Monday of the Second Week of Easter

Lectionary: 267

Jesus answered and said to him,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God."

After a week of solemnities celebrating the Victory of the Lord we may be ready to settle down and contemplate what it means to us, and the difference it has made in our lives. And there is no better place to consider that difference than with the Sacrament of Baptism. 

That many of us were baptized soon after we were born might seem to make it irrelevant. It's like water to a fish or earth to a worm; it's the only thing we know. But what is it that we know so well? And how has it set us apart? How well do we know it? 

As a post-war Boomer, born to a devout young  couple who had seen enough of this world to know that their Catholicism made a difference, I grew up with daily prayer, weekly Mass, sacred images, and Catholic grade school. I learned the standard Catholic prayers, including the unexpurgated Act of Contrition which taught me to "dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell." 

My extended family lived in similar homes and neighborhoods, and by the same rules and regulations. I learned that I was not Protestant like the kids who went to the public schools. And, in those days, everyone was something; it was the first thing we asked about a stranger; and it made a difference. But there was little hostility between the religions; America was a safe place in those days; with The War behind us, we wanted no more violence. 

In retrospect, it seems inevitable that I went to the seminary in September 1962. What was not inevitable was that I would stay there. Very few of my classmates stayed the course of thirteen years. 

As an adult, I have come to appreciate the difference Baptism made. I am grateful for it, and only wish I had taken my holiness as a Catholic and a Christian more seriously. I might have studied our intangible patrimony more seriously.  There was a long period when being a generic American seemed more important. 

Speaking to Nicodemus, Jesus insisted that his people are "born from above."  They are driven by an invisible force: 

The wind blows where it wills,

and you can hear the sound it makes,

but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;

so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Our ways -- the ways I learned in my youth -- are reasonable. But they are built on different foundations than many ideas and principles which compel our neighbors. Our knowledge begins with faith in the Father who created us, the Son who saved us, and the Spirit who continues to guide, chasten, console, and drive us. We are neither optimistic nor pessimistic; fate, fortune, kismet, and luck mean nothing to us because we recognize only one God -- who has a say in one happens in our lives and in our world. 

We have seen the Risen Lord and worshiped Him. Our Baptism is real and effective.