Tuesday, March 30, 2010

duc in altum

Is it a coincidence that the Latin word for "put forth", as in Christ's command to Peter in the Gospel of Luke, "Put forth into the deep" -"Duc in altum."- is right smack in the middle of the English word "education?"

Let's consider that in the sacrament of Baptism, the baptized person is "put forth" into the deep, either by plunging or pouring. In the sacrament of Baptism, the soul receives sanctifying grace -the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Counsel, Fear of the Lord, Piety, and Courage.

So when a soul is baptized, when a soul "puts forth into the deep"/ "duc"s "in altum", he receives the ultimate education. And I don't think the parallel root of the Latin and English words is a coincidence, nor Christ and the Church's uses of this miraculous and mysterious phenomenon that incorporates language, analogy, truth, and salvation. Ah yes.