Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today we have the great joy of celebrating the baptism, confirmation, and first Holy Communion of Mia who has been preparing over these past months, growing in her desire to follow Jesus and make the pattern of His life her own. We also have the great joy of welcoming Kelcie into full communion with the Catholic Church, and then celebrating her confirmation and first Holy Communion. The prayer of St. Paul from our second reading we make our own for you both: may you excel in faith, knowledge, and love.
Christ is doing for you both, each in your own way, what he did with the daughter of Jairus: raising you up to new life. From today on, you begin a life that is meant to be a witness of the emptying of Christ (we use the church word kenosis) for our sake. There are so many people at the point of death: not physical death so much, but spiritual death, but God does not want it to be that way, as He said through the sacred author of the Book of Wisdom. God wants us to be with Him for eternity, and He has give us the Church to help us get there. Really, the Church is a map to eternal life and happiness, helping us know which way we should go, and which ways lead to danger and move away from our final desired destination.
When I use the word Church, you may think of the official teaching office which promulgates and clarifies Church teachings. And there is truth in that. But you, as our soon-to-be newest members of the Church, also have that mission: to know which way we should go, and to know which ways lead away from salvation. You might think that is a bit much for someone who is just joining the Church today, but guiding humanity to God is the mission of each baptized and confirmed person, no matter how long he or she has been Catholic. We all help others to know what to do and what not to do. Sometimes we know this because we have studied the faith and learned in our head the path to salvation. Sometime we know this because we have wondered away from God and felt the negative consequences that come with opposition to God, and so we can let others know that we’ve been there, done that, and how it hasn’t worked out for us.
You also inspire us today by your choice to become Catholic. Many here were born into the faith, so to speak. As infants, our parents had us baptized, and so we take for granted sometimes the profundity of what it means to be Catholic. But, as we see you, both adults, make a free and purposeful choice, we can be stronger in our convictions that our life in the Catholic Church makes sense, and is something others have chosen who didn’t grow up surrounded by Catholicism in their family. So it’s not just others outside whom you will impact. We feel the impact of your faith even now, inside the four walls of this church building.
In confirmation, you will receive the Holy Spirit again, so that you can have the courage to proclaim the Gospel by word and by deed. You will be filled with power from on high to live a life that reflects what you believe, and help people understand how the answer to the deepest questions of their hearts is connected to Christ and faith in Him.
For children, the order has been changed, but the ancient order of the sacraments of initiation was baptism, confirmation, then the Eucharist, an order restored for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. The Eucharist was the culmination of becoming Catholic and growing in the faith because it is the closest one can come to Christ. Your entrance into the Catholic Church again confirms that all of our life as Catholics leads to the Eucharist, and then flows from the strength we receive from the Body and Blood of Christ.
So today we rejoice with you; we thank God for you; we thank you for your “yes” to Him. May you remain in Christ’s Holy Church while on earth, and so enter the heavenly Jerusalem, the Church in triumph in heaven, which is the goal of your baptism, confirmation, and reception of the Eucharist today!
