Inspiring examples of our baptism call in action

Friday, Aug. 15, 2014

What is the date of your baptism?

I’m sure you could have answered, without thinking, if I had asked your birthday, but most people don’t know when they were baptized, even though it is through baptism – the first of the Church’s Sacraments of Initiation, which ushers us into a relationship with Jesus Christ – that we are one with Christ in his suffering, death and resurrection. By baptism we become part of the Church, the whole Body of Christ, and baptism ensures us of eternal life.

And yet, despite the significance of this sacrament, few Catholics know their baptism date, as Pope Francis mentioned during a General Audience last September. Still, knowing the date is far less important than the fact that you were baptized, and that you live out the graces that are yours through this sacrament. Through baptism each of us is called to live as member of the Body of Christ: bringing Christ to others, serving others, forgiving others, being a presence of unity in our world. Jesus reminds us that we will be known by our works; the familiar hymn admonishes that “they will know we are Christians by our love.”

The men and women who were commissioned as lay ecclesial ministers last Saturday (see 85 commissioned as lay ecclesial minsters) are good examples of those who are living out their baptismal call. They spent the last four years in study and faith formation, preparing to serve the Church specifically as lay ecclesial ministers. This is not something they do simply to occupy their spare time. Rather, they have responded to Christ’s call to follow him as his disciples, a call that came through their baptism. 

Following this call, they will serve their brothers and sisters by bringing Christ to them through catechesis, visiting the sick, distributing communion, leading a Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest, accepting leadership roles in their parishes, and undertaking the many varied ministries to which they have been called and will be called as lay ecclesial ministers.

Another reminder of our baptism will take place Friday, Aug. 15, when we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The assumption, body and soul, into heaven of our Blessed Mother, brings to mind our own call from God to be one with him in heaven forever. 

Granted, we do not enjoy all the favors of Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church. Nonetheless, like her each of us is summoned into intimacy with her son through baptism, and we are called by her son to respond to the needs of others, just as our lay ecclesial ministers do.

This service can take many different forms. Not all of us will be lay ecclesial ministers, but we are called to place our time and talents on the altar of God, expressing our willingness to serve everyone.

For most Catholics, this service will take place in the domestic Church, their homes, as they raise children – nurturing their spirits, bodies and souls; and as they grow closer to their spouse through the graces of matrimony. Outside the home, they may comfort a friend who has lost his job, console a loved one who is facing a serious illness or otherwise be of service to one another.

Nor should we forget that praying for each other is a very important form of service. Look at our Carmelite sisters in Holladay and our Trappist brothers in Huntsville, whose entire lives are spent in prayer. They pray for the needs of others day in and day out, and so must we. This is a unique and powerful form of service.

In particular, my brother bishops and I are urging the faithful to pray on Sunday, Aug. 17, for peace in Iraq, where Christians and others have faced the destruction, burning and looting of churches, homes and businesses. Many, threatened with death by the Islamic State (ISIS), have fled for their lives; since the crisis began, Pope Francis frequently has called for peace in this tragic situation, and he continues to pray for this intention. 

In joining the Church praying for peace on Aug. 17, all Catholics, especially those who may be shut-ins or who find it difficult to volunteer their time, may fulfill their baptismal call to service.

I am deeply grateful to the men and women who have been recently commissioned as lay ecclesial ministers, and I pray that they will serve as an example to all of us to live a life of service to each other and to the Church. I also pray that all of us will echo the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary, now assumed into Heaven, as she replied to her cousin Elizabeth: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”