On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, because we are in year A, the whole Church will hear the Gospel reading of Lazarus being raised from the dead by Jesus. This Gospel is also read in other years as part of the rituals for catechumens known as the scrutinies. What a fitting context to think about what wi ll take place in the lives of our catechumens this Easter, and for those who have been baptized, what took place at our baptism. In the preface of the Mass, which corresponds to the Gospel, we will pray: “For as true man He wept for Lazarus His friend and as eternal God raised him from the tomb, just as, taking pity on the human race, He leads us by sacred mysteries to new life.” Baptism, which is necessary for salvation as Christ Himself teaches. John 3 says: “Jesus answered: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” And Mark 16:16 says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”) Baptism is the ritual, or in the words of the preface, the sacred mystery, by which Christ raises us to new life. As Paul draws out in the second reading for this Sunday’s Mass, prior to baptism, we are not belonging to Christ – which is another way to say we are not alive yet in the fullest sense. Baptism has three principal effects, and each one of them draws out a way in which we are “reborn” because of the Grace of Christ working through the sacrament. The first effect is the forgiveness of Original Sin and all personal sin. In forgiving Original Sin and any personal sin we may have committed before baptism, we are truly made of the Spirit – the original disobedience of the Fall is wiped away from us, and we are restored (and re-created) for a relationship with God. That relationship is shaped by the fact we are remade and adopted as sons and daughters in the Son. The second effect is one of deep importance: We are made members of the Body of Christ, which is the Church. This effect has lasting impact in our lives. After baptism, we are inseparably bound to the lives of other Christians, precisely because our life is grafted into Christ’s. By baptism we share in the Resurrection, precisely because we are organically united – as though one – to the resurrected body of Jesus Christ. We also are subject to the laws of the body, which is the Church’s law. Thus, being baptized as a Catholic makes us part of the body – both mystical and visible. It is for this reason that we have obligations imposed on us, such as being married under the authority of Church and certain fasting days. It is because our lives are truly linked together that these rules matter for our spiritual health. It is also because of this effect that we enjoy the exchange of graces known as the Communion of Saints. We can live a life of intercession and relationship with all those reborn in Christ precisely because our baptism has a real effect. When St. Paul uses the analogy of a physical body to describe the Church, he is not far from reality itself. In fact, Jesus’ own image of the vine and branches provides a vivid and compelling image for us to reflect on for how intertwined our lives are – first with Christ and then with all those reborn in Christ – because of baptism. The third effect of baptism is that divine life is given to us – we are made capable of becoming unite to God. In this way, we see that baptism so remakes us that we have the capacity for union with God here and now – to be perfected in the life of heaven. Thus, in baptism, God the Father truly becomes our Father. We are truly made a part of God’s family and coheirs of grace. Thus, Paul can say again in the second reading that the “Spirit of God dwells in you.” These three effects taken together also put a great emphasis on why we as Catholics baptize infants. As St. John Chrysostom said: “You see how many are the benefits of baptism, and some think its heavenly grace consists only in the remission of sins, but we have enumerated 10 honors [it bestows]! For this reason, we baptize even infants, though they are not defiled by [personal] sins, so that there may be given to them holiness, righteousness, adoption, inheritance, brotherhood with Christ, and that they may be His [Christ’s] members” Christianity is not a mental head game or some process of the mind by which we relate to God – it is an embodied existence of union with God which remakes us and draws us up to a greater life. In sin, we were dead, but in the grace of baptism we have been raised from the dead. As we pray for those who will receive this marvelous gift soon, we do well to prepare to renew our own baptismal promises at Easter and so allow God’s grace to grow in us. The post Baptism Isn’t Merely a Symbolic Gesture appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less