The Bible and Baptism: Drawing Strength from the Gift of Baptism

Summary

Summary of "The Bible and Baptism: Drawing Strength from the Gift of Baptism"

Episode Release Date: October 17, 2024
Podcast Title: Catholic Bible Study
Host: Augustine Institute
Guests: Father Isaac Morales

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Introduction

In the sixth and final episode of the Augustine Institute's "Catholic Bible Study" series, Father Isaac Morales joins Host A to delve into the profound significance of baptism. Building upon previous discussions, this episode explores how Christians, particularly laypeople, can deepen their appreciation and embodiment of the baptismal sacrament.

Deepening Understanding of Baptism

Father Morales emphasizes the transformative power of baptism, connecting it to the Christian experience of suffering and resurrection. Referencing Philippians 3:10, he states:

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible, I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (00:59).

Morales explains that baptism allows believers to transform their sufferings into acts of worship, aligning with Christ’s own suffering and resurrection. This transformation is not merely about enduring pain but turning it into a means of spiritual healing and deeper union with God.

Living Out Baptism Through Actions

The discussion transitions to practical expressions of living out baptism through acts of mortification, such as fasting. Morales elaborates:

“Mai, the way that they can be corrected and that we can be healed is by uniting them by God's grace... offering things to the Lord as a living out of our baptism” (02:53).

He distinguishes these practices from self-help, framing them instead as offerings to God that reflect a baptized life. Fasting from various comforts serves as a participation in Christ’s sacrifice, fostering humility and dependence on divine grace.

Baptism as Unifier: The Body of Christ

A significant portion of the episode focuses on baptism’s role in unifying the Church. Host A references 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 to illustrate how baptism creates one body in Christ, transcending societal divisions:

“For just as the body is one and has many members... all were made to drink of one spirit” (04:42).

Father Morales highlights that this unity is not about uniformity but about diverse members contributing their unique gifts. He uses the analogy of the human body, where each part has a distinct function yet operates cohesively. This metaphor underscores the necessity of every baptized individual’s role within the Church, promoting harmony and mutual respect despite inherent differences.

Celebrating Baptism: Roles of Clergy and Catechists

The conversation shifts to the practical aspects of celebrating baptism, particularly the roles of priests and deacons. Morales advises clergy to infuse their sermons with the depth of baptismal theology:

“ There's no reason not to pick up on one beautiful element of baptism and say, you know, your daughter is now going to be a daughter of God... she has become this temple where God is going to dwell” (10:49).

He shares personal anecdotes, such as his experiences baptizing children in a richly adorned baptistery, to illustrate how visual and scriptural elements can enhance the sacramental understanding for both the congregation and the participants.

The Importance of Scripture in Baptism

Emphasizing the integral role of Scripture, Father Morales references the Catechism and Second Vatican Council teachings to highlight the veneration of the Bible as sacred:

“The Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord's Body... We feed on Christ in the Eucharist, but we also feed on him in the Word” (17:34).

Host A connects this to the Eucharist, reinforcing the idea that both sacraments nourish the faithful. Morales encourages continuous engagement with Scripture to fully grasp and appreciate the mystery and grace of baptism, urging believers to read and meditate on the Bible as a means of spiritual sustenance.

Personal Reflections and Experiences

Both hosts share personal stories that encapsulate the emotional and spiritual significance of baptism. Host A recounts baptizing his son, highlighting the profound sense of divine presence and blessing:

“Everything you see happening in this icon is about to happen to James” (13:12).

These narratives serve to illustrate the tangible impact of baptismal rites and the deep connection believers feel with God and the Church community through this sacrament.

Conclusion

Father Morales and Host A conclude the episode by reiterating the multifaceted nature of baptism. It is not only a rite of initiation but a continual call to live out one’s faith through actions, community, and Scripture. They encourage listeners—whether clergy, catechists, or laypeople—to embrace baptism's depth, fostering a unified and active Christian life.

“Illumination is the most beautiful and most magnificent of the gifts of God... it's this beautiful gift that's hidden in these humble signs” (15:21).

