The Shape of Water

Whenever I go to the gym for a splash in the pool, I can always pinpoint the real swimmers. Their torsos form a perfect T, wide in the shoulders and narrow down to the waist. Their abs are firm and there are no “love handles.” Their sculpted arms and legs form an artistic silhouette. This is what happens to a body after years of movement in the water. These swimmers have allowed the water to reshape them.

All of us were initially shaped by water. Surrounded by water in our mother’s womb, water helped to form and fashion us. Water was our first embrace. When I ponder the glorious and breathtaking sights of nature such as the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls that have been carved and molded by water, I marvel at the power of water to reshape and reform.  

Water has other properties too. Water cleanses and renews. Water is part of our daily routines: bathing in the morning or evening or having a cup of tea or coffee at certain times of the day. Water gathers us. Think of the number of people who gather in a Jacuzzi, in the pool, or at the beach. Water also scatters us. Consider those who flee from approaching storms, hurricanes or tsunamis. Water can cause death. 

Water is powerful. If you’ve ever swum in the ocean, ridden the waves, or surfed a crest to the shore, you understand the power of water. You cannot fight water and win. If you want to survive water’s power, you must surrender. Water also gives life. Plants, animals, and humans depend on water. We can’t live without it. 

All of this helps us to see why water is the primary symbol for baptism. Baptism also reshapes and refashions us into the children of God. Baptism cleanses us from sin. Baptism renews us and calls us to live as new people. Baptism gathers us into one body—the body of Christ. Baptism scatters us by sending us into our homes, our schools, and our workplaces to live as God’s own people. The power of Baptism prompts us to surrender our will to God’s will time and time again. Baptism causes death by helping us to die to ourselves, to our egos, and to our pride over and over. Baptism gives us new life and assures us of the promise of living with God forever. 

May we immerse ourselves into the call of baptism so that like swimmers, we might be reshaped into the image of God.

Covenants Renewed

Spring is the season of love. All of creation awakens: birds sing melodies of love, flowers emerge to embrace the sun, and June brides and grooms prepare to say “I do,” two small words that promise a lifetime of love. Our Elect and Candidates who await baptism, confirmation and Eucharist, are also preparing to say “I do” promising a lifetime of love. Along with them, the entire community prepares to say “I do,” recommitting to the promises made at baptism.

This is what Lent is all about, a 40-day retreat that prepares us to renew our baptismal covenant—our “I do” to the new covenant in Christ.

The focus on baptism in Lent is ancient. For the earliest Christians, Lent was a time to concentrate on penance and to prepare for baptism. Public penitents returned to be reconciled with the Church and adult catechumens made their final preparation for baptism. In later centuries, infant baptism replaced the baptism of adults. Because of this, the baptismal nature of Lent was diminished and overshadowed by a singular focus on penance. With the renewal of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, the Second Vatican Council insisted that the focus of Lent once again be penitential and baptismal.

"The baptismal and penitential aspects of Lent are to be given greater prominence in both the liturgy and liturgical catechesis." Sacroscantum Concilium 109

The Church reminds us that

“The Lenten liturgy disposes both the catechumens and the faithful to celebrate the paschal mystery; catechumens, through the several stages of Christian initiation; the faithful, through reminders of their own Baptism and through penitential practices.” General Norms for the Liturgical Year 27

What we expect of the catechumens is that they have

“undergone a conversion in mind and in action and . . . have developed a sufficient acquaintance with Christian teaching as well as a spirit of faith and charity . . . (and) the intention to receive the sacraments of the Church.” RCIA 120

We who are already Catholic are called to a similar conversion as we prepare to recommit ourselves to our baptismal promises. Do you recall what you promised or what your parents and godparents promised on your behalf? We promised to reject the lure of evil and to embrace the love of God, with words as simple and profound as the words “I do.”

As any married couple knows, it takes a lifetime to realize the meaning of the words “I do.” These words have to be lived out and rediscovered day by day. Each Lent the Church asks us to ponder fully the promises behind these words so that our “I do” at Easter may be sincere and wholehearted. As we prepare to renew our baptismal covenant may we, like creation, awaken to new life, that we may sing the melody of God’s love to all the world.

The Power of Water

When I was a child, I nearly drowned. I was playing in the Atlantic Ocean at Jones Beach, Long Island when I ventured a bit too far from shore. I was not a great swimmer and when I saw that big wave coming, I panicked. Seeing the fear on my face, my aunt Carolyn yelled, “Just let go and ride the wave.” I did and it carried me safely to shore. Water is powerful.

The power of water prompts surrender. I consider the glorious and breathtaking sights of nature, such as the Grand Canyon, that have been carved and molded by water and I marvel at the power of water to reshape and reform. Water changes things.

In Today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that he is the “Living water.” Allowing herself to surrender to this living water, the Samaritan woman is changed. In her encounter with Jesus, the woman’s story is rewritten. Freed from her past she can now live in newness and joy.

This Gospel, which appears in year A of our lectionary, is always proclaimed on the third Sunday in Lent when there is a Scrutiny Rite for our Elect. This reading is particularly appropriate for the Elect, who are preparing for baptism, and who, like the Samaritan woman, long to be changed by knowing Jesus.

Because we are currently in year A, all of us will hear this Gospel this weekend. May we who are already baptized be moved to surrender to a deeper encounter with Jesus. May we, like the Samaritan woman, allow Jesus to rewrite our story. In the trials and turmoil of life, may we trust the grace of our baptism to carry us safely to shore.