Baptism of the Lord - Consecration

 

Today is the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Why did Jesus get baptized since He is God is sinless?

In humility Jesus was baptized to identify with us. He did it as an example for us. His baptism revealed the Blessed Trinity. The Father spoke revealing Jesus is His Son, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." The Holy Spirit appeared in the form a dove.

The baptism administered by John was a sign of repentance from sin, a sign of turning away from sin. Because of original sin and personal sin, we all need baptism to begin our life with God.

In a conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus explained our need for baptism. “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above. . . Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.

Through Baptism, we belong to God and become a child of God. Original sin, personal sin and punishment due to sin are washed away. Our heart becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit. God comes to dwell within us, we receive gifts and enter into God's divine life.

Baptism is a consecration, which means a person or thing is handed over to God and belongs to God. Our church is consecrated to God and chalices. When a priest is ordained, he is consecrated to God. Religious sisters and brothers are consecrated to God. When anyone is baptized, they belong to God. They are consecrated to Him.

We renew our baptismal promises every year at Easter. When priest asks the questions to renew baptism, the people respond saying, "I do." Let us renew our baptismal promises now.

Do you renounce Satan? I do.
And all his works? I do.
And all his empty show? I do.
Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth? I do.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered death and was buried, rose again from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father? I do.
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? I do.

The first three questions in our baptismal promises concern turning away from evil. The other questions, we profess our faith as a disciple of Jesus. Because we all have a tendency to turn away from God, every year, we renew our baptismal promises and need to confess regularly which helps us be docile to God, to surrender to God, to allow Him to have dominion over us, to live our baptismal promises as disciples of Jesus.

There are consecration prayers in the pews to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Joseph. We use them for our self, family, our parish, and we can consecrate a particular concern or intention as well.

St. Louis de Montfort developed a 33 day method of consecration, whereby one can consecrate themselves to Jesus through Mary.

Consecrations are really rededicating ourselves to our original consecration to God at baptism because whatever we give to Our Lady She gives to God. So, when we consecrate ourselves to Mary, we are really consecrating and rededicating ourselves to God with Her help and at the same time renew our original consecration to God at our baptism.

Just as we need a father and mother for our life to begin, for the life of God in us-- we need God and Our Lady. As our spiritual mother, Our Lady is with us from the moment of our baptism because that is the moment when the life of God first enters our souls.

St. Louis Marie de Montfort said, "Mary, the beloved Mother of chosen souls, shelters them under Her protecting wings as a hen does her chicks. She speaks to them, coming down to their level and accommodating Herself to all their weaknesses. To ensure their safety from the hawk and vulture, She becomes their escort, surrounding them as an army in battle array."

Those who consecrate themselves to God with the help of Our Lady, receive more protection and care for their spiritual well-being, to live out their baptismal promises.

The closer we are to Our Lady, the closer we will be to God and the more like Our Lady we will surrender to God and the better we will live our baptismal promises as one of His disciples.

In 1991, I was working at Hadley Regional Medical Center in Hays as a Supply and Sterilization manger. Some friends encouraged me to do the St. Louis de Montfort Consecration to Jesus, through Mary which I did on Dec 8th, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. At that time, I felt that God wanted me to become a priest. But, because I owed $6,900 in college loans, it would take years to pay them off.

Several weeks after the consecration, while living in Ellis, Kansas, one night I went into the darkened church of St. Marys. Lit candles guided me to a statue of Mary. I knelt down and prayed, "O Blessed Mother, a few weeks ago, I consecrated myself to you. I gave my self to you, my body, my life, my soul, and all that I am. I feel God is calling me to be a priest, but I owe $6,900. There is one thing I did not give you, my bills. As of now, you owe $6,900. You take care of it!" I got up and walked out of the church.

Two weeks later, the two hospitals in Hays merged and they told us, that if we quit we would receive our pension. I was surprised to learn I had $10,000, which paid off my loans. There is no doubt in my mind, when I did the Consecration, Our Lady took care of my bills, so I could become a priest.

I have a few Consecration books by St. Louis de Montfort. If anyone wants to do the consecration, take one.

We should treat our baptism day as a feast day and celebrate it, like our birthday, with cake and ice-cream. You can celebrate your natural birth day and your supernatural birthday into the life of God through baptism. Look at your baptism certificate and find out your date to celebrate.

Today, let us give thanks to God for our baptism and let us for pray others to receive that beautiful gift. And may you consecrate yourself to Jesus and Mary, often. Partially Taken from Fr. Tommy Lane