This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, a liturgical celebration of Invitation and Response, which builds to love and right relationship in Heaven.

In one or two baptisms which I have performed over the years, especially if the child is a little older than an infant, I have heard a devout, usually older, family member say at the moment of Baptism: “Now God loves this child.” Wow! That’s bad, really bad theology.

The Church and Sacred Scripture informs us that God loves us and calls us to an intimate relationship with Him before we are created: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5). Furthermore, it’s important to remember that God not only made our body and our mind (through the natural processes He created), but He also gave us our soul or spirit, which is the part of us that is able to know God. If God desires to create us and to know us and to have a right relationship with us, then we are certain that God loves us.

Christ's Baptism, Celebrated Today: Catechism of the Catholic Church
CCC 1223 All the Old Covenant prefigurations find their fulfillment in Christ Jesus. He begins his public life after having himself baptized by St. John the Baptist in the Jordan.17 After his resurrection Christ gives this mission to his apostles: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."18

CCC 1224 Our Lord voluntarily submitted himself to the baptism of St. John, intended for sinners, in order to "fulfill all righteousness."19 Jesus' gesture is a manifestation of his self-emptying.20 The Spirit who had hovered over the waters of the first creation descended then on the Christ as a prelude of the new creation, and the Father revealed Jesus as his "beloved Son."21

CCC 1225 In his Passover Christ opened to all men the fountain of Baptism. He had already spoken of his Passion, which he was about to suffer in Jerusalem, as a "Baptism" with which he had to be baptized.22 The blood and water that flowed from the pierced side of the crucified Jesus are types of Baptism and the Eucharist, the sacraments of new life.23 From then on, it is possible "to be born of water and the Spirit"24 in order to enter the Kingdom of God.

See where you are baptized, see where Baptism comes from, if not from the cross of Christ, from his death. There is the whole mystery: he died for you. In him you are redeemed, in him you are saved.25 (CCC)

“St. Paul describes baptism as the “first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:14). According to aboutcatholic.com baptism does five things:

1. It forgives all sins that were committed before baptism including original, mortal, and venial sin.
2. It makes the baptized a new creature.
3. It turns the baptized into a newly adopted son or daughter of God and a member of the Church.
4. It brings them to share in the royal priesthood of Christ. (1 Peter 2:9)
5. It leaves a spiritual mark (or character) of belonging to Christ on the soul of the baptized.” Ascension Press, The Faith Formation Leader

So in layman’s terms, what happens in Baptism then if we are already intimately loved by God? The meaning or impact of Baptism (the multiple effects of Grace) is that the Church through the priest of deacon imparts a supernatural grace from God. The Church calls this an indelible mark that cannot be removed. “Thus the two principal effects are purification from sins and new birth in the Holy Spirit.” 65And this eternal grace opens us up to learning how, both intellectually through faith and actively through a lived experience of faith, to know God and to love God and to serve God. Why? So that we can be with God forever in the Kingdom of
Heaven.

In baptism the immediate members of the family stand with the infant child (or adult through RCIA) around the font while the celebrant pours water three times while saying “I baptize you, first and middle name, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” This is important symbolically since we are a a faith of a community of believers. While we might have perfect attendance at Faith Formation classes and never miss a Mass, but we learn the practice of our faith—a lived experience—in and among our family and friends. The Catholic Mass is not a Mass of individuals but rather one of a community. And what we hear and see expressed at the dinner table or on Christmas Day and throughout the year is the greatest teaching experience of faith in the world. If our parents (family) does not attend Mass or seek the Sacraments, then how “important” are they? If we don’t take the teachings of Christ (i.e., the Beatitudes) and actually live them out, then are they “important.” If sports or the “Sunday as family time” (isn’t Mass a family time experience?) then what is the practical application of faith? Or better said, what am I really teaching my children.

The family is key. And a family that practices the faith together will create and impart the greatest legacy anyone might leave to their children: the knowledge and belief that God loves me, created me, and desires to be in right relationship with me—so that I may be One with Him forever. What could be more beautiful or long lasting then Heaven with those I love? Other earthly prized items, and this does not mean they are “bad” or “evil,” are fine, but rather the emphasis or right relationship should be what is the correct priority of this life—and more importantly—of the life to come?

Truth
Christ is Truth. That is the summit of our Catholic faith. And our world, our Nation, needs truth more than ever on all subjects from politics to healthcare to abortions, and the last two are not one in the same.

This past Monday, Woldometer released year-end statistics on abortions worldwide as well as in the United States. The numbers are dizzying, to say the least.

In 2020 there were 42 million abortions worldwide; each year the WHO (World Health Organization) estimates between 40-50 million abortions. Some 36 to 40 percent of those abortions are of black babies. In the first week of January 2021, the United States had an estimated 500,000 abortions. Abortion as a term most commonly - and in the statistics presented here - refers to the induced abortion of a human pregnancy, while spontaneous abortions are usually termed miscarriages.

These are devastating statistics to the human race, the human condition, and the immortal soul. Truth is key when we talk about the devastation to the person(s) involved in this medical procedure—the lasting effects. As a faith we cannot just condemn the policy of abortion-on-demand but must educate and assist in the care of the mother and her unintended or unwanted child, and provide answers which go beyond “You shall not…”, but offer assistance in adoptions, healthcare and emotional support.

But to begin, we must speak the truth on the human person, from womb to tomb, and recognize and honor the sacredness of each person. Why? Because Human Life Matters.