Pope calls on Christians to "renew" grace of Baptism, which unites us to Jesus and gives hope on road to salvation
Vatican City ( AsiaNews) - In Baptism "we are immersed in the inexhaustible source of life that is the death of Jesus" and this is why the first sacrament "is not just a formality", a rite for the naming of a child but "an act which deeply touches our lives . A child who is baptized is not the same as a non- baptized child, a baptized person is not the same as a non-baptized person".
Renewing the grace of Baptism, by which "we can live a new life, no longer at the mercy of evil, sin and death, but in communion with God and with our brothers " was the theme of Pope Francis' General Audience the first of the New Year, together with 50 thousand people present in St Peter's Square. As is tradition the Pope made a lengthy tour of St Peter's Square, stopping to pick up a priest whom he probably recognised and making him accompany him on the jeep to the steps of the raised dais before the façade of St. Peters, where Pope Francis alighted. There, before the beginning of the audience there was a brief display by circus performers.
With today's audience, the Pope
announced the beginning of a series of catechesis dedicated to the sacraments,
the first of which is dedicated to Baptism, "the sacrament on which our
faith is founded, to engages us as living members in
Christ and in his Church. Together with Communion and Confirmation it forms so-called
"Christian Initiation ", which is like one big sacramental event that
configures us to God and makes us a living sign of His presence and His love".
The
Pope then once again asked those present if they remembered the date of their
baptism and gave them a piece of advice.
Or rather a "task". He asked them to look up the date of their Baptism
when they go home today, "ask what the date of your Baptism was and thus you
will know the date of this beautiful day". "Because this means knowing the date of a
beautiful day".
"Many of us - he continued - have not the slightest recollection of the celebration of this sacrament , and it is obvious, if we were baptized shortly after our birth". There is therefore "the risk of loosing consciousness of what the Lord has done in us, the gift we have received". Of reducing it to being an event from the past that "no longer has any effect on the present. We must renew the memory of our Baptism: renew the memory of our Baptism. We are called to live our baptism every day, as a current reality in our lives. If we follow Jesus and remain in the Church, despite our limitations, and our weaknesses and our sins, it is because of this very Sacrament in which we have become new creatures and we were vested in Christ".
"It is by virtue of Baptism that, freed from original sin, we became part of Jesus' relationship with God the Father, that we are the bearers of a new hope, because Baptism gives us this new hope : the hope of travelling on the road of salvation, all life long. And nothing and no one can quench this hope, because this hope does not disappoint. Remember: This is true. Hope in the Lord never disappoints. Through baptism, we are able to forgive and to love even those who offend and hurt us; may we recognize the face of the Lord who visits and is close to us in the needy and poor. And this, Baptism, helps us to recognize in the faces of the needy, the suffering, even in our neighbor , the face of Jesus, thanks to this power of Baptism".
The Pope highlighted that "no one can baptize themselves! No-one. We can ask for it, desire it, but we always need someone to confer this sacrament on us in the name of the Lord. Because Baptism is a gift given in a context of concern and fraternal sharing. Always throughout history, one person baptizes the other , the other , the other ... it's a chain. A chain of grace. But, I can not baptize on my own: I have to ask another person for Baptism. It is an act of brotherhood, an act of affiliation to the Church. During the celebration of the Baptism we can recognize the most genuine features of the Church, which like a Mother continues to generate new children in Christ, in the fruitfulness of the Holy Spirit".
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