By Father Rich Tomkosky
This past Sunday, the sacred mystery of Baptism and the Trinity was revealed as we closed down the Christmas season in the Church. Our Savior came to be baptized by Saint John the Baptist to pre-figure the reality that through the cleansing waters of the Sacrament of Baptism, we human beings would be reborn as adopted sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.
This is why Jesus came among us on Christmas day: to redeem the human race, and the way it begins for us is through our reception of the Sacrament of Baptism which is the gateway to new life in God. Baptism is the foundation for our daily life as Christians, and so it is appropriate that after this Feast we begin the Ordinary time of the Church’s year.
The Lord’s suffering servant is gentle. It may go counter to some people’s image of God, but the Lord is gentle with us humans because He knows we are frail in so many ways, and so wisely He tries to win us over to His ways and love – with kindness and patience. Jesus who is the fulfillment of the suffering servant prophecies of Isaiah was meek and humble of heart.
To quote Isaish, “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he established justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching.”
I have learned as a priest and pastor for many years that being patient and gentle with souls, especially in the confessional and spiritual direction and counseling, brings about the beautiful fruits of virtue and holiness over time; so, if we are a more driven person by temperament, we have to check our tendency to be harsher – especially when frustrated with others. In this regard usually, honey does work better than vinegar.
Our method for helping souls depends on the context and situation. As I have pointed out before as priests we are taught, to quote a seminary professor of mine, “To be a lion in the pulpit and a lamb in the Confessional.” When we preach and teach. We do it in general terms that applies to the most people possible; in Confession and spiritual direction and counseling, we take those principles and try to apply them to an individual life with God’s truth in charity.
It’s a delicate balancing act as in our weakness as humans we can easily go from being too harsh to being too lenient. The same goes for parents in raising children. The goal of all our spiritual efforts, in imitation of the Lord, if we take the faith seriously ourselves, is to again quote the prophet Isaiah, “I the Lord, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.”
This mission of helping the Lord bring human souls to salvation begins in our Baptism. We are all called to spread the Catholic faith by all that we say, and think, and do. In Confirmation this mission is deepened through greater infused graces to embrace our vocation and cross as a Catholic adult in the faith which God has called us to from the moment of our conception.
Jesus told Saint John the Baptist that He was allowing John to baptize Him as an example, to fulfill all righteousness, for His followers till the end of time. However, the Baptism we receive as an actual Sacrament is different than the Baptism of righteousness that Saint John the Baptist was giving – as the Sacrament actually brings about an infused change in the soul – original and actual sin is actually taken away and the Blessed Trinity comes to dwell in that person for as long as he/she doesn’t commit deliberate mortal sin. Even then, that life of the Trinity is restored when a person in mortal sin repents and receives the Sacrament of Confession.
Do you see how kind and gentle the Lord is even with souls in mortal sin, patiently waiting for them to come back to him like the Prodigal son? As we close out the Christmas season, let’s ask our Mother Mary and Saint Joseph to help us accomplish our Baptismal mission to bring souls to the Lord with their help, especially in living a daily life of every more profound prayer and generous acts of penance for our sins and reparation to the sins of others for the same acts of self-denial and extra acts of charity cover both. God bless you.
Father Rich Tomkosky is the Pastor of Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish in Bedford and the Pastor of Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Beans Cove.
