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(All Articles This Page Copyrighted 1971 By NC News Service)
PAGE 5 — January 7,1971
KNOW YOUR FAITH
BAPTISM, as “the conscious and blessed beginning of the Christian life,” is a tender moment in
the lives of parents as the baby is introduced into this Christian life through ceremony. (NC
PHOTO by Bill Gage)
Sacraments And
Religious Education
By Fr. Carl J.
Pfeifer, S.J.
Baptism: Water and
the Holy Spirit
Dr. James Cross was
kidnapped on October 5 by a
group of French Canadian
terrorists. Exactly two
months later, he was released
from captivity and flew back
home to England. In a
televised news conference he
told the world how his two
months seclusion had led him
to a new appreciation of the
simple things of life - fresh
air, sunshine, the presence of
friends.
I was struck by his remark.
So much of the Church’s
sacramental life rests on just
such an appreciation of the
simple earthly realities of
human life which we
normally take so much for
granted. The Church’s
sacraments are created out of
“what earth has given and
human hands have made” as
the Priest prays at the
Offertory of the Mass. Things
that are most basic to man’s
life and happiness -- bread
and wine, oil, light, breath,
love, words, water - become
the avenues of deeper insight
into the meaning of life and
avenues of contact with the
living God. An appreciation
of those simple human things
is a valuable approach to
understanding and
appreciating the sacraments,
bacause, to quote St. Thomas
Aquinas, the sacraments are
effective through their
symbolism.
The use of water in
baptism is a good example.
We can come to a richer
understanding of the meaning
of baptism through a deeper
appreciation of water.
Water washes. We wash our
cars, our clothes, our bodies,
with water. Almost every
Snow piles four feet deep
in Mason City, Iowa, but it
rarely falls on Mandeville
Canyon, California. Popular
song writer Meredith Willson
should know, for he grew up
in one and now lives in the
other. Despite the
considerable climate and
cultural differences between
these two sections of our
country, a common element
links them together. In each a
woman touched Willson’s
religion employs ritual baths
to symbolize purification
from uncleanness, from sin.
John the Baptist baptized in
the waters of the Jordan “for
the remission of sin” (Mt.
3:11). The pouring of water
in the sacrament of baptism
retains some of this same
washing symbolism. As St.
Paul writes, Jesus purifies us,
His Church, “in the bath of
water by the power of, the
word” (Eph 5:26). This
aspect of the water
symbolism, is, no doubt,
familiar to most Catholic
adults because it was stressed
in our religious education.
But there is much more to
baptism, just as there is much
more to the symbolism of
water. Take a moment to
reflect on and imagine the
many uses of water in life.
Water not only cleanses; it
refreshes. Imagine yourself in
a hot shower or bath; how
refreshed you feel afterward.
Or feel the refreshing spray of
the ocean, or the cool water
of the swimming pool on a
hot summer day. I will never
forget the cooling,
invigorating feel of a glass of
cold water after a morning of
work stacking hay in South
Dakota, or picking corn in
Kansas, or laying concrete in
Wyoming.
Water is literally the source
of life. A recent issue of
LOOK magazine summed up
the meaning of water in a
beautiful picture essay by
saying: “All of life is in a
drop of water.” In these days
of water pollution and oil
slicks we are painfully aware
of how vital water is for
animal and human life.
Without water, plant and
animal life dies. Man cannot
live long without water, and
even the mirage of water will
give a dying man strength to
stumble on a few more steps.
The importance of water
for life, nourishment,
heart and inspired him to
compose several musical
pieces which have religious
motifs..
During childhood his
mother daily sent the family
off to school with “May the
good Lord bless and keep you
until we meet again.” Those
words stayed in his memory
and later became the core of
a famous song written for
(Continued on Page 6)
fruitfulness, is a basic theme
of the Bible running from
Genesis to Revelation. A
stream of water symbolizes
the life-giving presence of
God to man, making him
fully alive, fruitful and
happy. God is a “fountain of
living water” (Jer 2:13)
capable of bringing forth life
even in the desert (Is 44:3).
Apart from God, man is like
arid land, empty and dry (Ps
143:6), but with God he is
transformed into a flourishing
garden (Is 58:11). According
to the Psalmist, the just man
grows up strong and beautiful
like a palm tree beside a
stream of living water (Ps
1:3). Water symbolizes the
life-giving Spirit of God.
“Like the deer that yearns for
running streams, so my soul is
yearning for you, my God.
