Father Chas Canoy
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In this reflection for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Father Chas explains how Christ sanctified the waters of baptism and united Himself to our humanity. Drawing on the powerful image of betrothal and marriage, he shows how baptism initiates our covenant with Jesus and how the Eucharist brings that union to its fullest sacramental expression.
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Father Chas:
Remember what we celebrate in this Christmas time: the Incarnation, when God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity, became man, became human, and first revealed Himself to us in Christ Jesus. And so, as we celebrate this feast of the Baptism of the Lord, let us remember that the one who needed cleansing was not the Son of God, obviously, but the humanity to which He has joined Himself.
So in Jesus’ baptism, the Lord cleansed the baptismal waters, preparing the way for us to be cleansed by those waters and be baptized into the one Body of Christ, the Church, and thus be made sons and daughters of God. Through baptism, we become part of the family.
You can liken baptism to our betrothal to Jesus, the Bridegroom. Betrothal back then meant a deeper and more binding commitment than what we think of as engagement today. When you are betrothed, you are legally husband and wife, but the marriage has not yet been consummated.
So think of betrothal as an analogy for what happens to our relationship with Jesus in baptism. In baptism, we are identified with Jesus. A real union occurs. God’s Holy Spirit is given to us at baptism and dwells in our hearts, so there is a real spiritual union with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. When God the Father sees you after your baptism, He sees His beloved daughter; He sees His beloved son.
That is the first sacrament we receive. But remember, all of the sacraments are the means by which we live out this covenant, this new covenant, with Jesus.
So answer this: if the sacrament of baptism is like our betrothal to Jesus, then which sacrament is like moving into Jesus’ home and actually having a consummated union with Him sacramentally? Yes—the Eucharist.
The Eucharist is the sacrament of bodily consummation with Jesus. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life,” says Jesus in John chapter 6, “and I will raise him on the last day.” This is the wedding feast of the Lamb.
And so, what did Jesus say at the Last Supper, and what does He say to us at every single Mass? “Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my Body, given up for you.” At Communion time, the members of Christ’s Bride walk down the aisle to receive Christ’s Body, and the two become one flesh.