The episode serves as a final invitation to the audience to deepen their understanding and practice of baptism, ultimately strengthening their relationship with God and each other.

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Timestamps

• 00:59 - Philippians 3:10 discussion
• 02:53 - Acts of mortification and baptism
• 04:42 - Unity in 1 Corinthians 12
• 07:02 - Misconceptions about baptism
• 09:17 - Baptism as unifying force
• 10:49 - Clergy’s role in celebrating baptism
• 13:12 - Personal baptism story
• 15:21 - Importance of Scripture in baptism

Transcript

[A]

Friends, welcome back for our sixth and final episode of this formed book study on Father Isaac Morales, the Bible and the fountain of salvation. Father, good to have you back one last time.

[B]

Great to be here. One last time.

[A]

Appreciate it. So for this last episode, I thought we'd kind of could pick up with where we. Where we kind of left off Talking about Romans 6 and the way of life that we're called to as baptized Christians. You know, do you have any other thoughts about how all Christians, maybe especially lay people, can more deeply appreciate and live out their baptism?

[B]

Yeah. Well, I like the passage that you pointed to in the last episode from Philippians 3. Philippians 3, chapter 10, that I may know him, verse 10. What did I say?

[A]

Chapter?

[B]

Oh, well, you knew what I meant. That I may know him and the power of his resurrection and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible, I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Suffering. Everybody experiences suffering and nobody likes it. But one of the gifts that Christ gives us through the life of baptism is that that suffering can be transformed and made into something beautiful. And this actually connects with episode four on the name, because it's also an act of worship. We can turn our suffering into ways of worshiping God, which actually heals us. If we want to tie it back further to episode two, keep tying. Ezekiel 36, right? How he will cleanse us of our idols. Our idols are cleansed when we worship the one true God. And baptism introduces us into that life. So there's this old Catholic saying that people don't like, but offer it up. You know, like, you break your arm, you can whine and cry, and there's nothing wrong with crying or expressing your pain, but you can either complain about it or you can say, lord, I. I unite this to your cross, transform it, give me life through it. So things that happen to us, things that we choose to do for ourselves, fasting every now and then on a Friday, you deprive yourself of something and it's a little death. It's a little participation in Jesus death. Not for the sake of just flagellating ourselves, but in order to be united to Christ's Son.

[A]

The humility we talked about in episode three, like his baptism and then with his cross. Okay, I can't say I've ever really thought about Friday penance as a way of owning my baptism, living out my.

[B]

Baptism any day except Sunday, because Sunday's the resurrection, right? We don't do penance on Sundays, but any kind of little mortification is Another word. You may have heard it me, kind of just putting to death our disordered desires. Desire is good. God made us with desires for good things, but they can get out of whack. And so the way that they can be corrected and that we can be healed is by uniting them by God's grace. Of course, this isn't a self help thing like we're fixing ourselves, but offering things to the Lord as a living out of our baptism. And there's any number of things. I mean, fasting from food, fasting from music, fasting from TV shows. You know, we fast from things that are good to offer them to the Lord in thanksgiving for the good gifts that he gives us.

[A]

Right, right. Yeah, that's beautiful. You know, another thing that I was. I was thinking about a little bit, tying back again to our discussion of the Name in episode four, you showed us in First Corinthians, at the beginning of 1 Corinthians, when Paul and Sosthenes address themselves to the Church of God. That's in Corinth. Right. So to a specific community of Christians, those sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And you were suggesting that that language of calling upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is actually a way of saying with all those everywhere who have been baptized and who seem then in some sense to belong to each other. And I was thinking about then how later in 1 Corinthians in chapter 12, that's exactly the argument that Paul makes. I guess maybe let's look at verses 12 and 13.

[B]

Yeah, well, and before you get to there, this also ties back to what we were talking about earlier with the ancient Israelites and this notion of corporate sin, corporate sanctity.

[A]

You don't cross the ridge.