My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of Life” (Ps 42:1).
This is poetry, not abstract
definition. It conveys the
spiritual truth that lies behind
the meaning of life with God.
It may be appreciated by
anyone who appreciates the
place of water in human life,
and is not closed off from
life’s mystery. Without an
appreciation of the human,
earthly things of life, without
a sense of life’s mystery, little
sense can be made of the
Sacraments.
Jesus Himself conveyed the
deepest truths about Himself
and the Holy Spirit with
words about water. “From
within him rivers of living
water shall flow,” He said
quoting the Old Testament.
He is referring to His gift to
man of the Holy Spirit, as St.
John points out (Jn 7:37-38).
The gift of the Spirit is given,
according to St. John’s
symbolism, when water flows
from the heart of the pierced
Christ on the Cross (Jn
19:34). This is the water of
Baptism, by which we are
taken into the intimate life of
God, Father, Son and Spirit.
A whole world of water
symbolism beyond tjiat
suggested here is basic to a
fuller understanding of
baptism. It is recalled in the
readings and prayers of the
baptismal liturgy: the waters
of creation, the Red Sea, the
Jordan River, the treacherous
ocean, life-giving rain and
snow. An important part of
religious education for
Baptism involves a growing
appreciation of one of the
simple, natural things of daily
life: water.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Why is water a good
symbol for the sacrament of
Baptism?
2. Why is an understanding
of the symbolic value of
water so necessary for an
understanding of the
sacrament of Baptism?
Worship And
The World
BY FATHER JOSEPH
M. CHAMPI JN
THE MUSIC MAN’S MASS
The
Sacraments
By Fr. Peter
J. Riga
Baptism
Baptism is “the conscious
and blessed beginning of the
Christian life, a new life and a
rebirth in the image of
Christ.” This quote from
Tertullian (A.D. 160-220)
shows that from the earliest
testimonies of Christian
tradition, baptism was seen as
the beginning and foundation
of Christian existence. It was
at this moment that the
Church met the person and
communicated to him
Christ’s grace and new birth.
This is what was meant when
the Apostles baptized “in the
name of Christ.” It was at
once an act of faith and
penance in the baptized and a
creating act in Christ whereby
sins were forgiven and a new
creation (grace) was given as
the gift of the Spirit. It is this
light of Christ and new
creation in Christ in which
the person professes belief by
accepting this undeserved
grace.
Baptism, like all the other
sacred signs in which Christ’s
redemption becomes real for
us, is a personal profession of
faith and not a magical
formula. It is, on the part of
the one who receives this
grace, an explicit and
personal “yes” to the whole
historical manifestation of
God’s mercy and love in
Christ. The early Church
presupposed that as a regular
process, only adults were
baptized. Children were also
baptized from the earliest
days but this poses a special
theological problem which we
cannot go into here.
The Scriptures describe
baptism as a sign of Christ’s
death and resurrection active
in the baptized here and now:
“You were buried with him
in baptism, in which you
were also raised with him
through faith in the working
of God, who raised him from
the dead” (Col.2:12).
Baptism according to St.
Paul is an imitation of Christ,
in which the death and
resurrection of Christ are
applied to this person in time,
giving him a new birth, a new
creation (grace) in Christ. The
symbolic washing is an
effective symbol, because
there is given to the baptized
a real access to Christ and his
redemption. The baptized
truly die and rise with Christ,
so that becoming like him in
the likeness of his death, they
may be like him in the
resurrection.
Thus baptism as sign and
symbol connotes two aspects,
both received in faith.
Fellowship with Christ and
the new life (grace) are ours
now as reality and as hope for
the future. This new creation
is given to us in baptism as a
token and sign of the fullest
revelation of our sonship on
the last day, in the last
coming of Christ.
All this the believer must
personally and intelligently
accept as really his not only
for the moment but for all of
his existence. Faith makes
this a reality for this
individual, the cornerstone of
all his life. Baptism then can
be seen as a total
consecration of the whole life
of the Christian as well as a
death to the life of selfishness
and sin. The whole Christian
life must show the existence
of this new life in Christ. The
baptized can be said to be a
“royal priesthood” not only
in the Eucharistic service but
also in the liturgical service of
their whole lives, now
consecrated and elevated by
their new birth in Christ
Jesus. We live this new life of
ours now in Christ and in the
shadow of faith, but also in
charity and in firm hope for
the future when our sonship
of God in Christ will be fully
manifest in the final coming
of Christ.
