Vatican City: As the Church marked the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Abbot Marion Nguyen offered a reflection inviting the faithful to rediscover baptism not as a past ritual, but as a living and active grace shaping everyday Christian life.
In his Lord’s Day reflection titled Anointing to overflow: Living the grace of baptism, Abbot Nguyen said the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan reveals what baptism truly gives to every believer. He explained that it is not only about forgiveness or belonging to the Church, but about receiving life in the Holy Spirit, a foretaste of heaven already at work on earth.
Reflecting on the Gospel scene, he noted that when Jesus rises from the waters, the Holy Spirit descends and remains with Him. This abiding presence, he said, is the source of everything Jesus does afterward. Jesus is called the Christ, the Anointed One, because His mission flows from this anointing. Citing the Acts of the Apostles, Abbot Nguyen recalled how Saint Peter summed up Jesus’ ministry by saying that God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and power, and that He went about doing good.
Drawing on the teaching of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot Nguyen explained that the same pattern applies to every baptized person. According to Bernard, no one can truly do good unless they are first anointed by grace. Without this inner anointing, even generous actions risk becoming dry and exhausting.
Saint Bernard describes the life of baptism through three spiritual anointings. The first is contrition, born from honest repentance and humility. This stage grounds a person at the beginning of the spiritual journey and protects against hypocrisy, but it is not meant to be a permanent state, as staying there without hope can lead to discouragement.
The second anointing is devotion. Here, the focus shifts from the self to God. Gratitude grows through remembering God’s goodness in creation and redemption, and spiritual joy begins to take root. This anointing, Abbot Nguyen said, lifts the mind and heart toward God’s mercy.
At this point, he highlighted Saint Bernard’s warning about becoming like a canal instead of a reservoir. A canal gives away water immediately and remains empty, while a reservoir fills up first and then overflows. In Christian life, rushing into constant activity without being filled by prayer and grace can lead to burnout. True service, he said, should flow from fullness, not exhaustion.
Only after this inner filling does the third anointing emerge, the anointing of compassion. This is the grace that moves outward in love and service to others. Unlike the first two, which heal the individual, this one is meant to be poured out. When charity flows from the Holy Spirit, Abbot Nguyen said, it becomes natural and joyful rather than forced.
He concluded by saying that works done from this inner anointing carry the fragrance of Christ. Such goodness goes deeper than outward actions and touches hearts because it comes from God. On the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, he invited the faithful to live their baptism more deeply, allowing the Spirit to heal, fill and overflow through them, quietly carrying the grace of heaven into the world.