Daily Renewal, continued

Ave Maria! Earlier this week, I wrote about my daily renewal of my consecration as a virgin. As important as this is to me, there is another daily renewal that is much greater and always has primacy in my life. That is the renewal of my baptismal promises. For Baptism is the primary sacrament. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1213) clearly states that "Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit, and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: 'Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word.'" Without this sacramental regeneration, my life would be a vast and empty void. I would be a lost orphan, forever stumbling in the darkness while seeking but never finding my true family and my everlasting home. Through the many and great graces of baptism, I have been brought home to God and into the kingdom of heaven. I have become a child of the light, and I live in the blessed unity of the Holy Trinity.

So it is that every morning upon rising, even while Sister Ass (as St. Francis of Assisi so lovingly called his body) clings to the bed covers and begs to snuggle in for just a few more minutes, I fall on my knees and fervently thank God for calling me by name and making me His own (Is 43:1) ... for summoning me out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Pet 2:) ... for clothing me with the garments of salvation and covering me with the robe of righteousness (Is 61:10) ... for not just showing me but actually being the way and the truth and the life (Jn 14:6) ... for making me a member of His body (Eph 5:30), a fellow citizen with the saints and a member of the household of God (Eph 2:19). Having put on the whole armor of God, who is my strength and my might (Eph 6:10), I then reject Satan, the father of sin and prince of darkness, as well as sin and the glamor of evil. I refuse to be mastered by sin, and I choose to live in the freedom of the children of God. And through the gift of faith given to me when my beloved parents brought me to the Church for baptism, I affirm once again that I believe in God, the Father Almighty ... in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord ... in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of Life ... and in the one holy Catholic and apostolic Church.

Then I pray my morning offering, which is another post for another time!

This daily renewal of my baptismal promises takes only a minute or two and provides me with the best start possible for the day ahead. What would I be thinking and how would I be feeling if I did not start my day this way? As soon as I wake up, Sister Ass is craving her morning java jolt, my cat Queenie is clamoring for her breakfast, my mind is racing ahead to numerous items on my to-do list, and myriad concerns are throbbing in my heart. That's enough right there to make me fall flat on my face! Far better for me to fall down on my knees, holding the crucifix of my rosary in my hand, and to begin my waking moments with the Lord Jesus, praying to Him with gratitude and joy: "My God and my All! Now and always, I believe in Your goodness, I hope in Your mercy, I trust in Your love. Amen. Alleluia!"

P.S. Here is one version of the renewal of our baptismal promises from the Mass, and here is an example of a personal daily renewal.