Fr. Chris - The Baptism of the Lord - Homily

 The Baptismal Journey"
​Today, we celebrate the divine ‘Baptism of Our Lord’; indeed, the first sacrament we ourselves receive as new Christians, welcoming us into the Church of Christ, preparing us, empowering us spiritually, for our individual, sometimes challenging, but always rich and rewarding Faith Journeys ahead in the life God has given us.
It will be up to us to find the meaning and purpose behind our unique journeys. But clearly, the Holy Spirit has given us the strength of grace needed to go forth, and Christ has given us his Word to navigate the road with all its twists and turns: love God, and love your neighbour as yourself. Again, as suggested earlier: Love yourself enough to love God, and to love your neighbour, because many of us are impatient with ourselves, or cannot forgive ourselves enough to love ourselves.
 
If we look up a definition of the Sacrament of Baptism, the dictionary tells us it is: “a ceremony involving a religious rite of sprinkling water onto a person's forehead or of immersion in water, symbolizing purification or regeneration and admission to the Christian Church.” But we are also told it is something we may not have paid enough attention to, that it is: “a person's initiation into a particular activity or role, typically one perceived as difficult.” We should be attentive to this. Because being a Christian is not only our call to salvation, it is our call to accept the challenges and suffering of life as Christians, while seeking to heal the suffering of others, and guide them to Christ. St Teresa (Mother Teresa) of Calcutta understood this. In fact, people like Gandhi also heard this call within their own culture and community.       
 
But maybe we are saying to ourselves, “I don’t have the same gifts, talents, skills, and charisms as a Mother Teresa or even a Gandhi! Realistically, I can’t see me giving up my life to the extent they did for other people. These people are icons of spirituality! I’m made of softer metal. Plus, I have a family to take care of. I truly wish I could save the world, but right now I need to save enough money to get my family and myself through this pandemic.”
 
Of course, many of us are also perhaps shy or maybe simply too fearful to even consider making such major sacrifices for others like St. Teresa and Gandhi did. Yet, let us not forget – they were just human beings like us. They were not born ‘super’ heroes, though in their choices in life they became ‘spiritual’ heroes for us.  
 
Like them, we must remember our baptismal call is not easy: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross to follow me.”
 
St Teresa of Calcutta, then Agnes, was a gentle, Albanian girl born in Macedonia. After her father’s death, she was raised by her Roman Catholic mother in the Faith, living in a comfortable, stable household. As she matured, she became fascinated with lives of the missionaries. After several influential pilgrimages, she moved to Dublin, Ireland, to answer her call. There, she joined the Loreto Sisters, learned English, and took a teaching job in India. While travelling by train from Calcutta to Darjeeling, she experienced “the call within the call”. Always listening for God, Teresa heard him say, “I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them. It was an order. To fail would have been to break the faith.” Like Christ’s disciples, she left the convent with only a pair of sandals and a plain, white, blue-edged sari. Adopting Indian citizenship, she received medical training at Holy Family Hospital in Patna. Then, she made her way to the slums, the rest history.
 
But again, perhaps we can rightfully argue we couldn’t do the same thing, because we are married, have children, or our health is too compromised. Yet, it isn’t the magnitude of the work; it is committing to help others even in the smallest ways.
 
Pastoral counsellor, Rev. Chuck De Groat, says it is important to know that helping others first begins with ourselves. How can we help the lost see God when we may be blinded by our own worldly distractions? But then we may reply, “I’m too wounded myself to help the wounded.” Yet author, Fr. Henri Nouwen, illustrates in his acclaimed book, The Wounded Healer, how only those who have experienced suffering can heal the suffering of others.
 
So, what does all this mean? Our troubles and suffering shape us to help others, while also being a catalyst for self-discovery, even self-healing, especially when done through prayerful union with God, the greatest path to self-discovery, to understanding and accepting our pain with true, forgiving love of self. We learn our thoughts and emotions are not who we are; that we are much more. At our core, we are profound, mystical creations of God. He will help us find and heal ourselves. Then we, the baptized, can help and heal others like Saint Mother Teresa did, because we have learned to love ourselves enough to love God, and to love others.
 
 – Rev Fr Christopher Tracey, Saint Joseph Parish, Saugeen Shores, Ontario