VATICAN CITY, 11 JAN 2009 (VIS) - Today, as is the tradition on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the Pope administered the Sacrament of Baptism to thirteen newborn infants in the Sistine Chapel.
In his homily the Holy Father described Baptism as "the bridge God built between Himself and us, the path by which He makes Himself accessible to us. It is the divine rainbow of our life, the promise of God's great 'yes', the doorway of hope and, at the same time, the sign indicating the way to follow, actively and joyfully, in order to meet Him and to feel we are loved by Him".
Through Baptism, he said, "we give back to God that which came from Him. A child is not the property of its parents, but is freely ... entrusted to their responsibility by the Creator that they may help it become a free child of God. Only if parents achieve such an understanding can they strike the right balance between the desire to dispose of their children as if they were a personal possession, forming them on the basis of their own ideas and desires, and a libertarian attitude expressed in allowing children to grow up in complete autonomy satisfying their every desire and aspiration in the belief that this is a way to cultivate their personality.
"Although with this Sacrament", he added, "the newly-baptised become adoptive children of God, object of His infinite love which protects them and defends them from the dark forces of evil, it is still necessary to teach them to recognise God as their Father and to behave towards him as children".
When "children are baptised, introducing them into the light of God and of His teachings", the Holy Father explained, "they are subject to no violence, rather they are given the richness of divine life in which the true freedom of children of God is rooted; a freedom which then has to be educated and formed over the years, that they may become capable of making responsible individual decisions".
Turning to address godparents, the Pope said: "Be aware of the gift you have received and ceaselessly thank the Lord Who, with today's Sacrament, introduces your children into a new family, larger and more stable, more open and numerous than your own: I am referring to the family of believers, the Church, a family that has God for Father and in which all consider themselves as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.
"Today, then, you entrust your children to the goodness of God Who is power of light and love; and they, though amidst the difficulties of life, will never feel abandoned if they remain united to Him. Ensure", he concluded, you educate them in faith, teaching them to pray and to grow as Jesus did and, with His help, 'increasing in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favour'".
HML/BAPTISM/SISTINE CHAPEL VIS 20090112 (500)
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