Church grow.
What is our attitude to the gifts of the Holy Spirit? Are we aware that the Spirit of God is free to give them to whomsoever he wishes? Do we consider them as a spiritual help, through which the Lord sustains our faith and reinforces our mission in the world?
And we come to the third aspect of communion in holy things, that is, communion in charity, the unity among us that creates charity, love. The gentiles, observing the early Christians, said: how they love each other, how they wish one another well! They do not hate, they do not speak against one another. This is the charity, the love of God that the Holy Spirit puts in our hearts. The charisms are important in the life of the Christian community, but they are always a means for growth in charity, in love, which St. Paul sets above the charisms (cf. 1 Cor 13:1–13). Without love, in fact, even the most extraordinary gifts are in vain; this man heals people, he has that power, this other virtue … but does he have love and charity in his heart? If he does then all is well, but if he does not he is no servant of the Church. Without love no gift or charism could serve the Church, for where there is not love there is an emptiness that becomes filled with selfishness. And I ask myself: if we all were egotistical, could we live in communion and peace? No, it’s not possible, that is why it is necessary that love unite us. Our smallest gesture of love benefits everyone!
Therefore, to live out unity in the Church and communion in charity means not seeking one’s own interests but sharing the suffering and the joy of one’s brothers (cf. 1 Cor 12:26), ready to carry the weight of the poorest and the weakest. This fraternal solidarity is not a figure of speech, a saying, but an integral part of the communion among Christians. If we live it, we are a sign to the world, the “sacrament” of God’s love. This is what we are one for another and what we are for all! It is not just petty love that we can offer one another, but something much more profound: it is a communion that renders us capable of entering into the joy and sorrow of others and making them sincerely our own.
Often we are too dry, indifferent, and detached and rather than transmitting brotherhood, we communicate bad temper, coldness, and selfishness. And with bad temper, coldness, and selfishness the Church cannot grow; the Church grows only by the love that comes from the Holy Spirit. The Lord invites us to open ourselves to communion with him, in the sacraments, in the charisms, and in charity, in order to live out our Christian vocation with dignity!
1 Pope Francis, General Audience, November 6, 2013.
Chapter 11
“I Confess One Baptism”
In the Creed, through which we make our Profession of Faith every Sunday, we state: “I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins.” It is the only explicit reference to a sacrament contained in the Creed. Indeed, Baptism is the “door” of faith and of Christian life. The Risen Jesus left the Apostles with this charge: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mk 16:15–16). The Church’s mission is to evangelize and remit sins through the sacrament of Baptism. But let us return to the words of the Creed. The expression can be divided into three points: “I confess”; “one Baptism”; “for the remission of sins.”
1. “I confess.” What does this mean? It is a solemn term that indicates the great importance of the object, that is, of Baptism. In fact, by pronouncing these words we affirm our true identity as children of God. Baptism is in a certain sense the identity card of the Christian, his birth certificate, and the act of his birth into the Church. All of you know the day on which you were born and you celebrate it as your birthday, don’t you? We all celebrate our birthday. I ask you a question that I have already asked several times, but I’ll ask it again: who among you remembers the date of your Baptism? Raise your hands: they are few (and I am not asking the Bishops so as not to embarrass them)…. Let’s do something: today, when you go home, find out what day you were baptized, look for it, because this is your second birthday. The first birthday is the day you came into life and the second birthday is the one on which you came into the Church. Will you do this? This is your homework: find out the day on which you were born to the Church, and give thanks to the Lord, because at Baptism he has opened the door of his Church to us.
At the same time, Baptism is tied to our faith in the remission of sins. The sacrament of Penance, or Confession, is, in fact, like a “second baptism” that refers back always to the first to strengthen and renew it. In this sense, the day of our Baptism is the point of departure for this most beautiful journey, a journey toward God that lasts a lifetime, a journey of conversion that is continually sustained by the sacrament of Penance. Think about this: when we go to confess our weaknesses, our sins, we go to ask the pardon of Jesus, but we also go to renew our Baptism through his forgiveness. And this is beautiful, it is like celebrating the day of Baptism in every Confession. Therefore, Confession is not a matter of sitting down in a torture chamber; rather it is a celebration. Confession is for the baptized! To keep clean the white garment of our Christian dignity!
2. The second element: “one Baptism.” This expression refers to that of St. Paul: “one Lord, one faith, one Baptism” (Eph 4:5). The word “Baptism” literally means “immersion,” and in fact this sacrament constitutes a true spiritual immersion in the death of Christ, from which one rises with Him like a new creation (cf. Rom 6:4). It is the washing of regeneration and of illumination. Regeneration because it actuates that birth by water and the Spirit without which no one may enter the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. Jn 3:5). Illumination because through Baptism the human person becomes filled with the grace of Christ, “the true light that enlightens every man” (Jn 1:9) and dispels the shadows of sin. That is why in the ceremony of Baptism the parents are given a lit candle, to signify this illumination; Baptism illuminates us from within with the light of Jesus. In virtue of this gift the baptized are called to become themselves “light” — the light of the faith they have received — for their brothers, especially for those who are in darkness and see no glimmer of light on the horizon of their lives.
We can ask ourselves: is Baptism, for me, a fact of the past, relegated to a date, that date which you are going to go look for today, or is it a living reality that pertains to my present, to every moment? Do you feel strong, with the strength that Christ gave you by his death and his Resurrection? Or do you feel low, without strength? Baptism gives strength, and it gives light. Do you feel enlightened, with that light that comes from Christ? Are you a man or woman of light? Or are you a dark person, without the light of Jesus? We need to take the grace of Baptism, which is a gift, and become a light for all people!
3. Lastly, a brief mention of the third element: “for the remission of sins.” In the sacrament of Baptism all sins are remitted — original sin and all of our personal sins, as well as the suffering of sin. With Baptism the door to an effectively new life is opened, one that is not burdened by the weight of a negative past, but rather already feels the beauty and the goodness of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is the powerful intervention of God’s mercy in our lives, to save us. This saving intervention does not take away our human nature and its weakness — we are all weak and we are all sinners — and it does not take from us our responsibility to ask for forgiveness every time we err! I cannot be baptized many times, but I can go to Confession and by doing so renew the grace of Baptism. It is as though I were being baptized for a second time. The Lord Jesus is very very good and never tires of forgiving us. Even when the door that Baptism opens to us in order to enter the Church is a little closed, due to our weaknesses and our sins. Confession reopens it, precisely because it is a second Baptism that forgives us of everything and illuminates us to go forward with the light of the Lord. Let us go forward in this way, joyfully, because life should be lived with the joy of Jesus Christ; and this is a grace of the Lord.
But already on this earth, in prayer, in the
