Lent - Day Twenty Seven - What happens After Baptism?

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 144(145):8-9,13b-14,17-18 ©

The Lord is kind and full of compassion.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion,

  slow to anger, abounding in love.

How good is the Lord to all,

  compassionate to all his creatures.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion.

The Lord is faithful in all his words

  and loving in all his deeds.

The Lord supports all who fall

  and raises all who are bowed down.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion.

The Lord is just in all his ways

  and loving in all his deeds.

He is close to all who call him,

  who call on him from their hearts.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion.

We finally broke camp and resumed our journey. In the distance are the mountains that we will be our companions these next few days.  We will be walking towards them but Uriah says that they will seem to get no closer.  He says it is a trick our body has played on us because it is the only feature while all around us is sand and more sand.  Today's walk was refreshing in a sense if you consider the sun wanting to beam directly into your head and the dry hot air robbing you of your sweat before a breeze (what is a breeze?) comes to cool you.  Then, of course, is your water.  Hold the canteen up to your lips and the steel will burn them.  You learn quickly in the desert to pour the water into your mouth when you are thirsty.  And the water itself makes our steaming morning coffee seem as if it is iced because the water comes out as if it was held in a crucible in the middle of a kiln.  As you can see my frame of mind is not happy-go-lucky today, I am trudging on as best as I can.  Why are those mountains with the sweet cold running water no closer, we've been walking six hours and if anything they seem farther away?  I was glad when the Master had enough for the say even thou Uriah wanted to push on another couple of hours.  Camp went up swiftly and dinner was prepared and was especially flavorful this evening.  We finished and the Master rose to speak. 

"Friends, there once was a man who saved another man by drawing him up out of a pit he had fallen into. He worked hard to get the man back up to level ground.  When he did, he smiled at the man and said, "Now, you can go about your business."  The hero smiled and nodded and walked away leaving the man there.  Unfortunately, the man had a broken leg from the fall and he was all scratched and bloodied, he was exhausted, he was thirsty, he was bruised all over and eventually the man died from his injuries in spite of the fact that another man heroically pulled him out of the pit.  Now, I ask you, is your hero, in spite of all of his work, really a hero?"

I jumped to my feet and answered, "No, master, he pulled the man out of the pit and that was a wonderful thing to do but he left him for dead.  Pulling out of the pit was not enough considering the situation." 

The Master responded, "Just so!  The hero was not a hero at all.  He walked away satisfied that He had done the job but he proved himself to be uncaring because he left the victim with no support system.  Our heavenly Father sent His only Son to die for our sins and when He had done that, our sins were washed away and we were Children of God once more.  But, like a good Father, He did not stop there.  He put into place a system that will help keep His children ready for heaven. First He gave us Baptism, He adopted us and brought us into His household.  Then, he lavished us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit to guide and protect not only each of us but the Bride of Christ, the Church as well.  He knew we knew how to raid the cookie jar, how to tell itsy bitsy lies, how to appropriate other people's property and even their spouses so he gave us direct access to the throne of Grace when we go to confession and confess what we did wrong.  He also knew that the way would be long and lonely and He wanted to stay involved.  So, His Son made it possible for us to be united with one another and united with Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.  He blesses our race with the sacrament of Marriage, where two become one and are inseparable and He also made provision to give us holy men to be our deacons, priests, bishops, cardinals, and popes through the sacrament of Holy Orders.  He knew we would be sick and need help or dying and in need of comfort so He gave us the Anointing of the Sick.   All of these things are administrated by the Church.  Brothers, when you return to your homes, remember that the Sacraments are not for the holiest of the holy, but for sinners, those who need help.  Take full advantage of the mercy that Mercy has provided and you will, on your last day, march in and be among the number who are special friends, saints, of the Father."