Baptism is the symbolic
action whereby the
redemption of Christ, that is
his death and resurrection,
are given us here and now,
giving us the beginning of
Christian life by a concrete,
visible and symbolic
confession of faith which
makes us like the crucified
and risen Lord. The baptized
person dies with Christ and
rises with Him to new life in
the hope of the future full
glory of the resurrection. The
whole life of the baptized
person is marked by death to
selfishness and sin, and life in
a continuous act of love
toward God and neighbor. In
this way, the baptismal royal
priesthood of the faithful is
made real.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. How is Baptism “the
conscious and blessed
beginning of the Christian
life?”
2. Should Baptism and
Confirmation be received at
the same time?
Scripture In The Life
Of The Church Today
By Fr. Walter M.
Abbott, S.J.
The Trials of Being
a Christian Leader
We turn now to Paul’s
Second Letter to the
Corinthians, written probably
a year after he sent them
what stands in the New
Testament as the First Letter
to the Corinthians. As always,
except in the case of the
angry letter to the Galatians,
Paul begins with a prayer of
thanksgiving. Usually he
thanks God for graces given
those to whom he is writing.
This time Paul has troubles
and sufferings on his mind,
chiefly his own.
Paul has a very spiritual
attitude, however, about his
trials. He says he can share in
Christ’s sufferings and benefit
other members of Christ by
bearing his sufferings; he can
share in Christ’s strengthening
help and he can be a means of
that help being communi
cated to others (1:3-7). The
word for help here,
paraklesis, has been variously
translated as comfort,
consolation, etc.
Actually Paul uses the
plural when he talks about
such sharing of Christ’s
sufferings. We can take it that
he means “we apostles” or
“we leaders in the Church,”
or we can take it that he
means “we Christians.” He
could, of course, be using the
editorial plural, referring
simply to himself. If you read
the first three chapters of the
letter, I think you will
probably feel more and more
strongly that Paul is using the
editorial plural. Then, in the
last sentence of Chapter 3, he
suddenly refers to “all of us.”
See what he sayc there about
all Christians: “All of us,
then, reflect the glory of the
Lord, with uncovered faces,
and that same glory, coming
from the Lord who is the
Spirit, transforms us into his
very likeness, in an ever
greater degree of glory.”
It seems, therefore, that
Paul writes here using the
editorial plural but, as that
sentence shows, everything he
says about himself can be said
more or less by every
Christian, or rather it is what
each Christian should be able
to say. Please read Chapter 4
to make a test of what I’ve
just stated. I sent that chapter
as my Christmas card last
year, because I wanted to say
much of what was in Chapter
4 about myself, and I felt
that my friends, reading it,
would want to say many of
those things about
themselves. Read it and you
will see what I mean.
I know that many people
feel priests, sisters, and
brothers in religious orders or
congregations may be able to
think about sharing in
Christ’s sufferings and
communicating Christ’s
strength to others, but they
doubt that they, “average” or
“ordinary” people as they
think of themselves, can do
so. But Paul’s letters show us
that this kind of union with
Christ is open to all.
Notice what Paul teaches
about prayer here. Christians
can help one another by
prayer. When prayers of
petition are answered, they
are to be followed by prayers
of thanksgiving (1:10-11).
Paul here gives us an
important piece of the
doctrine about the
communion of saints.
Remember that “saints” in
New Testament language
includes all those who are
united to Christ through
baptism and the Eucharist.
All of this makes a really
remarkable beginning for the
letter because it turns out,
when you read the first seven
chapters, that among Paul’s
sufferings are three false
charges being made about
him in Corinth, that he is
fickle because he has not kept
his promise to visit them
again, that he has acted
arrogantly toward them, and
that he is insincere. It sounds
like what one hears priests
and people saying these days
about some of the bishops.
In 1:12-2:11 Paul writes
that he planned to visit the
Corinthians, but he decided
not to because he would
make them sad, apparently
by blasting them. Paul says he
wrote a letter instead of
visiting them, therefore, and
apparently it was a real
stinger with a special blast for
an unnamed individual for
something he had done. In
2:1 there is reference to a
visit which had indeed been
sorrowful. Obviously it was
not the first visit when Paul
founded the church at
Corinth, since that had been a
joyous occasion. Apparently
it was a visit between the
writing of the First and
Second Letters to the
Corinthians. At any rate, Paul
now writes to say that the
unnamed individual should
now be forgiven.
