Baptism in the Bering Sea

Every Hour of Every Day

“The purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify, to build up the Body of Christ, and, finally, to give worship to God. …They not only presuppose faith, but by words and objects they also nourish, strengthen, and express it.”  Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1123

At the infancy of the Church, Jesus instituted the Sacraments, “efficacious signs of [His] grace,” and entrusted the Apostles and their successors to be stewards of these graces to all the faithful that followed. The Sacraments remain the focus of our liturgical life, with the Eucharist the “source and summit” of the  believer’s life while “the other sacraments… are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it.” (CCC 1324) .

“[Y]ou never cease to gather a people to yourself, so that from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name.” -Eucharistic Prayer III

Two of the young people in our youth baseball league were graduating from high school, and we recently attended a lovely service in their honor at a Christian church of a different faith tradition. While speaking to a nice lady seated nearby, she indicated that they had a communion service once a quarter, and asked how often our church celebrated the Eucharist. “Every Sunday,” was my automatic answer, and then it hit me, no, my answer should have been “every day.” But wait, the Spirit prompted – the true answer is “every hour of every day” for two thousand years and counting. In the beauty and timelessness of the Church, the Sacraments instituted by Jesus have been continuously offered by his ordained ministers and celebrated by his disciples both openly and clandestinely in every corner of the world. The Eucharist has even been celebrated in space.

Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA)

A period of preparation called catechesis is required before initial reception of the Sacraments so that the individual understands that they are more than just symbols of the faith. My friend Terry hailed from a small town in upstate New York. He did not grow up in the Church. Like me, he was an aircraft mechanic assigned to a US Navy carrier-based squadron that, when not at sea, was based at Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, an idyllic spot surrounded by water and located across the bay from San Diego, California. Terry met a lovely young lady from a fine Southern California Catholic family with whom I too became acquainted. Her name was Guadalúpe, and I was slightly smitten myself, truth be told.  I was invited to accompany Terry to Lupe’s home for dinner or to socialize a few times, and when they became engaged, Terry asked me to be his RCIA sponsor in preparation for their Sacramental Marriage in the Catholic Church. Squadron operational requirements necessitated that most of his catechesis would be undertaken at sea under the supervision of the Catholic chaplain assigned to the USS Ranger (CV-61).

The Power of the Water

“A violent storm came up on the sea so that the boat was being swamped by waves, but [Jesus] was asleep. They came and woke him saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’… Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm.” -Matthew 8:24-25,26

Water is essential for life, and is used for cleaning, cooking, and recreation. The Sacrament of Baptism by water initiates us into the Church, and allows us to share in Christ’s death and resurrection and to be reborn into new life. CCC Section Two affirms that “Immersion in water symbolizes not only death and purification, but also regeneration and renewal.”  Some of the Apostles had made their living on the sea, and yet they too were terrified by the power of the very waters they plied regularly. Having spent much time “haze gray and underway,” there were moments when Terry and I could very much relate. We spent many days and nights cruising the placid waters of the aptly named Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, going about our duties on the flight deck of a modern warship with pride and professionalism.

Baptism in the Bering Sea

The Carrier and its Air Group were assigned to participate in War Games near Japan and South Korea, cutting roughly through the choppy seas at times as our speeds were increased. As the time for Terry’s Baptism grew close, the ship was proceeding to the Bering Sea for cold-water exercises. Religious services aboard naval vessels were often held on the forecastle (pronounced “fōk’səl“), a highly-polished area at the bow (front) of the ship often used for special ceremonies. On the Ranger, the forecastle was enclosed below the flight deck and held the coiled chains of the port (left) and starboard (right) anchors, which protruded through open oval-shaped portholes roughly three feet high by two feet wide, and hung from the ship about seventy-five feet from the ocean surface. It was late November, and it was bitterly cold as we operated in and around the Aleutian Islands. The evening of Terry’s Baptism brought the roughest seas we had yet seen. Flight operations were suspended, aircraft were secured with extraordinary measures, and crew movement was prohibited abovedecks as swells rocked the ship.  The frigid waves occasionally crested at the flight deck ninety feet above sea level.

Nevertheless, many of our friends and fellow shipmates, Catholic and otherwise, joined us on the chilly forecastle at the appointed time. As the service progressed, the ship rocked in rhythm with the sea. Terry professed his faith and the priest poured out water on his forehead, baptizing Terry in the Name of the Father (pour), and of the Son (pour), and of the Holy Spirit (pour). As we were applauding, a huge wave hit the ship at the starboard bow, causing us to reach out to keep from falling. Ice-cold water splashed through the porthole, and though we were all a good many feet from the bulkhead most of us, including Terry, could testify just how cold that water was. It was an incredible experience, symbolic of the power and grace of the ocean and our creator God. And just how many other disciples can say they were baptized in the Bering Sea in the depths of winter?

Terry and Lupe were married the following Spring in San Diego, and her family hosted their wedding reception in Balboa Park, a beautiful setting in the heart of the city, and a place of beauty and calm amid the hustle and bustle that surrounded it. In retrospect, it seems fitting that the joyous celebration of the Sacraments of Eucharist and Matrimony alongside the placid Pacific on that beautiful Spring day still contained a shadow of the Sacraments of Initiation amid winter winds and rough seas that formed the foundation of a life of faith to be shared together.

May God continue to reveal himself to us in the ordinary and extraordinary, and continue to gather all people to himself to celebrate the sacraments every hour, every day.