For many of us, baptism happened quite a while ago: the time when we were given new life in Jesus Christ.  Most of us have got on with other things, we may practice our faith, but for many of us some days we simply go through the motions of living as Christians – it happens to the best of us.  Our Gospel today is radical, and because it’s radical it can be hard to fully grasp but we are meant to grasp it.  We are meant to remind ourselves over and over that we are a new creation, we are reborn each and every day by faith.

Sometimes, as a confessor I remind myself and my penitents that when the confession is done, and absolution is given we are reborn again and our life is ever new, full of hope and promise, but hope and promise which we must seek to live out day by day.  It may be the case we will sin again, but that should not discourage any of us from trying to be the most faith-filled, faithful, energetic, loving, best Catholic Christians that we can be.  And some of us reading this may have been away from our faith for a long time, or we may not be baptized or living a sacramental life.  That’s okay – this message is for you: Rejoice, this is a brand new day!  You can be born again through baptism, and once baptized through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, restored and renewed to live your life and faith to the fullest!

And friends, when you do this, or when you’re committed to doing it day by day then you’re ready to figure out what it is the Lord our God is calling you to do.  He is inviting you to “come and follow Him”.  Don’t hold back!  Go for it!  Your life will be richer for it, and the Lord who has given you the gift of this rebirth will help you with clarity and other to find your particular and unique vocation.  If you try to be faithful to this mission, then you will live out the primary vocation we all have, that is to be holy and to be a saint.