Thus,
Benedict XVI stressed the value of that ritual celebrated in the Sistine
Chapel this morning: the baptism of infants 21 - 13 baby boys and 8
baby girls - children of Vatican employees, the oldest four months and
the smallest four weeks old.
The ceremony has become an established tradition of the popes,
on the day when the Church celebrates the baptism of Jesus, the last
Christmas holiday that closes the festive season.
In his homily, the pontiff first explained the meaning of the
baptism of Jesus Christ. "The baptism of Jesus - he said - is the
gesture of He who wants to be one of us in everyway and who stands in
line with sinners, He who is without sin allows Himself to be treated
like a sinner (cf. 2 Cor 5:21), to carry on His shoulders the burden of
guilt of all humanity. He is the "servant of Yahweh" of which the
prophet Isaiah spoke in the first reading (see 42.1). His humility is
dictated by His wish to establish full communion with humanity, the
desire to achieve genuine solidarity with man and his condition. Jesus
gesture anticipates the Cross, the acceptance of death for our sins.
This act of self abasement, in which Jesus wants to totally conform
Himself to the Father's plan of love, expresses the perfect harmony of
will and purpose that exists between persons of the Holy Trinity. In
this act of love, the Spirit of God manifests himself as a dove and
comes over him, and at that moment the love that unites Jesus and the
Father is witnessed, by those who attend the baptism, in a voice from on
high, which they all hear. The Father openly revealed to people the
deep communion uniting him to the Son: the voice that resonates from on
high states that Jesus is totally obedient to the Father and that this
obedience is an expression of love that binds them together. Therefore,
the Father is pleased with Jesus, the Son, because he recognises in the
gesture Jesus’ desire to follow his will in everything: " This is my
beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased " (Mt 3 17). The words of the
Father, are also a prelude to the victory of the resurrection.
Benedict XVI then turned to the parents of the children: "the
Baptism you ask today for your children, also places them in this mutual
exchange of love that is between God the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit, for this gesture I am about to make, sweeps the love of God over
them, flooding them with His gifts".
And again: "Dear parents, your children are a precious gift of
the Lord, who has reserved their hearts as His own, to be able to fill
them with His love. Through the sacrament of Baptism, he consecrates
them and calls them to follow Jesus, through the realization of their
vocation according to the particular design of love the Father has in
mind for each of them; the goal of this earthly pilgrimage will be full
communion with Him in eternal happiness”.
The pope recalled that since the early days of the Church,
parents have asked for the baptism of their newborn babies.
"Certainly, a
free and conscious adherence to this life of faith and love is also
required, - he added - and that is why it is necessary that, after
baptism, they will be educated in faith."
And he dedicated the second part of the homily to education in the faith.
"The
Church - said the pope - which welcomes them among her children, is
responsible, together with the parents and godparents, in accompanying
them on this path of growth. Collaboration between the Christian
community and family is greatly needed in the current social context, in
which the family institution is threatened from all sides, and finds
itself having to face many difficulties in its mission to educate in the
faith. The lack of stable cultural reference points and the rapid
transformation to which society is continuously subject, makes the
commitment to education very difficult. Therefore, it is necessary
that the parishes strive increasingly to support families, as the small
domestic churches in their task of transmitting the faith".
The Pope concluded his homily with a prayer for the children: "
We entrust them to the maternal intercession of Mary, asking for them
health and long lives so that they can grow and mature in the faith, and
bring, with their lives, the fruits of holiness and love. Amen!".
After the Marian prayer, Benedict XVI expressed his closeness
to the people of Haiti, a year after the earthquake, which caused
hundreds of thousands of deaths on the island.
"I especially remember -
said the pope - the people of Haiti, one year after the terrible
earthquake, which unfortunately has been followed by a serious outbreak
of cholera. Cardinal Sarah Robert, President of the Pontifical Council
Cor Unum, arrives in the Caribbean island today to express my constant
closeness and that of the entire Church”
The Coptic community
in Egypt has been a central concern of the pope, especially after the
New Year massacre in the church, in Alexandria, that left 23 dead and 80
wounded.
SIC: AN/INT'L