[B]

Yeah. We're not atomized individuals, although many modern people think that way. But we live in relation to one another and we depend on one another. And. Yeah, that's what Paul gets at. In the passage that you were about to read for us before I so rudely interrupted.

[A]

No, no, that's. No, that's. Well, that's really great. I mean. And actually, I'll further interrupt myself to say that we've talked about baptism as a rebirth and how we become one with the Son and can call God Father. And it's interesting that the familial language didn't just stop there, but the early church really ran with this. Oh, yeah, we call each other brothers and sisters. We Call priests Father. And even, you know, I think about St. Cyprian, whom you mentioned earlier, has this famous line where he says, you cannot have God for your father unless you have the church for your mother. Right. So this idea of belonging, that it's not just baptism, puts me in an. It is personal, but it's not a kind of private or individual.

[B]

Individualistic.

[A]

Yep. Yeah. So I was thinking of chapter 12, 1 Corinthians 12, 12, 13. For just as the body is one and has many members. Right. Different parts of our body, but that are nonetheless all part of one body. And all the members of the body. Sorry, yeah. And all the members of the body, though many, are one body. So it is with Christ. For in one spirit, we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free and, you know, friends. To me, it's really powerful to think today in the context of so much polarization and divisions and wounds to unity and harmony among human beings, to see that baptism is in many ways the answer to this. Oh, yeah, right. This is what makes us one. All were made to drink of one spirit. And, you know, Father, in the last episode, you suggested that the average Catholic, when he or she thinks about baptism, thinks about the washing away of original sin, maybe, to be honest with you, a lot of people, a lot of Catholics that I see at baptisms, they're not even thinking about original sin.

[B]

They're thinking, oh, isn't this nice? She's got the white.

[A]

This is nice. Got the white dress. And a lot of times that is nice.

[B]

Yes, it is. It is. But that's not what it's about.

[A]

No, that's not what it's about. But at least a lot of times, what I hear, at least a lot of baptisms, is that, well, you know, by means of this baptism, we're welcoming this child into our Christian community. Welcoming into the community. And, you know, there's part of me that's a little bit cynical because, you know, I'm antisocial and I'm not easy to get along with that thinks, like, I don't want any part of it. I want to be part of it. And, you know, it can seem like this trite thing. It's like, welcome to the neighborhood kind of a thing. But it seems to me that what we've seen here, seeing those connections with worship, with the history of Israel, with death and resurrection, with all these realities, I'm not going to be cynical about that anymore. That's really beautiful, actually, that this is. You're being. You're Being welcomed to the community, a community that is the body of Christ, where Jews and Greeks can be one, slaves and free can be won.

[B]

Yeah. There are two other things that I love about this passage in the broader context, one profound and one just kind of silly. The profound one is that. So the body of Christ is not like the Borg. You're not going to be assimilated. You know, Paul talks about unity, but it's the unity of diverse parts. Like, my finger is connected to my heart, which is connected to my ankle. Right. And you can't. I'm not going to cut off my finger just because I don't need it to play pump blood. Right. It has an important part, but it's not the most important part. Right. And so every baptized person has a particular vocation. Right. And it's not the same for everyone. We need priests, we need religious, we need lay people, we need. And even among those groups, there are all sorts of different gifts. The silly part is, as I was writing this chapter on this, I thought of. I just. For some reason, it struck me this time, if the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? And I'm just picturing this huge eye with maybe like a couple of little feet there, you know, or like an ear. But it's silly. You need more than one eye or one ear or whatever. You need the whole body working together in order to be healthy and to be whole.

[A]

Right, Right. And accepting that role and praising God for it.

[B]

And Paul also talks about how the less honorable ones are the ones that we need to bestow the greater honor, because the Gospel totally upends the way we're naturally, because of our sinful nature, inclined to think. No, it's the humble that are supposed to be lifted up.

