An Opportunity and a Responsibility
One of the ministries I am blessed to participate in as a Deacon at St. Rose is that of preparing parents and godparents to have their little ones baptized into our Catholic faith. Additionally, I often am entrusted with the responsibility of presiding at the baptisms. How wonderful it is to be able to share in this intimate moment in a family’s life as well as welcome the newly baptized child into the People of God.
Almost without exception, one of the comments I make to the parents and godparents as well as those gathered with them is that we are NOT baptizing the child into St. Rose of Lima Church. The child becomes a member of this parish when the parents give notification to the parish secretary of their desire to have the newly baptized child listed as a member at St. Rose. The next statement I make is that, by virtue of this celebration, we are baptizing the baby into the Church that has four clearly identifiable marks. I then ask, what are those marks?
In most cases, they have a little bit of trouble either understanding what I am asking or what the four marks actually are. I try to give them a clue by stating that we actually recite those four marks in the Creed we profess at Mass every Sunday. Would you be able to answer that question? If not, let me help you out. When we baptize babies, teens, or adults, we baptize them into the Church we publicly profess to be “One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.” So, all baptisms are a celebration involving the universal and worldwide Church – the only Church identified so clearly and distinctly. And with that baptism, there comes both an Opportunity and a Responsibility.
What is the Opportunity? First and foremost is the identification with the Triune family of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is why we mark ourselves with the Sign of the Cross: the recognition that at baptism, one becomes part of the Divine life that is the Trinity and is incorporated into the threefold ministry of Christ as Priest, Prophet, and King. One now has the opportunity and the blessing of participating in the Sacramental life of the Church. As the Body of Christ, all the baptized have the opportunity to be nurtured in their life of faith by the one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic community to which they now belong. Catholics are a communion; we are not “lone rangers” seeking to find our own way.
What is the Responsibility? It must be said that the primary responsibility of each of the People of God is to strive to maintain the unity of the beautiful faith we profess, the faith by which we continue Jesus’ ministry on earth and to do so as ONE. By virtue of baptism, one becomes the answer to Jesus’ prayer spoken the night before He died: “Father, may they (we) be one as You and I are one.” (John 17:21)
Each of us baptized into the Catholic faith have the serious responsibility of being HOLY. This is a word we use often, but do we really understand what it means to us as baptized Catholics? No, we are not sinless. That is not what holy means in this context. Instead, it means we are set apart; set apart by the visible love we have, not only for each other, but for all who cross our path.
The Church is CATHOLIC, or universal – not the Church only for a select few, but for all of humanity. And baptism imparts a responsibility to live the Catholic faith in such a way as to make it inviting, joyful, and powerfully grace-filled. Scripture says to be always ready to give a reason for the hope that we have. (1 Peter 3:15)
One of the greatest responsibilities we have as baptized Catholics is to proclaim and demonstrate that the Catholic Church is rooted in the Apostles. We have a serious obligation to speak, live, and adhere to the Scriptures and the Tradition of the Church. In the Bishops and the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, the unity of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church is maintained and professed.
How wonderfully powerful the sacrament of baptism is and its intrinsic ties to the very heartbeat of the Church and the four marks that identify her.
Deacon John Murrell