Meditations for Each Day 37 (5): Baptism is a Death and Resurrection

Baptism is a Death and Resurrection

Baptism is a death and a resurrection. It is death. "If one died for all, then all were dead" ( 2 Cor. 5, 14), says St. Paul, that is, all who are incorporated in Jesus Christ as His members i n baptism, are become members of a dead and crucified Head, and must be crucified and dead to the world, to sin and to self.

It is also a resurrection for by baptism we leave the death of sin to enter the life of grace.

Baptism is a death and a resurrection, having for its prototype the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christians who are baptized in Christ Jesus are baptized in His death. "We are buried together

with him," says St. Paul, "by baptism unto death" (Rom. 6, 4). The Christian likewise participates in His Resurrection: "for, as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6, 4). By baptism we are obliged to die to everything, to live with Jesus Christ an all-heavenly life, as if we are persons no longer of earth, but of heaven, whose mind and heart dwell in heaven, according to the words of the first Christians speaking by St. Paul: "Our conversation is in heaven" (Phil- 3, 20), and his own exhortation: "If you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth" (COL. 3, 1-2)

Finally, by baptism we are obliged to verify in ourselves the following words: "You are dead: and your life is hid with Christ in God" (COL. 3, 3)- We must be dead to all that is not God, to live only in God and abide with Jesus Christ: "as those that are alive from the dead" (Rom. 6,13), says St. Paul. We must consequently lead a heavenly life upon earth, that is, a holy life adorned with all kinds of virtue, a continual exercise of love, adoration and praise of God, and of charity to our neighbor.

Such should be the life of all baptized persons. Those who, instead of living this holy Christian life, follow the life of the world which is, as St. Ambrose says, the body of the dragon, the life of pagans, of beasts, of demons, renounce their baptism, and render themselves far more guilty than pagans and demons. How dreadful is sin which extinguishes~ a life so noble and precious as the Christian life we have received by baptism, the life of God, the life of Jesus Christ in our souls, and establishes instead the horrible life of sin, a diabolical and detestable existence! Let us detest our sins. Let us renounce with all our heart the life of the world and of the old Adam. Let us give ourselves to Jesus Christ, begging Him to destroy the old life in us, and to establish His own all- glorious life in our regenerated souls.

Ejaculatory prayer:

"I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me." Vivo autem, jam non ego; vivit vero in me Christus (Gal. 2, 20).

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Twelfth Colloquy

Baptism Is a Divine Contract Between Man and God

By BAPTISM WE ENTERED INTO A SUPERNATURAL

Fellowship with God

BAPTISM is a divine contract of man with God, containing three great provisos.

First, God by His incomprehensible goodness and mercy delivers us from our cursed alliance with Satan, whose children and members we have become by sin, and permits us to enter into a wonderful fellowship with Him. "By whom you are called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord" (I Cor. 1, 9), says St. Paul. "That which we have seen and have heard, we declare unto you," says St. John, "that you also may have fellowship with us, and our fellowship may be with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ" (I John 1, 3)

What is this supernatural fellowship? It is the noblest and most perfect fellowship that can exist. It is not merely the alliance of friend with friend, of brother with brother, of children with their father, of bride with bridegroom, but of member with Head, which is the most intimate of all fellowships.

The natural and corporal union of the branches of a vine with the stalk, and of the members of the human body with the head, although the most intimate of all imaginable unions in nature, is only a figure and a reflection of our spiritual and supernatural union with Jesus Christ by baptism. Corporal and natural things are mere shadows of spiritual and supernatural life.

Furthermore, the union of the branches with the stalk of the vine, and of the members of the body with their corporal head, is in con

formity with the quality, and the material nature of the things It joins together. But the union of the members of Jesus Christ with their Head is in conformity with the excellent holy and divine nature of the participants. Consequently, the more that divine Head and those sacred members are exalted above the natural head and its members, the more the alliance of Christians with Jesus Christ excels the union existing between the head and the members of the human body.

The friendship we contract with Jesus Christ by baptism, and through Him with the Eternal Father, is so lofty and so divine, that it merits comparison by Jesus Christ Himself to the unity that exists between the Father and the Son in the words: "That they may be one, as we also are one. I i n them, and thou in me: that they may be made perfect in one" (John 17, 22-23). So the unity of the Father and Son is the ideal of the union with God by baptism; and this union is the living image of that adorable unity.

