lead a 9spiritual: life. I wanted to cultivate and save my 9soul: by performing 9spiritual e ercises.: #o be human was a bother= it always got in the way. I thought to be pleasing to )od I had to renounce my humanness. ?ow I know how false that is. 5esus is fully human. 0y humanness is modeled on his. I was created in him( through him and for him !%ol ,2,>". When I fail to appreciate my humanness( I fail to grow and become more human. I fail to follow 5esus. I fail in my ability to love as 3e does. ?o wonder I cant find my way to the 'ather! In denying my humanness I hinder my spiritual growth as a %atholic. #o be a %atholic is to seek to become fully human. @s &t. Irenaeus said in the early %hurch( 9#he glory of )od is the human person fully alive.: It is 5esus( as human( who helps me become ever more human( and therein to discover the mystery of my calling to share divine life. 5esus( as human( is the primary sacrament. In becoming human( 5esus is )od$with$us. 5esus as human( as son of 0ary( reveals outwardly the inward mystery2 3e is also &on of )od. 3is humanness is the outward sign of inward grace2 his divinity. #hat is the nature of a sacrament. It is an outward !creaturely( human" sign of inward grace. #he very life of the %hurch( the mystical body of %hrist( shares in this sacramental mystery. #he %hurch is the outward sign of 5esus dwelling in our hearts and midst( enlivening us and drawing us into every greater unity as 8eople of )od.

A sacramental life
#he %hurch( the body of %hrist( bears new children of )od through water and the &pirit. #his sign of Baptism has been a key part of the %hurch from the beginning. Bapti7ed and confirmed in the &pirit( I am led to the altar to celebrate the mystery of the death and resurrection of 5esus. #hus( to be a %atholic is to be eucharistic in who I am and in the way I live. Baptism( %onfirmation and 1ucharist initiate me ever more deeply into this mystery of sharing in the life and mission of 5esus. In Baptism I became holy( but not completely so. I am still a sinner. I am gradually healed and reconciled with )od and )ods people. I grow in holiness through the &acrament of Aeconciliation. I am comforted and strengthened in sickness and old age through the &acrament of @nointing. #hrough 0arriage( the %hurch lives as a sign of unity that bears life. #hrough *rdination( the %hurch calls forth deacons( priests and bishops to help order our life and worship. #o be %atholic means that life( in its entirety( is sacramental. *ur sacramental life includes not only the %hurch and the seven sacraments( but all the sacramentals( such as crucifi es( statues( sign of the cross( candles( and lots of other %atholic practices. 1ach of them helps us to make the connection between our incarnate lives and the life of )od. In a wider sense( I am beginning to see every creature in the universe as a 9sacrament(: as a little brother and sister revealing to me in wondrous ways something of the mystery of )od( something of the glory( beauty and power of )od.

Living our Baptism

In a special way( to be %atholic is to be eucharistic. #he 1ucharist is the very heart and center of %atholic life and activity. In the 1ucharist the grace of my baptismal calling deepens and grows. In the 1ucharist we hear the )ood ?ews of )ods saving love( we try to take it to heart and we seek to live it out. I then <oin+as one of )ods people+with 5esus and all others to share in the death and resurrection of 5esus= I <oin with all people and all of creation to offer the eucharistic sacrifice. In union with 5esus( the whole %hurch( the whole world( I want to say yes to the 'ather. I want to deliver my whole self( my whole life and all my activity into the hands of the 'ather. I dare to believe that( in this way( I will share more fully the resurrection of 5esus. #hus( raised to new life( I come to new and holy communion.

'lowing from the 1ucharist( our mission is clear and urgent2 to live the gospel in daily life( to leaven our world with loving and <ust deeds( to become instruments of peace in our world of conflict and division. 0y calling( my mission( is to promote unity( to become an instrument of peace. 5esus gave us the command to love everyone( without e ception( even our enemies. 3e called us to love one another as he loves us. 4ove is the only power that binds people together in unity. #he night before he died 5esus prayed2 9. . . that they may all be one( as you( 'ather( are in me and I in you( that they also may be in us.. .:!5n ,B2.,". It is love( only love( that binds us together as one. *f course this love is not <ust a make$believe word. #his love treats every person with respect( and condemns all racism and ineCuality. #his love treats every person in a pure and holy manner( and condemns all se ual abuse. #his love demands <ustice for everyone( and condemns all in<ustice and oppression. #his love is e pressed in deed and in truth( and condemns all deceit and dishonesty. #his is the love of 5esus. #his is our baptismal and eucharistic mission. *ur unity( which we pray for and e press at each 1ucharist as )ods people( is the will of )od. 1verything in our moral and spiritual life is measured by this. @ll grace moves us to greater unity= all sin tears us apart and divides us.

