On our Catholic schools and our parish schools of religion, we strive to form our young people to know their identity and to discover their mission. Our Christian faith makes clear our identity. From the first pages of the Bible, we know that we are created in the divine image. In the Genesis narrative, human beings were the culmination, the masterpiece of God’s creative genius.
Unlike any other element of creation, God gave human beings the privilege and responsibility of free will. No other creature was given this gift. It allows us the ability to choose and embrace God’s will or to reject it. Free will gives us the capacity for both virtue and sin.
A couple weeks ago, we celebrated the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Jesus requested baptism from John the Baptist, but not because he needed forgiveness of sin. Jesus entered the muddy waters of the Jordan filled with penitents in order to lead sinners of all time through the cleansing and liberating waters of Christian baptism.
At the baptism of Jesus, his identity was revealed by the voice of God the Father. Jesus is the beloved Son with whom the heavenly Father is well pleased. The waters of Christian baptism not only cleanse us from our sins, but also give us the very life of God. Through our baptism, we receive the life of Jesus and thus become, through him, beloved daughters and sons of God.
This is our great dignity — to be the beloved children of God. There is nothing greater that can happen to us in this world than our baptism. We are of such worth in God’s eyes that the second Person of the Triune God immersed himself in our humanity in order that we could share in his divinity.
Jesus chose to become an embryo in the womb of Mary and to be born in the poor and humble circumstances of the Bethlehem cave. Jesus went through all the stages of human life — conception, fetal development, infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Jesus spent most of his time on earth as a laborer, a carpenter. In his humanity, Our Lord experienced hunger, fatigue, suffering, persecution, betrayal, injustice and even death, death on a cross.
We are so precious in God’s eyes that, through his mercy, Jesus died for us to liberate us from the enslavement of our sins. Our Lord’s defeat of death and victory of life on Easter gave us an eternal destiny to live with him, the angels and the saints forever. If we understand the meaning and effects of our baptism, we can never doubt our worth or dignity. We are never without reason for hope.
Sadly, many in our society do not know their identity and dignity. They do not understand that they are fearfully and wonderfully made in the divine image. Many are not aware that God desires and offers to share his life with them.
The Bible tells us that God created human beings, male and female. Sadly, many in our secular society believe that they can deny their biology and choose to change their gender by hormonal therapies with their many harmful side effects and surgeries that actually mutilate the beauty of their bodies.
We need to have compassion for young people who experience gender confusion, but compassion does not mean encouraging them to believe the falsehoods prevalent in the popular culture. Instead, we need to love them and help them to know the truth — that they are created in the divine image, and they are a beloved daughter or son of God.
Our secular culture also asks our young people the wrong questions about their future. What do you want to be or do with your life? What kind of job or what type of profession do you imagine for your future?
The true question for the Christian is: What does God want me to do with my life? The answer to that question will not come from figuring out how to earn the most money or gain worldly fame or pursue the easiest path to be able to just get by in life.
Disciples of Jesus believe that God has a plan, a dream for them. To discern what God has created us to do requires prayer. We all have a vocation, a calling, that flows from our baptismal identity and the unique gifts God has entrusted to us. God’s calling, his dream, for each of us, will be as varied as the number of people he has created. God needs witnesses of the truth of his Gospel in every profession and every corner of human society.
Common to all of our missions as Christians is to be instruments of bringing God’s love to others. Many of us will have a call within our primary call that comes from our baptism and confirmation. Many will receive the additional call to Christian marriage. The family is the foundation of our nation, our society, our culture and our church. Marriage is the foundation of the family.
Christian married couples are to be icons of God’s love in the world. Marriage makes possible the deepest and most intimate experience of human love, where two become one flesh. In the wedding vows, a man and a woman pledge to make the good of their spouse, the happiness and holiness of their spouse, their highest priority — above that of satisfying their own personal preferences and pleasures.
In some ethnic traditions, a Catholic couple on their wedding day hold a crucifix as they profess their vows. The love of God for humanity revealed on Calvary becomes the benchmark for the love that couples aspire for in marriage. Christian husbands and wives are called daily to lay down their lives for each other — seeking the other’s good over their own wants and desires.
Christian marriage is by its nature called to be fruitful. The Catholic couple promises to be open to becoming co-creators with God of new human life. Parenthood well-lived liberates mothers and fathers even more from preoccupation with the self, providing additional opportunities to sacrifice for the children to whom their love has given life. Children are called to make their parents saints by providing their parents with many opportunities for servant love.
Even if couples experience the cross of infertility, their love is still called to be fruitful. Marriage well-lived becomes a beacon of love in a self-absorbed and self-centered world.
Some will also receive a call within the primary vocation of their baptism and confirmation to roles and responsibilities of leadership and service within the church, such as serving as a priest or a consecrated religious Sister or Brother. Priests are called to be spiritual fathers, and similarly, religious Sisters are to be spiritual mothers for the family of the church.
Sadly, many young people have experienced the pain of the divorce of their parents. Similarly, many young people have also witnessed some priests and religious fail to persevere in living their promises and vows.
There are a significant number of young people that fear making commitments to marriage, the priesthood or religious life. They see such bold commitments as limiting their choices. They fail to appreciate that the commitments of marriage, priesthood and religious life also open up amazing opportunities.
For instance, it is only because of the commitment of the marriage vows that a husband and wife have the trust in each other that permits the intimacy only possible in a well-lived marriage. Similarly, the commitment of celibate chastity by priests and religious makes it possible for them to impact and touch thousands of lives. Pope Francis, when he addresses young people, often challenges them not to be afraid of commitment, whether to marriage, religious life or priesthood.
What a gift is our Catholic faith! Through our faith we come to know our true identity and to discern our God-given mission. May we never cease being grateful for our dignity as beloved children of a loving Father, who has a beautiful dream for each of us.
