Hope and expectation

God, the Divine Potter, has created us as unique masterpieces (Isaiah 63:16-19; 64:2–7).  We’re the work of His hands throughout our lives.  Through God’s gentle hands, most commonly by placing others in our lives to teach and guide us, He molds and shapes us into the person that we’re supposed to become.

On November 29, 1953 (2 weeks after I was born), I was baptized.  Like today, it was the first Sunday of Advent.  On this date every year, I reflect a little on the supernatural graces that are bestowed through Baptism.  There are six that I can think of off-hand!

The first among them is the removal of the guilt of both Original Sin (the sin imparted to all mankind by the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden) and personal sin (the sins that we’ve committed ourselves).  If only we could remain this way!

Second, the remission of all punishment that we owe because of sin, both temporal (in this world and in Purgatory) and eternal (the punishment that we would suffer in hell). 

Third, the infusion of grace in the form of sanctifying grace (“the life of God within us”); the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude (or courage), knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord) and the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity (or love).

Fourth, we become a part of Christ.

Fifth, we become a part of the Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ on earth.

And lastly, it enables us to participate in all of the other six sacraments, the priesthood of all believers, and the growth in grace.

Through our baptism we receive the graces we need to be able to ask, “What does my neighbor (mother, father, spouse, son, daughter, friend, co-worker, stranger) need from me today?” and “How can I accommodate that need?” Our “job” as baptized Christians is to become the face of Christ to others.

I thank God for giving me the Spirit of Christ in baptism and I ask God to help me be open to the Spirit so I might truly be Christ’s presence for others.

So, as we begin a new Church year today, with the coming of the First Sunday of Advent, we await with hope and expectation the coming of the Lord within us in a new way.  The experiences of the past year have molded and shaped us into the person we are today.  We’re not the same as we were last year at this time.  Many have lost loved ones and jobs.  Some have experienced more stress than usual whether it be at work or at home.  So much of the manner in which we’re used to living and working has changed over the past ten months due to the pandemic.  We’re ready for something to be different.  We wait in hope and expectation that there’s a vaccine soon.  We wait in hope and expectation that the numbers will be lower so that we can do some of the things we enjoy.  We wait in hope and expectation that as we begin the new year, we can continue to be clay.  To be molded by God into the person that we were created to be with expectation that God will fill us with faith, hope, and love as we move forward towards the coming of Jesus Christ in our hearts once more.