Relationships of love
8erson( relationships( unity2 these are my life. @nd this is how I am called to live. I am to become a uniCue and mature person. I learn to relate to other persons in a real( loving( constructive way. #hus( I am to build community. In brief( this is how I am to live as a %atholic. #his is the way I grow in my moral( spiritual life. #his calling can( in one sense( be thought of as three callings2 Call to freedom. @s %atholics we are children of )od. We are initiated into the 8assover mystery of 5esus. We pass over from darkness into the light( from death to life( from slavery to freedom. In 5esus we are called to freedom. &t. 8aul writes2 9'or you were called for freedomD But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh= rather( serve one another through love. 'or the whole law is fulfilled in one statement( namely( E6ou shall love your neighbor as yourself: !)al /2,F$,G". It is not easy to grow in freedom( especially in these Hnited &tates. 3ere freedom is often viewed as license to do whatever you feel like. @s a %atholic I am called to become free so I can love( so I can give myself in loving service to others( so I can love unselfishly. I am not 9born free:= I am born with the capacity to become free. It takes grace and a lot of hard work to become free( to become a mature person( so that I can love as 5esus does. Call to conversion. If I am to walk in the footsteps of 5esus( if I am to live out my baptismal calling( I must continually change for the better. I must grow. I must daily change my mind and heart and believe the )ood ?ews !0k ,2,/". I must continually seek to change my evil ways= I must change my good ways to better ways. I must live a life of gospel penance !conversion". Daily conversion means( first of all( believing more and more in )ods love( trusting in this love( living in this love. I am not there yet. Im on the way. Daily I need to grow. In Baptism I am washed clean. But I live in a world marked by evil= I e perience all sorts of inclinations to evil= I do evil= I commit sin. &o I must struggle to follow 5esus. I need the grace of the &pirit to overcome evil and make good choices. I am called to enter daily into the dying of 5esus( so as to share ever more in his risen life. 4ittle by little I become holy( more and more alive in 5esus. I grow in responding to the grace of the 3oly &pirit. I grow in making good choices( seeking the 'athers will in my daily life.

0y conversion takes on flesh and blood in my daily life( in my daily choices. When I am thoughtful and considerate to my brother or sister( I am responding to )ods love. When I visit someone in the hospital I am responding to )ods love. When I pay my bills( or respect my neighbor( I am responding to )ods love. 5esus put it simply2 9What you do to one another( you do to me: !see 0t ./2F,$G>". Call to suffer. #here is suffering in my life( in everyones life. 8aul says we are 9always carrying about in the body the dying of 5esus( so that the life of 5esus may also be manifested in our body. 'or we who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of 5esus( so that the life of 5esus may be manifested in our mortal flesh: !. %or G2,;$,,". @s a %atholic I must come to grips with the mystery of suffering. 8ain( sickness( suffering and death are in my life= the result of sin and the limitations of creaturely e istence. I am confused and uncertain as to the meaning of suffering( or how I can deal with it. But( as a %atholic( I believe I can deal with the mystery of suffering in union with 5esus. @s 8aul says( 9'or to you has been granted( for the sake of %hrist( not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him: !8hil ,2.-". I was bapti7ed into the death and resurrection of 5esus. #his mystery of the death and resurrection of 5esus is caught up in the sacrifice of the 0ass. I come to believe that in 5esus my sufferings( the sufferings of all people( the sufferings of all creation are caught up in the death and resurrection of 5esus. In 5esus( my sufferings become redemptive. In union with 5esus my sufferings have a meaning and contribute to the mission of 5esus2 the salvation of the world( the coming of )ods Iingdom.

A new vision
@s a person who lived as an adult through Jatican II( my life is split in two! In my first G; years I was a person of 9law and order.: I tried to be good= I tried to obey the law. I was oblivious of my Baptism and its conseCuences. #o be a %atholic meant 0ass( %onfession( and no meat on 'ridays and during 4ent. I didnt really know who I was. In the past G; years I have tried to take to heart the words of Jatican II. #hey wrote2 9*ur understanding of morality !%hristian living" must be renewed. #his demands a return to &cripture. #here we will discover the nobility of our !baptismal" vocation in %hrist and our conseCuent obligation to live in love for the life of the world: !see Church in the Modern World". We as %atholics have a wholly renewed sense of who we are as people( and how we should live as %atholics. Its a breath of fresh air( but its also Cuite a challenge! 5esus is the heart of life. 5esus is at the heart of every person( every thing. 5esus is at the heart of every relationship( every e perience of community. 5esus is at the heart of every event( every e perience. *nly through the 9eyes of faith(: as &t. #homas @Cuinas said( are we able to see this( to e perience 5esus in every human e perience. 3e is ever there loving and calling us into deeper union and greater love of neighbor. #he way we choose to respond to the call of every situation is the way we respond to 5esus. 8aul says we must 9live in a manner worthy of the call you have received: !1ph G2,". #o live 9in %hrist 5esus: every day( through the grace of our Baptism( is( in every way( to be a %atholic. Nicholas Lohkamp, O.F.M., holds a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Catholic Uni ersity of !merica. "a ing ta#ght theology at colleges and grad#ate schools, he is c#rrently chaplain for the $oor Clare Sisters at Sancta Clara Monastery in Canton, Ohio.