Weekly HOMILY for January 10, 2010: Baptism Can Make a Difference

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
January 10, 2010

Baptism Can Make a Difference
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


The Name “Nicholas”

You all know that my name is Nicholas. I am named according to Italian customo after my maternal grandfather.

My full name is Nicholas Paul Amato, and my middle name is my father’s. This was all carefully explained to me by my parents from the time I was a child and it seemed that they explained over and over to me, though I must admit, I never tired of hearing it.

I learned early that Nicola – Italian for Nicholas – ends in an “a” because there is no “Nicola” in Italian. The feminine form of my name is Nicoletta.

My mother was clear that I bore the name of her father. And he was a “great” man.

I am glad they named me Nicholas – or Nicola, which I got very used to as a first generation Italian.

And that name has always designated me apart from all others in my world – from the time I was a baby right up to today at age sixty-eight, soon to be sixty-nine.


The Names at Baptism

When we are baptized, our parents formally proclaimed to us our given name; it was whispered in our ears a hundred times – “Michael” or “Jennifer” or “Patrick” or whatever it is.

But, at Baptism, we are also designated by some other names. We are baptized “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

And from the moment of baptism on, these names – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – these names are also to designate something about us. They designate something of (1) Who we are or (2) Who we are to become as persons.


The Name “Father”

We are first baptized “In the name of the Father.”

This makes us aware that there is a God and that God is our divine parent, the divine parent to all of us. It makes us aware that God is the creator and author of life and of all that is.

The result of the name “Father” is beautifully stated in one of the Old Testament Psalms. God speaks through the psalmist and says: “Be still and know that I am God.”

And so, we are to be still, to stop and to recall that we are not God. We are human, dependent on God for our being and life and all that we have.

As specifically human, we are in need, always in need of growing emotionally, spiritually, and relationally.

In fact, this humble openness to growing is to mark every step of our human journey.


The Name “Son”

And then, we are baptized “In the name…of the Son.”

This makes us aware that God initially has gone out of himself and reached out to us. He has made the first move. It makes us aware that it is God who has taken on our very humanity in Jesus.

The result of this name “Son” is that we now understand that God is completely self-giving. We understand, as Saint John says, that God is love – pure love, nothing but love, love itself.

And with that understanding, we know that the Father’s voice at Jesus’ Baptism also spoke to us at our own Baptism. That voice, the Father’s voice, said to each of us: “You are my beloved son. You are my beloved daughter.”

With this, we know then, that we are loved unconditionally. We have a firm foundation for our sense of self-worth as human beings.


The Name “Holy Spirit’

And finally, we are baptized “In the name…of the Holy Spirit.”

This makes us aware of God as Spirit. It makes us aware that the spiritual part of you and me and all of us is God, God within us. Imagine that! God within us!

The result of this name “Holy Spirit” is that you or I are not alone; never alone! God is with me at every moment and in every experience of life.

And the result of this name is also a reverence for all persons. Why?

Because the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit is here – in you and me and all humanity – whether a person is likeable or unlikable, deserving or undeserving, educated or illiterate, First World or Third World!

And so we reverence God here just as we reverence God who transcends this earth and God who comes to us in Jesus.


Conclusion

So, our Baptism, “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” designates something profoundly important about you and me.

These names designate me as human and not God, as beloved and unconditionally loved, and as having with all others the presence of God within and it does it just as surely as you are the name you bear.

That is the wonderful, most important, positive message of Christianity and Catholicism.