[A]

Right. If you want to be great, you have to be a servant. If you want to be the greatest, you have to be the slave of all. He really does turn things upside down. Another connection I'm drawing now with our conversation in the last episode was how there's a reality that we die and rise with Christ. We die to sin and rise to new life in Christ. And yet that's a reality that we have to strive. It's also a vocation. It's something we're called to realize. And it seems to me that also goes for the sense of community, Right. And even thinking about divisions among Christians, right. Our separated brethren, Protestant Christians, divisions even within the church, and so forth. And also think about our baptism as something that calls us to really long for a Deeper unity and to pray for it, to ask for it, to work toward that. Yeah, boy, that's really great. Okay, so I feel satisfied as a layperson in thinking about how to live my baptism more deeply. What about for people like you who actually celebrate baptism for priests and deacons?

[B]

Well, there are two things, I would say one, and it connects back to the end of the last episode just to realize that for those of us who are called to the clerical state as deacons or priests and who have this ministry, our ministry grows out of our baptism. It's how we live out the baptismal vocation that all Christians have. But the other thing I would say is there's so much in the rite of baptism in scripture that's just great fodder for preaching. And I think when you baptize children, you should preach not for the children, because they're not gonna understand, they're not gonna remember, but for the sake of the parents to help them to realize just what a beautiful gift they're giving to their children as instruments of God's grace. And God is giving to them, to their children, through them. And you can't talk about everything, but there's so much. There's no reason not to pick up on one beautiful element of baptism and say, you know, your daughter is now going to be a daughter of God. Right. Or she's become this temple where God is going to dwell.

[A]

You know, this reminds me of. I mean, we have four children, and each of their baptisms was just profoundly beautiful. But I remember very distinctly this moment at the baptism of our oldest son, who's 14 now. I had only been Catholic for four months when he was born. My wife actually entered the church during Mass right before his baptism.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

So he knows.

[B]

He told me this, but I. Yeah.

[A]

And he'll say to him, like, well, Mama, you've only been Catholic a half hour longer than I have. Right. But I remember. I remember going into the. Into the Baptistry then, and our pastor had this big, beautiful icon of the Lord's baptism. And he kind of, you know, he took his time and with the other kids who were there, walked him through. What do you see in this icon? What's happening here? And sort of talking about the heavens opening, the Holy Spirit coming down, and then the voice of the Father saying, this is my beloved Son. And then he let them kind of talk this out. And then he said, now, you're not going to see it with your physical eyes, but everything you see happening in this icon is about to happen to James.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right. And I remember he was just so powerful. I mean, he was talking to the kids, but I definitely felt it was like this is talking to me. And again, just how incredible that gift is that the heavens are going to open, the Holy Spirit's going to fall on my son, and my heavenly Father is going to claim him as his son.

[B]

Yeah, right.

[A]

That was a huge thing for me as a dad.

[B]

Yeah. That's beautiful. That reminds me of my summer as a deacon. I was really fortunate. I served at our parish in New York City, St. Vincent Ferrer, which I don't know if you've ever been there. It's a beautiful church. And the baptistery, it's separate from. I mean, it's within the church building, but it's not in the main part of the building. But it's got beautiful baptismal imagery. It does have, like, the Spirit on the ceiling or dove on the ceiling, the symbolizing the Spirit coming down, water on the floor, not literal water, but waves. The octagonal baptistery, because, of course, many ancient baptisteries had eight sides because of this notion of the eighth day, that Christ rises on Sunday, which is the day after the Sabbath, and so that's the eighth day.

[A]

Oh, so does that tie to what you pointed out when we were looking at Christ's baptism in Mark, about how it's a new creation?

[B]

Yes. Yep. And also at first Peter, when one Peter talks about how eight were saved, and the fathers picked up on that and talked about. Yes, because the Eat day. Exactly.

[A]

Eight in the Ark.

[B]

And so, I mean, doing a baptism in that Baptistry, it was so easy to preach.

[A]

You just look around, point to different elements, and.

[B]

Yeah, it was beautiful.

[A]

Oh, that's fantastic. That's great. All right.

[B]

Yeah. So I guess that's one thing I would also say to priests and deacons, if you're in a church that has this beautiful imagery. Now, not all churches do, but if you are, use that, it's so easy, just. And it'll stay more with people if they have the image in addition to the ideas.

