"AND BEHOLD, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS,UNTIL THE END OF TIME."
The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of time.”
Created in the image and likeness of God, man is the most noble of all creatures. But, while without baptism we are only the privileged recipients of God’s creative love, through baptism we become also the unique recipients of God’s redeeming and elevating love by becoming personally related to each of the three Divine Persons.
In fact, through this sacrament, we become children of the eternal Father, brothers/sisters of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and sacred abodes of the Holy Spirit.
This life-giving relationship with each Person of the Blessed Trinity is neither a temporary role, nor an external label. Rather, it effects a lasting permanent transformation in our being. We become a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). We acquire the greatest dignity in the universe.
And all this, not on account of any personal merit on our part, but solely because “So much has the Father loved us that we are called God’s children – and so, in fact, we are” (Jn 3:1).
As such, impelled by the Spirit who dwells in us, we dare call God “Abba, Father,” the same delicate appellation which Jesus himself used when addressing His eternal Father (see Rom 8:15; Gal 4:5-7 and Mk 14:36).
Our relationship with the Blessed Trinity has a dynamic orientation. By its very nature, it tends to bring us ever closer to the Divine Persons, till we come to contemplate them “face to face,” as we experience their love in the most direct and full manner. In fact, “if we are children, we are also heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Rom 8:17).
Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of time.”
Created in the image and likeness of God, man is the most noble of all creatures. But, while without baptism we are only the privileged recipients of God’s creative love, through baptism we become also the unique recipients of God’s redeeming and elevating love by becoming personally related to each of the three Divine Persons.
In fact, through this sacrament, we become children of the eternal Father, brothers/sisters of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and sacred abodes of the Holy Spirit.
This life-giving relationship with each Person of the Blessed Trinity is neither a temporary role, nor an external label. Rather, it effects a lasting permanent transformation in our being. We become a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). We acquire the greatest dignity in the universe.
And all this, not on account of any personal merit on our part, but solely because “So much has the Father loved us that we are called God’s children – and so, in fact, we are” (Jn 3:1).
As such, impelled by the Spirit who dwells in us, we dare call God “Abba, Father,” the same delicate appellation which Jesus himself used when addressing His eternal Father (see Rom 8:15; Gal 4:5-7 and Mk 14:36).
Our relationship with the Blessed Trinity has a dynamic orientation. By its very nature, it tends to bring us ever closer to the Divine Persons, till we come to contemplate them “face to face,” as we experience their love in the most direct and full manner. In fact, “if we are children, we are also heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Rom 8:17).
The Trinity is, thus, our final destination and reward. That is where we belong, and where alone our being will find the fulfillment it longs for. But the greatness of our present dignity and of the final destiny that comes to us from our baptism has also its demands.
Our daily way of life has got to be in keeping with our being “Children of Light,” for “God is Light” (1 Jn 1:5). Everything in us – our thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions – should form a living doxology, a continuous hymn of praise to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Euchalette, 6 June 2009
WORD AND LIFE PUBLICATIONS
MCPO Box 1820, Makati City, Philippines
Our daily way of life has got to be in keeping with our being “Children of Light,” for “God is Light” (1 Jn 1:5). Everything in us – our thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions – should form a living doxology, a continuous hymn of praise to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Euchalette, 6 June 2009
WORD AND LIFE PUBLICATIONS
MCPO Box 1820, Makati City, Philippines
