The Brown Scapular & the Weight of Glory
During the pontificate of Pope St. John Paul II, a reporter asked him which of the papal titles were most significant to him. Many of us are not aware, or have become accustomed to the centuries-old titles given to the pope, such as the Bishop of Rome, the Vicar of Christ, Successor of Saint Peter, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, and Sovereign of the State of Vatican City, to name just five. In addition, there are the titles of direct address, such as “Your Holiness,” or “Holy Father.” Imagine being addressed by such titles all throughout the day! The reporter’s question was a good one.
Which of all these titles meant the most to the John Paul II? In his usual teaching style, Pope St. John Paul II gave several answers in gradual importance. He explained how the titles summarize our Faith, and then how the titles humble him and remind him of his vocation in the Church, but then he reached the answer that truly disclosed his heart. John Paul II answered the casual question with a profound answer. It is an answer that should shake us and remind us of our dignity as believers. Our beloved saintly pope responded that his favored title was the one that bore the greatest weight. It was the title, “Christian.” For John Paul II, the most cherished of all his titles was “Christian.” It is the foundation of everything else and the one that gives meaning to all else. It is the basis, the inspiration, and the declaration of everything else. I am a Christian. I am baptized into Jesus Christ. I am a child of God. I am anointed. I am “a small Christ.”
Through Baptism the Christian is sacramentally assimilated to Jesus, who in his own Baptism anticipates his death and resurrection. The Christian must enter into this mystery of humble self-abasement and repentance, go down into the water with Jesus in order to rise with him, be reborn of water and the Spirit so as to become the Father’s beloved son in the Son and “walk in newness of life.”—Catechism of the Catholic Church, 537
The title Christian, therefore, is both our greatest boast of God’s grace and our most pressing challenge. In Baptism, we were made children of God and members of Christ’s own Body. We were made Christians, and throughout our lives we have to work and suffer to live up to this upward calling. We pray, with St. Paul, to press on every day toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call.
