As summer ends in this part of our world, many parishes are offering programs for individuals who would like to receive the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. As I read Saint Paul’s Letter to the Colossians today, I was reminded of the special gift that is to be had by those who have not yet received these Sacraments. Paul was reminding the Colossians of their own reception of these gifts...
The reception of these gifts being: how they received Christ, walked with Him, were rooted in Him, and taught the faith.
Jesus reminded them, and anyone today who chooses to accept Christ, that with baptism we are buried with Christ but also raised with Him through the power of God. Even when we were laid low by sin, He brought us back to life having forgiven all our transgressions.
This faith to which we are called is further detailed for us today in the selection of the 12 disciples Jesus called to Himself. Coming down the mountain where He gathered and selected them while in prayer, they were met with crowds seeking healing, wanting to touch Jesus because power came forth from Him.
But power also came forth from His disciples as we would later discover while hearing of their missionary journeys and the healing they brought to peoples. The healing they brought was the comforting compassion that Christ had urged them to share with others.
Our own reception of the Sacraments of Initiation, our Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist has empowered us, His disciples today, to reach out and touch others in the name of Jesus and heal them.
I think of the medical doctors and nurses who give up their vacations to go to foreign countries to heal the sick. The doctor who collects wheelchairs and ships them to our mission in Peru and follows up with a visit to attend those need. And what of those doctors who correct the deformed lips of children in poor countries of our world so that they can smile again and walk though life upright and not with a hand that covers their facial deformity.
The number of committed Christians is legion. They are men and women who have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, are rooted in Him, and built upon Him.
Let us pray for all candidates about to engage in programs that will lead to their reception of Baptism, Confirmation, or Holy Communion.
