Vatican
City, 15 January 2014
(VIS) - “Baptism brings us into the People of God, makes us members
of a People on a journey, a pilgrim People in history,” Pope
Francis asserted, quoting words from the Second Vatican Council
during his Wednesday catechesis at the general audience, which was
dedicated to the first of the sacraments. He explained how life is
passed on from generation to generation and that “through rebirth
at the baptismal font, grace is also passed on from generation to
generation. With this grace the Christian People walk through time,
like a river that irrigates the earth and spreads God's blessing
throughout the world.”
The
disciples “went forth to baptize. From that time to today there is
a chain in the transmission of faith through Baptism. Each of us is a
link in that chain, a step forward always, like the river that
irrigates. Thus is God's grace and thus also our faith, which we
should pass on to our children, pass on to the children so that
these, as adults, can pass it on to their children. This is Baptism …
it brings us into this People of God … who walk and who pass down
the faith.”
Through
Baptism, each of us becomes “missionary disciples, called to bring
the Gospel to the world. Each of the baptized, whatever their role in
the Church or the educational level of their faith, is an active
agent of evangelization. … The new evangelization should involve …
a new central role for each of the baptized. The People of God is a
People of disciples―because we
receive the faith―and a missionary People―because we pass on the
faith. This is what makes Baptism in us: it gives us Grace and
transmits the faith. All of us in the Church are disciples, always
and for our entire lives; and we are all missionaries, each in the
place that the Lord has assigned us.”
“All
of us,” the Bishop of Rome improvised, “even the smallest is a
missionary and the one who seems greater is a disciple. Some of you
will say: 'Bishops aren't disciples; the bishops know everything. The
Pope knows everything and isn't a disciple.' No, even the bishops and
the Pope are to be disciples because, if they aren't, it's not good;
they can't be missionaries; they can't pass on the faith. All of us
are disciples and missionaries.”
“No
one is saved by themselves,” the Pope said to the thousands of
persons gathered in St. Peter's Square. “We are a community of
believers and in this community we feel the beauty of sharing an
experience of love that proceeds us all, but that at the same time
asks us to be 'channels' of grace for one another, in spite of our
limits and our sins. The communal dimension is not only a 'frame' or
an 'outline' but an integral part of the Christian life, witness, and
evangelization.”
Pope
Francis ended by recalling the history of the Christian community in
Japan, whose persecution at the beginning of the 17th century caused
many martyrs. “Members of the clergy were expelled and thousands of
faithful were killed. There was no priest left in Japan; all of them
were expelled. The community retreated into hiding, keeping their
faith and prayer hidden. When a child was born, the mother or father
baptized them, since all the faithful can baptize under particular
circumstances. When, after two and a half centuries, 250 years later,
the missionaries returned to Japan, thousands of Christians came out
of hiding and the Church could flourish. They had survived through
the grace of their Baptism! This is great: the People of God pass on
the faith, baptizing their children and carrying on. They had
maintained, even in secret, a strong communal spirit because Baptism
had made them to become one body in Christ. They were isolated and
hidden but were always members of the People of God, members of the
Church. We can learn so much from this story!”