“I, the Lord,
have called you for justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations…” (Isaiah
42:6)
Two nights ago, I was having
dinner at the home of some dear friends and they invited all their friends and
their children. Months ago, this family
had asked me to pray for their grandfather who was found to have a very
aggressive cancer, and I promised them that I would offer up every Mass for him
until he was healed. That evening, I
asked their oldest daughter, who had once upon a time been one of my youth
group leaders, how her grandfather was doing, and she told me that he was doing
much better and they were thankful for all the prayers. I told her that not a day goes by that I didn’t
mention her grandfather by name at Mass.
Now nearby one of my little girls, who is not so little anymore, was
overhearing our conversation and asked me very directly, “Father, do you pray
for me every day?” I responded, “I pray
for all my children every day. I pray
for all my parishioners, for all those who have been my parishioners, for those
who have been my students, and for everyone I have served.” She looked at me as only she would with the
“I’m not buying it face” (mind you, I’ve known her since she was 7 and now
she’s 18!) and said, “That’s not what I asked you. I asked you if you pray FOR ME every day by
name.” I swallowed hard and confessed
that I did not but promised that I would pray specifically for her the next
morning. Another one of my former
students (now 22!) was also overhearing and said, “Hey, I also want in on
this. Pray for me too.” I smiled because even though on one level
they were trying to give me a hard time, I know that on a deeper level they
really wanted to be prayed for…by name!
No matter where these wonderful kids are in their walk of faith, they
still want that personal touch from God above.
As we celebrate the Baptism of
the Lord today, I wanted to focus on this aspect of the sacrament in which we
are called by name because it adds a personal dimension to this great mystery.
At the very beginning of the rite of Baptism, the very first question the
priest or the deacon asks is “What name do you give your child?” So right there, the parents who have received
from God this precious gift are called to name the child so that when the
priest or deacon receives him or her at the baptismal font, that child may
called by name as the minister says “(Manuel), I baptize you in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” We are called by name to become part of God’s
family: the Most Blessed Trinity who is present in today’s gospel on the banks
of the Jordan in the voice of the Father, in the person of Jesus, and in the
Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove.
Our Holy Father tweeted this morning, “What happens at Baptism? We become united forever with Jesus, to be
born again to a new life.”
But it doesn’t stop
there. We are called by name to be part
of what Blessed John Paul II calls “the great mission of the Church.” Right after we are baptized the priest or
deacon anoints our head with chrism to consecrate us and make us part of
Christ’s ministry. From that moment on,
we will forever be called Christians.
The challenge of today’s feast is to ask ourselves if we are living up
to our baptismal calling and of the name Christian. Do people see in me a Christian person? Am I participating actively in “the great
mission of the Church?” At baptism, we
are indeed called by name by God himself, called by name to be part of God’s
family, and called by name to part of the mission of the Church and to be “a
light to the nations.” Today we are
challenged to answer one very simple question:
Are we living up to that calling?
