Thoughts on baptism

 

The same thing Jesus did for the deaf mute in today’s Gospel, he did for us at baptism.

 

The actual Aramaic word used by Jesus is recorded: “Ephphatha”: Be opened.

 

In the Rite of Baptism, there is a ceremony called the Ephphatha when the priest touches the infant’s ears and mouth, praying:

“The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May He soon touch your ears to receive His word, and your mouth to proclaim His faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father.”

 

Even though our ears have been opened in Baptism, and our tongues loosed to proclaim our Faith, many of us would admit that we do not hear the Lord speak to us. And we do not speak to others about the Lord.

 

In our world today, it can be very difficult to hear God, and it can be very intimidating to speak of God.

Even though we believe that God is present and active in our world; however, it takes some effort to notice.

 

St. Ignatius taught the first Jesuits to make the effort to seek and to find God in all things.

So, how can I attempt to find God in all things?

 

• Take time for some prayer: 

Talk to God each day; listen for His response, not really with your ears, but in the peaceful stirrings of your heart and your conscience.

 

• Remind yourself that God is always present as Loving Father and Constant Creator:

Realizing the presence of God is practicing the virtue of reverence.

God lovingly created each of us for a purpose in this world.

He continues to sustain us and give each the graces needed for our purpose and for our practice of following Him.

 

• See all Life as God’s precious creation. See all of Nature as God’s creation.  

Try to notice the beauty and the wonders, and try to reverence life.

 

• Try to see God in others. Granted, this is frequently not easy. We might say that God is very well hidden in many people.  

But, He is the Father of us all. He loves each of us as if each were the only one He created. 

His Holy Spirit dwells within us, making us temples of His presence. 

And we might remember C.S. Lewis’s comment: The holiest thing in this world besides the Blessed Sacrament itself is the person sitting next to you.

 

At our baptism we, like the deaf mute, were cured. We were cured for a purpose: to hear God and to proclaim His presence and His truth in our world today.

 

Even though our tongues have been loosed in Baptism to proclaim the Faith, we are not obliged to do so only with our tongues. We are not meant to be sententious, “preachy” in our words; we are meant to instruct far more eloquently by our actions. All of us are not meant literally to preach the Faith, but all of us are meant to live the Faith. We live the Faith by the quiet witness of practical Christian action. 

 

Try to find God in all things. 

For if we truly believe that God is present and active -- our ears may finally hear, and our tongues may finally be loosed.

 

Donald Saunders, S.J.