[A]

For sure. Yeah, for sure. That's wonderful. Well, okay. I know I said I was satisfied as a layperson, but it does occur to me, as you talk about priests and deacons preaching on this, that there are a lot of lay people who might serve as catechists who might do sacramental prep.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Any words of counsel for them?

[B]

It's going to be pretty similar to what I said for the priests and deacons. Give the people who are preparing a robust sense of the beauty of this gift. I'd love to come back to this quotation from St. Gregory Nazianzes that I started with in the first episode. Illumination is the most beautiful and most magnificent of the gifts of God. And again, just in case you're just tuning in, illumination is another name for baptism in the early church. But as that priest said to you when he was baptizing James, it's going to look ordinary. You're not going to see, like it's just a bit of water going over a baby's head. But it's this beautiful gift that's hidden in these humble signs, just as Christ himself is God in the flesh. But if you were walking around 1st century Palestine and you saw him, you're just like, oh, there's another dude.

[A]

Well, and going back to that quotation we talked about from Pope Benedict that he blended in with the gray mass of sinners on the banks of the Jordan, you wouldn't think you saw anything special and you actually saw the Son of God.

[B]

Yeah. Or think of the Eucharist. You have this little wafer thing that just looks like a wafer and there's God in the flesh waiting for you.

[A]

Yeah. That's powerful. Yeah. So catechists, sacramental prep, don't just go through the motions and help people understand the power of this thing. That's gonna look like, okay, you got a little bit wet.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right. And yet, I mean, and it seems to me that, I mean, going back to what we were saying about Jesus in this way, he's just reflecting his Father. Right. That God does this. This is how he stoops down and the incomprehensible, infinite God makes himself available to us in these kind of apparently unimpressive things. And nonetheless, in faith, we believe God's Word and we know that there's a power there. Well, that mention of God's Word also makes me think. We've talked a lot about baptism. We've been using the Bible to understand it. But maybe let's just talk again about the Bible. Any words for our viewers about the importance of Scripture?

[B]

Read it. No, it is. There's a beautiful passage. The catechism quotes this beautiful passage from Dave Urbum about scripture. Well, not just about Scripture. I'll just.

[A]

Dave Ribham from the Second Vatican.

[B]

From the second. Yeah. So it's a document from the Second Vatican Council and in the Catechism of the Catholic church, in paragraph 103. So this is the beginning. It's the third paragraph of the section on Scripture and Sacred Scripture. And it says, for this reason, the Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord's Body. I don't think most Catholics think that, and most Protestants don't think that about Catholics based on the way we sometimes behave. But the Church venerates the Scriptures in a way analogous to the way it venerates the body. And it continues. She never ceases to present to the faithful the bread of life taken from the one table of God's Word and Christ's Body. The two go together. We feed on Christ in the Eucharist, but we also feed on him in the Word. And so it's great to read the Bible to understand baptism. It's also great to read the Bible just to be fed by God's Word.

[A]

Yeah, because Jesus himself is the bread of life. He's the same Jesus that we receive in Holy Communion and that we encounter.

[B]

Who speaks to us through these words of Scripture.

[A]

That's absolutely tremendous. Well, Father, thank you so much for joining us for these episodes. Thank you for this book. It was an absolute joy to edit it, and I hope you had fun writing it.

[B]

I did.

[A]

And once again, friends, this book is available on Catholic Market, and I'd really encourage you to check it out. Father very much wrote it with a pretty broad audience in mind. You know, Father's a great New Testament scholar, and he wants it to be a very serious work of loving the Lord with. With our mind. But also, we don't want anybody to miss out on these gifts of God's Word and God's sacraments. And so whether you're a priest or a deacon, whether you're a catechist, someone who does sacramental prep, or whether you're just a baptized believer who wants to go deeper in God's word to understand your identity as someone baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I'd really encourage you to check out this book. Father, thank you once again for your time and for your tremendous work, for your priesthood, for the waters of life that you dispense to the faithful. Thank you all for joining us. God bless.