Word to the Wise
Wednesday, November 10, 2010 - St. Leo the Great, pope
[Titus 3:1-7 and Luke 17:11-19]But when the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life. [Titus]
These words from St. Paul's Letter to Titus are read at one of the masses on Christmas Day! There the emphasis is on the coming of Christ. Today I want to emphasize the words, "saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit." On Monday, at the parish mission I am currently preaching at Christ the King Parish in Gering, Nebraska, I had the congregation process to the baptismal font and make the sign of the cross with the water in the font as a reminder of their baptism. Most of us do not remember our baptism and yet it is one of the most important events of our life after our natural birth. After that service, a lady came up to me and told me she had been baptized twice and remembered her second one (a "conditional" baptism in the Catholic Church along with her parents when she was six years old.) She spoke of how important that memory is to her. Our parents and grandparents and teachers are the ones who tell us about our baptism, but ultimately we must "own" that great event which identifies us with Christ and commits us to carrying out his priestly, prophetic and royal ministry. Pope St. Leo the Great, whose feast we celebrate today, is famous for a homily in which he reminds his flock, "Christians! Remember your dignity!" The words to Titus, quoted above, describe that dignity well. Living up to it is the challenge of our baptismal commitment. We Dominicans offer to the world our approach which we call the "Four Pillars." Our charism of preaching is supported by prayer, study, community and service. When I give retreats, I like to phrase those four pillars as four questions: How am I praying? How am I learning? How am I loving? How am I serving? We can use those questions to ask ourselves how well we are living our baptismal commitment. How well are we remembering our Christian dignity? AMEN