Feast of the Holy Family and Baptism.

Today I will Baptize a child by the name of Oliver. Oliver will be the very first Baptism that I do since being named pastor here in Magnolia Springs. While I was the Parochial Vicar of St Bede the Venerable Parish in Montgomery, I would baptize almost every week, something I took for granted. It brings me so much joy to baptize, and I have been looking forward to little Oliver’s Baptism for some time now. Preparing for his baptism, he has actually entered into my own person prayer. Frequently I have found myself looking back to a Baptism that I attended as a priest and as a godfather. It is rare that as a priest I have attended the Sacrament of Baptism rather than performing the Sacrament myself. My Godson was baptized on July 14th of 2019. That day he received new life in the waters of the Sacred Font and his young life was opened to what God has to offer us. In the same way, late this morning, young Oliver will have his being opened to God as he becomes God’s adopted son and is grafted onto the mystical body of Christ. This Sacrament of Baptism then should be held with great reverence. It is not merely a rite of initiation, or some custom. Rather it is the rite of welcoming a child into the community of the Church. It is the moment when that person is added to the Kingdom of God and welcomed into our Family of Communion. I cannot wait to Baptize Oliver later today, it will be a great joy for me in my priesthood, for his family, and for our community of St John the Baptist Parish. Oliver will join the Church, the Parish, and the Kingdom. His name will now be written into the book of life.