Baptism

The Gospel According to Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

The people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
“I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” After all the people had been baptized
and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,
heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him
in bodily form like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven,
“You are my beloved Son;
with you I am well pleased.”

National Vocation Awareness Week begins today...what a terrific day as it also is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. While we were all consecrated in our baptism to follow Christ. Religious, are in a special state of consecrated life, they have a special commitment.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church(CCC) explains;

1213 Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua),4 and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: “Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water and in the word.”5

 
Pretty powerful and challenging words! Either as a one who is baptised in Christ or one who is also a parent, or Godparent of a child, it is good to reflect upon these words and ask how we are sharing in her mission.

So what about the religious? Or those seeking a vocation?

916 The state of consecrated life is thus one way of experiencing a “more intimate” consecration, rooted in Baptism and dedicated totally to God.⁴⁵⁵ In the consecrated life, Christ’s faithful, moved by the Holy Spirit, propose to follow Christ more nearly, to give themselves to God who is loved above all and, pursuing the perfection of charity in the service of the Kingdom, to signify and proclaim in the Church the glory of the world to come.⁴⁵⁶ (2687, 933)
 

During National Vocation Awareness Week learn more about the religious life and vocations, pray for our priests, seminarians, consecrated religious. Check-out these resources on the USCCB site. This week and always may we ask Our Lord for more dedicated, holy priests, deacons and consecrated men and women. May they be inspired by Jesus Christ, supported by our faith community, and respond generously to God’s gift of a vocation.