VATICAN CITY, 13 JAN 2008 (VIS) - At 10 a.m. today, Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the Pope presided at Mass in the Sistine Chapel, during which he administered the Sacrament of Baptism to 13 infants, children of Vatican employees.
"In Baptism", said the Holy Father in his homily, "young human beings receive new life, the life of grace that makes them capable of entering into a personal relationship with the Creator, and this lasts forever, for all eternity.
"Unfortunately", he added, "man is capable of extinguishing this new life through sin, reducing himself to a situation described by Holy Scripture as 'second death'".
He continued: "While for other creatures, who are not called to eternity, death means only the end of their earthly lives, in us sin creates an abyss which risks swallowing us up forever, if God in heaven does not stretch out His hand to us".
The Pope went on to explain the "mystery of Baptism" in these terms: "God wished to save us, and so He went Himself to the bottom of the abyss of death so that all mankind, even those who have fallen so low as no longer to be able to see heaven, may find the hand of God to which to cling, and so come out of the shadows and see the light for which they were created.
"We all feel, we all have an interior perception that our existence is a desire for a life [of] fullness and salvation. This fullness of life is given to us in Baptism".
"The aim of Christ's existence", the Pope said, "was precisely that of giving mankind the life of God and His spirit of love, in order to enable each human being to draw from this never-ending source of salvation. ... It is for this reason that Christian parents bring their children to the baptismal font as soon as possible, knowing that the life they have communicated to them invokes a fullness, a salvation, that only God can give. And in this way the parents become God's collaborators, transmitting to their children not only physical but also spiritual life".
Benedict XVI concluded his homily by addressing the parents of the new-born infants, saying: "Of course, to grow up strong and healthy, these boys and girls will have need of material care and a lot of attention, however what is most necessary, indeed indispensable, to them is to know, love and serve God faithfully, so as to have eternal life. Dear parents, be for them the first witnesses of authentic faith in God!"
A note issued by the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff explains that "the wooden platform with a special altar" usually brought in for the celebration of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord was not used for this year's ceremony in the Sistine Chapel. "It was deemed better to celebrate at the old altar so as not to disturb the beauty and harmony of this architectural masterpiece, maintaining the celebratory aspects of its structure and making use of a possibility contemplated by liturgical norms".
For this reason, at certain moments during the Mass, the Pope had "his back to the congregation and his gaze on the Cross". Nonetheless, the note explains, "the ordinary Missal was used".
HML/BAPTISM/SISTINE CHAPEL VIS 20080114 (560)
"In Baptism", said the Holy Father in his homily, "young human beings receive new life, the life of grace that makes them capable of entering into a personal relationship with the Creator, and this lasts forever, for all eternity.
"Unfortunately", he added, "man is capable of extinguishing this new life through sin, reducing himself to a situation described by Holy Scripture as 'second death'".
He continued: "While for other creatures, who are not called to eternity, death means only the end of their earthly lives, in us sin creates an abyss which risks swallowing us up forever, if God in heaven does not stretch out His hand to us".
The Pope went on to explain the "mystery of Baptism" in these terms: "God wished to save us, and so He went Himself to the bottom of the abyss of death so that all mankind, even those who have fallen so low as no longer to be able to see heaven, may find the hand of God to which to cling, and so come out of the shadows and see the light for which they were created.
"We all feel, we all have an interior perception that our existence is a desire for a life [of] fullness and salvation. This fullness of life is given to us in Baptism".
"The aim of Christ's existence", the Pope said, "was precisely that of giving mankind the life of God and His spirit of love, in order to enable each human being to draw from this never-ending source of salvation. ... It is for this reason that Christian parents bring their children to the baptismal font as soon as possible, knowing that the life they have communicated to them invokes a fullness, a salvation, that only God can give. And in this way the parents become God's collaborators, transmitting to their children not only physical but also spiritual life".
Benedict XVI concluded his homily by addressing the parents of the new-born infants, saying: "Of course, to grow up strong and healthy, these boys and girls will have need of material care and a lot of attention, however what is most necessary, indeed indispensable, to them is to know, love and serve God faithfully, so as to have eternal life. Dear parents, be for them the first witnesses of authentic faith in God!"
A note issued by the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff explains that "the wooden platform with a special altar" usually brought in for the celebration of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord was not used for this year's ceremony in the Sistine Chapel. "It was deemed better to celebrate at the old altar so as not to disturb the beauty and harmony of this architectural masterpiece, maintaining the celebratory aspects of its structure and making use of a possibility contemplated by liturgical norms".
For this reason, at certain moments during the Mass, the Pope had "his back to the congregation and his gaze on the Cross". Nonetheless, the note explains, "the ordinary Missal was used".
HML/BAPTISM/SISTINE CHAPEL VIS 20080114 (560)
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