Passing on our faith through baptism

Last Sunday I baptized two infants, Konnor and Ramsey.  Baptizing a child is always a joy for me.  It brings back memories of the baptisms of my children and my grandchildren.  There was only one small glitch in the baptism, when I realized that I hadn't placed any towels by the font.  Fortunately, my wife was able to quickly get two towels from the sacristy.

In baptism, Konnor and Ramsey became become adopted sons of God.  They join all of us who have been baptized and are now God’s chosen disciples.  The first letter of John expresses our relationship to God as his adopted children as follows: “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God.  Yet so we are.  The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not been revealed.  We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”  This is powerful stuff, that by our baptism we become God’s children.  If we choose to follow him into eternal life, we shall be like God and shall see him as he is.  This is the great promise of our faith that we pass onto our children. 

For most of us, this faith has been passed onto us by our parents.  And for many, this gift of faith has been part of the family for many generations.  One of my cousins has traced the Rettig family tree back several hundred years.  I expect that my family has been Catholic for many generations and has seen good times and bad in the Church and in the world during that time.  I give thanks to these ancestors for my gift of life.  If it weren't for them and their willingness to sacrifice, I wouldn't be here today.  Also, I thank them for my gift of faith.  They nurtured their faith and passed this faith on to their children.  If it weren't for them, I probably wouldn't be Catholic today.  As Catholic parents, they took the responsibility of raising their children in the faith of Jesus Christ, very seriously.  Konnor and Ramsey's parents also take this responsibility seriously as they bring their children to us today so that they can receive the gift of new life in baptism. 

Jesus told his disciples that the gates of hell shall not prevail against his church.  He has given us a guarantee that his Church will be glorified with Jesus when he returns.  But, as we look around at all of the evil in the world today, and as we see the difficulties that often face his Church, at times it can seem hopeless.  In short, it can seem like the devil is winning.  It requires faith today to bring children into this world and to give them the gift of our faith.  Fortunately, these parents and many other parents today and through the ages have had faith and hope which they lovingly passed on to the next generation.

Today, let us celebrate that we all, as Christians, as God’s kids, have received the gift of faith and are his disciples.  Let us resolve to tell everyone, and especially our children about our merciful and powerful God and about his holy Church.  And finally, let us commit to doing our part to establish the kingdom of God on earth so that together we can defeat the evil one and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.