Moreover, the wondrous alliance we enjoy with-God by baptism is exalted and ennobled by being founded, so to speak, on the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ and constituted by the Holy Ghost. Thus the Holy Ghost, who is the unity of the Father and the Son, is the sacred bond of our fellowship and union with Jesus Christ, and through Jesus Christ with the Eternal Father, a union indicated by the divine words: "That they may be made perfect in one" (John 17, 23) - Thus we see that, by baptism, we become one with Jesus Christ, and through Jesus C hrist with God, in the most exalted and most perfect concordance possible, next to the hypostatic union of the human nature with the Eternal Word. 0 incomparable alliance! 0 ineffable fellowship! How deeply indebted we are to the infinite goodness of God for a contract so great! What praise and thanksgiving we should offer Him! "Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift" (2 Cor. 9, 15)

Since we are thus associated with the Saint of saints in so intimate a union, what should be the sanctity of our life? Surely, as we are one with God, we should have but one heart, one mind, one will, one affection: "He who is joined to the Lord, is one spirit" (I Cor. 6, 17)We should love only what He loves and hate what He hates. How deserving of hatred is sin! For what is it to sin mortally? It is to violate and break that divine alliance we formed with God by baptism,

to return to our contract with Satan, His enemy. It is to dishonor the unity of the Father and the Son by destroying its image.

Sin profanes and renders fruitless the adorable Blood of Jesus Christ which is the foundation of our fellowship. It extinguishes the Spirit of God who is its sacred bond, according to the prohibitive: "Extinguish not the spirit" (I Thess. 5, 19). What a horror we should have for our past sins! What fear of relapsing into them! And what care we should exert to preserve the rich and precious alliance we have contracted with God, and to associate with it our entire life and activity.

BY BAPTISM GOD BOUND HIMSELF TO TREAT US As His

Children and Members of his Son

The second proviso of our baptismal contract with God is that having received us into fellowship with Him, as His children and as members of His Son, He is bound to consider, love and treat us as His own children, and to regard and love our souls as His spouses. He has faithfully treated us in this way, and bestowed upon us inestimable gifts in conformity with the dignity and sanctity of our alliance with Him. He has endowed, enriched and adorned us with ineffable gifts and treasures. He has given us His grace of which the least degree is worth more than all the empires of earth. He has given us the gift of faith, hope, and charity, three priceless gifts and sources of inestimable blessings.

He has given us also the other virtues, which are all joined to charity, the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost and the eight beatitudes. Since our baptism, He has always kept His paternal eyes fixed on us, and His Heart loving us. He gives us everything necessary and suitable for body and soul, and i s faithful in fulfilling all His promises to us. And after all that, He again assures us that we are to be His heirs in heaven, and that we will there possess benefits that eye has never seen, the car heard, nor the human heart conceived! Oh, what graced Oh, what mercies! "Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him, and his wonderful works to the children of men" (Ps. 106, 30 -

By BAPTISM WE CONSECRATED OURSELVES To GOD

AND PROMISED To ADHERE To JESUS CHRIST

The third proviso in our baptismal contract is that we offered and consecrated ourselves to God through our godfather and godmother. We promised to renounce Satan and his works, that is, all kinds of sin, and his pomps, meaning the world, and to adhere to Jesus Christ. According to the ancient form observed in baptism, the person to be baptized, turning to the West, said: Abrenuntio tibi Satana: " I renounce thee, Satan." Then turning to the East, he said: Adhaereo tibi Christe: « I adhere to Thee, Jesus Christ." And the same thing is still said to-day in different but equivalent words. Such is our solemn promise to God in baptism, a promise made before the Church, a promise hidden and included in a great Sacrament, a promise so binding that no one can ever dispense us from it, a promise, says St. Augustine, recorded by the angels, according to which we shall be judged at the hour of our death.

Let us judge ourselves now that we may not be judged then, and let us condemn ourselves that we may not be condemned. Let us rigorously examine our life and see if we have lived in accordance with this promise. We shall find that we have frequently acted as if we had promised just the opposite, and instead of renouncing Satan, sin and the world, and following Jesus Christ, we have turned our backs upon Him and denied Him by our works, and chosen the side of His enemies. What treacherous perfidy! What base ingratitude after so many favors! Oh, what shame for us! How we should mark our infidelity and renew the promise and profession of our baptism with greater fervor!

This I now wish to do, 0 my God. For this end I renounce thee, cursed Satan, with all my heart and with all my strength. I renounce abominable sin. I renounce the detestable world. I renounce its false honors and vain pleasure, its deceitful riches, its diabolical spirit, its pernicious maxims and all its corruption and malignity.

I give myself to Thee, 0 Lord Jesus, wholly and forever. I will adhere

88- Imitations on Various Subjects

to Thy holy doctrine by faith, to Thy holy promises by hope, to Thy divine commandments and counsels by love and charity. I will follow Thee in the practice of every virtue, and I will follow Thee as my Head, as one of Thy members. I will continue Thy life on earth as far as possible, with the aid of Thy holy grace, which I most earnestly entreat for this intention.

Ejaculatory prayer:

"But it is good for me to adhere to my God, to put my hope in the Lord God." Mihi autem adhaerere Deo bonum est, ponere in Domino Deo spem meam (Ps. 72, 28). 89-