As you read that section,
and as we go through the rest
of the letter, you will have
ample evidence to make a
judgment about that third
charge, that Paul was
insincere. I think you will
agree that this letter reveals
the heart of Paul more than
any other.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What attitude does Paul
take toward his sufferings in
his second letter to the
Corinthians?
2. What lesson should we
as Christians learn from Paul
concerning suffering?
Question
And
Answer
BY FR. RICHARD McBRIEN
X;
$
1
Q. Is it possible to be a member of the Church even
if one is not moved by the story of Jesus and is not
really concerned about the historical details of his
preaching, ministry, and death? It seems to me that
one is a Christian not because he believes some
doctrines about Jesus or because he recites some
ecclesiastical creeds, but rather because he is willing
to live according to the spirit of the Gospel.
A. When you say “even if one is not moved by the
story of Jesus,” I assume you mean “even if one
cannot say that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ.” If
this is indeed what you mean, then I should answer
your question in this way: One cannot be a member
of the Church if he cannot or will not acknowledge
Jesus of Nazareth as Lord.
It is this confession of faith in the lordship of Jesus
which, after all, distinguishes the Christian
community from the rest of mankind. The Church is,
in fact, that portion of mankind which explicitly
affirms that Jesus is “the key, the focal point, and the
goal of all human history” (Pastoral Constitution on
the Church in the Modem World, n. 10).
It is possible, on the other hand, for one to enter
the Kingdom of God without confessing the lordship
of Jesus: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord,
Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who
does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt.
7:21).
*
While one may legitimately speak of “anonymous
Christianity” (i.e., the attitudes and life-styles of
people who are faithful to the will of God as
expressed by Jesus without, at the same time,
confessing his lordship and entering the Church), one
may not, it seems to me, speak of an “anonymous
Church.” This is a contradiction in terms.
By definition, the Church is that community which
alone brings to the level of explicit consciousness the
conviction that God has acted decisively and
definitively in human history through the person of
Jesus of Nazareth. The Church alone gives thanks to
the Father in the name of Jesus. The Church alone
keeps his memory alive and points ahead to his future
coming.
If Jesus of Nazareth is not the Christ, there is no
basis for Christian faith and there is no reason for the
Church’s existence. There are other ways to the
Kingdom of God. If Jesus is not the Christ, why
should one bother to pursue a path which is not
founded upon truth?
Q. The newly-elected Presiding Bishop of the
American Lutheran Church, Kent S. Knutson, said
recently that “Catholics will have to come to face the
reality that other Christian communities in the wort
exist and are real and have the same claim
catholicity as the Catholic Church has.” Would
Catholic theologians agree with Bishop Knutson’s
judgment?
A. This sentence, taken out of its original context,
may give some readers the wrong impression. Bishop
Knutson’s presentation was characteristically fair,
balanced, and ecumenical.
Secondly, I cannot speak for every other Catholic
theologian. However, I should indeed be interested if
any of my colleagues do, in fact, agree with Bishop
Knutson’s implied thesis that all Christian
communities have the same claim to catholicity. The
Second Vatican Council would not agree with this
thesis, and neither do I.
It is true that we Catholics must recognize that
“other Christian communities in the world exist and
are real.” Vatican II supports this in its Dogmatic
Constitution on the Church (n. 15) and in its Decree
on Ecumenism (n. 3).
However, the council always insists, in these same
texts, that the degree of participation in the life of
the Body of Christ varies from community to
community.
Catholicity does not have to do primarily with the
worldwide distribution of Church members, but with
the unity that exists among the various local churches
which constitute the Church universal. The notion of
catholicity is intimately connected with the notion of
collegiality. The Church is a communion of churches.
In one sense, the Church exists fully in every local
church, and yet, in another sense, the local church
has life and meaning only to the extent that it is in
communion with other local churches, on a diocesan,
regional, national, and international level.
Because the various Christian churches differ in
their understanding and implementation of this
central notion of collegiality, they also differ in the
realization of catholicity.
One contemporary Catholic theologian, Father
Gregory Baum, has argued that the Catholic Church
alone preserves the fullest meaning of collegiality and,
therefore, of catholicity, by preserving this delicate
balance between the local church and the Church
universal. See his The Credibility of the Church
Today (Herder & Herder, 1969), pp. 121-176, and
Faith and Doctrine (Newman Press, 1969), pp.
91-133.
8