As we journey closer to Easter, many people are preparing to enter the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. They are preparing to receive the Sacraments of Initiation beginning with Baptism. As with infants and children who are baptized, we the faithful, are called to accompany each other and especially our children who are newly baptized. We are called to welcome them into the fullness of our parish communities. It is the faithful who are to help them to know and understand the commission passed on to them at their baptism and to gradually shift themselves from, simply being the receivers to becoming joyful givers and doers! We are called to help each other become the person God created us to be.
In St. John Paul II’s Gaudium et Spes, he reminds us that the Church teaches, that we are most fully human when we give ourselves to others and when we receive from others (Gaudium et Spes 24:3). In the Theology of the Body, we learn that God gave us bodies so that we can understand ourselves more deeply. Our bodies teach us truth. Our bodies can give us warning signs. Perhaps we need more sleep or need to drink more water. It is important that we respond in a right way from the start. We need to practice patience and learn self-mastery from a young age to guide us as we mature and grow.
When we live our lives as a gift, that is, when we sacrifice for others and live as we were created by God, we are most fully human. When we live as we are created, male and female, we learn how to live a life that fulfills God’s purpose for us – we will be happy and fulfilled. When God created us, he made us male and female, in His image and likeness. God created us in His image of love. God’s creation of man and woman is very good! Today let us live God’s plan, let us restore what is broken, and let us find out the truth about who we are and what we are called to be, people who receive and give love through our bodies and our bodily actions! Let us be most fully human.
Here’s what the scriptures have to say…
Ephesians 2:10 – For we are His handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.
Wisdom 13:5 – For from the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen.
1 Peter 3:3-4 – Your adornment should not be an external one: braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or dressing in fine clothes, but rather the hidden character of the heart, expressed in the imperishable beauty of gently and calm disposition, which is precious in the sight of God.