18 August, Antonio, Cardinal Bacci: Meditations For Each Day

The Sacrament of Baptism

1. We are drawn towards Heaven by a golden chain of grace. The most precious links in this chain of benefits are the Sacraments, which Jesus Christ instituted as sensible and efficacious signs of divine grace. When we are born, tainted by original sin and therefore deprived of supernatural grace, the Church purifies and regenerates us through the Sacrament of Baptism. We then become the adopted sons of God and heirs to the kingdom of Heaven.

When we are still children, we come to the use of reason and begin to experience our first temptations to evil. Left to itself our frail human nature is powerless to resist, but we are now fortified by the reception of another sacrament, Confirmation, which makes us soldiers of Jesus Christ and provides us with spiritual weapons to combat the enemies of our soul.

Unfortunately, we continue to fall into sin from time to time, but the Sacrament of Penance is there to save us from ruin.

Moreover, Christ has given us the Blessed Eucharist to keep us close to Him and to prevent us from falling more seriously.
Other Sacraments are Matrimony and Holy Orders. The former sanctifies the marriage bond and imparts the grace necessary to bring up a Christian family. The latter provides the Church with priests, representatives of our divine Redeemer who confers the supernatural life on souls and guide them towards everlasting happiness. Finally, when we are nearing the end of our mortal life, Mother Church is again at our side to comfort us. The Sacrament of Extreme Unction wipes away all remaining traces of sin and gives us the strength to face the great journey into eternity.

We should be grateful to God for this chain of favours and should make careful use of them for our spiritual welfare.

2. Like the other Sacraments, Baptism is composed of a material and a spiritual element. The sensible outward sign produces the grace, or spiritual element, which it signifies. Since we are composed of body and soul, it is fitting that the Sacraments should also consist of this double element. Baptism, for example, being a spiritual cleansing of the soul, is conferred by the pouring of natural water accompanied by the sacramental words by Jesus Christ.

The Church adds its own ceremonial to the essential part of the Sacrament. By means of the exorcisms the devil is expelled, and the tongue is consecrated with the salt of wisdom to indicate that it should be the instrument of goodness. The body is sanctified by the oil and chrism so that it may always be the living temple of the Holy Spirit. The white garment symbolises the innocence which we ought to preserve for the rest of our lives, and the lighted candle stands for the faith and charity which ought always to inspire the soul.

All this is done for us before we are in a position to understand anything about it. Nevertheless, we should reflect today on the meaning of these sacred ceremonies and on how they should affect our lives.

3. It is helpful for us to repeat the baptismal vows which were once made by others in our name. Let us imagine that we are at our own Baptism, solemnly promising through our godfather and godmother to renounce the devil, the world and the flesh in order to follow Jesus.

Can we claim to have kept our promises? Or are we forced to admit that we have not always lived up to our obligations?

Let us renew our promises today and let us ask Jesus for the grace to be faithful to them till the end of our lives.