HOLY HEROES. This was the title of the formation program
for the Year of the Laity in 2014 published by the CBCP’s Commission on the Laity.
“Holy Heroes,” we now recall, embodies the theme “Called to be Saints, Sent Forth as Heroes.”
All these refer to the vocation of the laity to live holy and heroic lives amid
the challenges and opportunities in the Church and in society.
This is, indeed, a far cry from the outmoded pay-pray-and-obey
passive view of the laity’s role in the Church. And thanks be to God! We are
now outgrowing the highly clericalized Church, dominated by the hierarchy of
bishops, priests, and religious where the laity is passive and silent alienated
from the real life and mission of the Church.
What is the key to the growing respect for a more active and participative role of the laity? I believe it is the deeper appreciation of the
grace of baptism. It is by virtue of our common baptism that we all share in
the responsibility of fulfilling the Church’s mission of evangelization.
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| (picture grabbed from http://joyfulpapist.wordpress.com) |
Why did Jesus Christ submit himself to John’s baptism of
repentance? In today’s gospel reading (Mt 3:13-17), John tried to prevent Jesus
from being baptized as he felt unworthy and, of course, as he knew that Jesus
had no need of repentance. But the Lord
insisted that this must be allowed in order to “fulfill all righteousness” (v.
15). This refers to Jesus’ acceptance of God’s salvific will, i.e. Jesus was to
come as Savior in sharing the lot of a sinful people while being recognized as
God’s son. Indeed, after Jesus was baptized, the spirit of God descended upon
him and a voice came from heaven, saying: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I
am well pleased” (v.16-17).
In short, Jesus’ baptism was a confirmation of his
identity as the beloved Son of God and his mission as the Savior of all
nations.
Similarly, we can understand our own baptism in Christ in
terms of this identity-mission paradigm.
We are called to be saints and sent forth as heroes.
Called to be
Saints. In baptism, we die in Christ as we immerse in water and rise into
new life with Christ as we emerge from the water of baptism. Hence, we are born into new life, new
identity. We become the beloved sons and daughters of God through Jesus Christ.
Indeed, the old life enslaved by sin is no more. In
baptism, we are called to be faithful to our identity as adopted sons and
daughters of God. Every day, all of us are called to live holy lives. We are
called to be saints. I believe, this simply means that we sustain the divine
life we share in Christ through baptism.
Many years ago, the call to holiness tended to be
understood as directed only to the religious people and priests probably
because of their religious vows and ordination to the sacred orders. While indeed they ought to be effective
witnesses and models of holy lives, they do not have the exclusive right to
this calling. Now, we have accepted with ease that it is our common baptism
that makes this calling to holiness universal.
The laity too is called to live holy lives. They are called to be
saints, God’s sons and daughters whom God is well pleased.
Sent Forth as Heroes.
Heroes are those with strong sense of mission. They go out of their own comfort zones and lay
down everything they have even their lives for causes beyond their own personal
interest, i.e., for love of others, God and country.
In baptism and confirmation, we all receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit. All baptized are enabled by the Spirit to participate in the
mission of Christ. With manifold charisms, we all enrich the ministries and
apostolate of the Church which are but the expressions of our participation in
the threefold missions of Christ—the priestly, prophetic, and kingly missions.
Again, today we have gradually left behind the
understanding that the mission of the Church belongs only to the clergy and
religious. The lay people also are now recognized as missionaries. By virtue of
baptism, they have the empowering gifts of the Holy Spirit which translate into
the tasks of participating in the life and mission of the Church.
The lay are sent as heroes. The world needs heroes—heroes
who sanctifies families and communities through their prayer and worship,
heroes who joyfully proclaim to the world the Good News of God’s love and who
firmly denounce the destructive influence of evil, heroes who lay down their
lives in service of the poor, the deprived, and the oppressed. They are heroes
who are priestly, prophetic, and kingly after the heart of Jesus Christ.
On this Feast of the Lord’s Baptism, we pray for the renewal of the Church's sense of mission through the empowerment of the lay people by virtue of their baptism, activating their charisms from the
Spirit, so that they may indeed take up their role as co-responsible agents of
evangelization and of social transformation. May the appreciation of the beauty and power
of their baptism help them take up their calling to become holy heroes, called
to be saints and sent forth as heroes into the world.
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