Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn
There are three mysteries that initiate us into the flock of Christ: Baptism, Christmation and Holy Eucharist. Our Lord taught us that our earthly birth is only the first stage in our development. Not to progress further is to live according to the flesh, to be subject to death and to be deprived of God's Spirit. We are called to a second birth. We must enter a second womb containing living waters.
The Syriac Fathers teach us that the Word of God begotten from the Father in a divine birth underwent a second birth in the flesh, so that we who had been born in a human way might be born again in a divine way. They explain that Christ, by immersing Himself in the waters of the Jordan River to be baptized by John, has consecrated the waters of the world. Therefore, when the Church, through the priest, anoints the waters of the Baptismal font with Sacred Myron (Chrism), the Baptismal font becomes a Spirit-filled womb capable of giving birth to new beings.
In Baptism we can begin to live "according to the Spirit" and to the destiny for which we were created. The image of God in which we have been imprinted begins to reflect the presence of the Word and the Spirit. We begin to realize that we have God for our Father. Without baptism our lives are headed nowhere; in baptism we begin the process of divinization which will climax in the heavenly union with God.
The Meaning of Baptism for Catholics Baptized in Infancy
In the early Church, the majority of Christians were adult converts. Indeed, in those days one could not receive baptism lightly. Baptism was seen as a vocation where one would become a serious disciple of Christ. To be baptized meant to vow that one would try to live his or her life according to the Gospel; that one would be willing to leave all things behind and follow Christ if need be; to be ready to suffer persecution for the sake of justice; and to practice the demands of love. One desiring to be baptized was called to spend two or more years of catechumenate and much time in prayer and fasting to prepare for a new life as a Christian. It was a call to leave behind the old thinking, the old values and the old priorities and to embrace the mind of Christ as revealed in the Gospel.
Most Catholics, today, are baptized in infancy. The hope and expectation is that they will be raised by their parents and sponsors according to the Christian lifestyle. As the early Christians relived their conversion and commitment each year as a new class of catechumens was preparing for baptism, it is even more essential in today's world that Catholic adults undergo the conversion, experience, making the free and mature decision to be disciples of Christ that they were unable to do as infants.
Baptism should not be an irretrievable memory but an ongoing commitment. Certainly our ancestors considered baptism as the most important event in one's life. It is baptism that separates us from our former selves and renders us a "priestly people". It is baptism that calls us to community embodied in the partaking of the Eucharist. It is baptism that initiates us into divine wisdom and urges us to contemplate the higher things.
As we mentioned so far, the mysteries of initiation are intended to bring about a new birth and new life for human beings. They call for a complete change of heart and a life-long commitment to being a disciple of Christ. In the early Church when most of the first converts were adults, such a serious step involved months of preparation, prayer and catechizing. Thus, the catechumenate in those days was two or more years in length. Besides instruction, it involved renouncings of Satan, exorcisms and a profession of faith. Our Maronite ritual for baptism reflects the various stages of the ancient catechumenate leading to the event of baptism itself. The text goes back, at least, primarily to adult converts.
The ceremony of baptism includes the Service of the Word, the rite of catechumens, the service of consecrating the baptismal water and the service of baptism itself. Christmation and Holy Eucharist complete the process of Christian initiation.
