Day 169: The Mystagogy of Baptism (1234-1245)

• It’s Day 169!!

• THE MYSTAGOGY OF BAPTISM

• Virtually every paragraph today is another aspect of the Rite of Baptism along with its explanation

• Paragraph 1235 says, “The sign of the cross, on the threshold of the celebration, marks with the imprint of Christ the one who is going to belong to him and signifies the grace of the redemption Christ won for us by his cross.”

• And so on and so forth…

• The white garment…

• The candle…

• The anointing with sacred chrism…

• We will learn why we do all of these things

• This is the MYSTAGOGY

• Let’s say a prayer!!

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we give you thanks. We praise you for your glory. We praise you for who you are. We thank you. We thank you for the gift of Baptism. We thank you for the gift of not only declaring us to be your children, but making us into your children. We thank you for allowing us to have access to your Father’s heart. We thank you for giving us your only Beloved Son as our Savior, our Lord, our God, and our Brother. We thank you for your Holy Spirit that dwells in us. Thank you for making us the Temple of your Holy Spirit. Lord God, as we unpack the mystery of the celebration of Baptism, we ask you to please give us a fire of love, a fire of faith and hope, a fire that wants to rekindle what you placed in our hearts at our own Baptism. Give us a love for you that will never end so that in you our lives will never end. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen”

• So there we have it!!

• Every little element of the Baptismal rite is recaptured and explained

• In the Latin Rite the Sign of the Cross is not merely standing in front and everyone mimicking the priest and making the Sign of the Cross

• BUT…

• There is also CLAIMING THE CHILD being Baptized by marking them with the Sign of the Cross on the child’s forehead and inviting parents and Godparents to do the same

• There is something SO POWERFUL in that moment

• Fr. Mike gets to do that at Baptisms

• Fr. Mike gets to see parents trace the Sign of the Cross on the foreheads of their children

• They are essentially saying, “I claim you for Jesus Christ.”

• Parents can do that not only at Baptism, but for years and years

• Fr. Mike is telling a story about a conference he attended…

• If you are a father and you pray for your children and you want them to choose the right thing and although we are in the middle of a broken world and we all struggle, even tracing the Sign of the Cross on your children’s foreheads can be so powerful

• Now Fr. Mike is on a tangent about his dad…

• Now one of his siblings…

• They’re in the kitchen now…

• Something about a disagreement or misunderstanding…

• His dad traced the Sign of the Cross on his sibling’s forehead…

• It was one of those moments…

• Wow!

• This is…

• Yeah!

• The father gave his child to Jesus’ at Baptism and the child is still His

• The father’s blessing is so incredible

• We get to do that

• Paragraph 1236 says, “The proclamation of the Word of God…elicits the response of faith…Baptism is ‘the sacrament of faith’..”

• Paragraph 1237 says, “Since Baptism signifies liberation from sin and from its instigator the devil, one or more exorcisms are pronounced over the candidate…”

• The reason the Rite of Exorcism is part of Baptism is that Scripture says when we are born we are born under the domain of darkness, under the dominion of the Evil One

• We need to be transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God

• This exorcism calls upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and EXPLICITLY RENOUNCES SATAN

• This transfers the person from the kingdom of Satan to the Kingdom of God Himself

• Then we get to the next step with Baptismal water and then the Essential Rite

• All these rites like the white garment, the candle, the sacred chrism, etc. are good pieces of Baptism

• Paragraph 1239 says, “The essential rite of the sacrament follows: Baptism properly speaking. It signifies and actually brings about death to sin and entry into the life of the Most Holy Trinity through configuration to the Paschal mystery of Christ. Baptism is performed in the most expressive way by triple immersion in the baptismal water. However, from ancient times it has also been able to be conferred by pouring the water three times over the candidate’s head.”

• All the other things are very good and belong there and mean something

• BUT…

• The essential rite is BAPTISM ITSELF

• Immersion means washing in that sense and this is the fullness of the expression of the symbol

• But Baptism is still effective if there is pouring of water over the candidate

• They are both legitimate

• They both accomplish the task which is to transfer us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, to bring about death to sin and new life in Jesus, that our sins are forgiven, that we are adopted as God’s children

• All these things are happening even if we are not immersed in water

• BUT…

• The words MUST be, “[Person’s name], I Baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

• In the East, the words are “The servant of God, [Person’s name], is Baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

• THE TRINITARIAN FORMULA MUST BE THERE

• WATER MUST BE THERE

• THE INTENTION TO BAPTIZE MUST BE THERE

• These are the essential elements of Baptism

• Baptism is JUST THE BEGINNING

• The next steps are preparation for First Holy Communion and Confirmation

• In the Eastern Church a child is Baptized, Confirmed, and given Holy Communion

• How does a baby get Holy Communion?

• There’s a spoon and a whole thing…

• It’s beautiful and wonderful

• BAPTISM IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF THIS NEW LIFE

• The implication is that after taking this first step, the candidate should continue to walk

• They are not done

• This is just the first step

• How does the person continue to walk as a child of God?

• That is our challenge every single day

• If you have been Baptized you get to ask, “Ok Lord, that was not the end. When you made me your adopted son/daughter, that was not the end. When you made me a Temple of your Holy Spirit, that was not the end. That was just the beginning. And I am now called to walk as a child of God. God, how do you want me to walk today? How can I walk in courage? How can I walk in faith? How can I walk in hope? How can I walk in love? How can I walk in justice and in fortitude? How can I walk in prudence and in temperance? How can I walk in generosity and graciousness and patience?”

• We get to ask the Lord all these questions today because our Baptism was not the end…

• IT WAS JUST THE BEGINNING!!

• Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!

• Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!

• I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!