Word of the Week

Baptism of Our Lord

Sanctified: Hagiazo (GK.): meaning “make holy; set apart”, or “consecrate”

Sanctifying grac e is the gratuitous gift from God that heals the wounds of sin and restores our relationship with Him. Also known as deifying grace , sanctifying grace received at Baptism incorporates us into the family of God, the Church, in which we stake claim to our inheritance of divine sonship with God the Father. This supernatural gift is habitual and continues the work of making us a new creation in our walk with God the Father (CCC 1999). This grace is distinct from “ actual grace, which refers to the interventions of God in the course of conversion and the work of sanctification” (CCC 2000).

Sanctified is used 41 times in the Old Testament and 28 times in the New Testament. Its exact meaning varies depending upon the context that it is used. Collectively, sanctified speaks to that which is set apart for a sacred purpose. We see this when the “ OT Tabernacle was set aside for sacred worship (Ex.29:44) and the bronze altar was sanctified for sacrifice (Ex.29:37)” (Hahn and Minch , 23). When persons are sanctified , they are set aside for the work of God in both word and deed. In the OT the Levites were set aside for priestly ministry (Ex.28:41) and the nation of Israel were the representative people that belonged to God (Ex.4:22-23; Deut.33:3) (Hahn and Minch , 23). In the new dispensation of grace, persons are set apart in Baptism through the sanctifying blood of Christ that cleanses and transforms us into his image (Heb.13:12) (Hahn and Minch , 23). In the grace received at Baptism, we receive the strength (Rom.8:14-17) to become more holy through an inward transformation (1 Cor.6:11; Eph.5:26) and outward expression of faith. Lay faithful are called to embrace their daily cross and universal call to holiness until the end of their days (1 Thess.5:23) (Hahn and Minch , 23).

I once heard a poignant proverb that will forever stick with me: “what you feed grows”. Upon hearing this insightful proof into human nature, I began to contemplate the mystery of spirituality for the first time. I thought of the flower that receives water and sunshine that in turn blooms; I thought of the muscle that receives proper workout and thus expands. If in either of these cases of growth and expansion proper treatment was not handled with diligence and care, both the flower and the muscle would atrophy and become limp. The spiritual life is the same. Man is called to nurture the sanctifying grace received at Baptism with a life of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. In this way, the soul becomes grafted to the Trinitarian life of God. Amen!

“Soul of Christ, sanctify me; Body of Christ, save me…call me into your presence and lead me to praise you with all your saints forever and ever--Amen” (Anima Christi).

-- St. Ignatius of Loyola  

Primary Texts Consulted

• Catholic Bible. Suggested trans. Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition.
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2 nd Edition, 1997.
• Hahn, Scott and Minch , Curtis. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The First and Second Letters of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, RSV 2nd ed. San Francisco : Ignatius Press, 2001.

 

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