WOW!!! Last weekend was, for me, a weekend nearly totally devoted to the Sacraments of Initiation. After the 11:00am Mass, we celebrated the Sacrament of Baptism with Zoe Stellato and her family. I don’t think I have ever seen a little one so enjoy the proceedings as she did, flashing a smile that is impressed on my soul.
At 3:00pm we gathered with youngsters and their families who had been waiting patiently to mark this moment when Our Lord would come to them for the first time in the Holy Eucharist. Their proclamation of readings and prayers during Mass suggested the expectant looks in their eyes and the reverently uplifted hands that I would see. How precious in the Lord’s eyes .
And within that gathering for First Holy Communion was an older sibling who had been Confirmed only recently by me during our recent parish celebration of that Sacrament. The Baptismal Font was open and the Easter Candle lit. The newly Confirmed bore witness to the Faith in support of a younger sister. The Altar of Sacrifice was set for the source and summit of our life of faith.
The seed planted became grain, and the harvest became food. The food was sanctified by God for our salvation and has become the Bread of Life! As a priest and pastor I witnessed in this one day the flourish of God’s work in us and among us. Thank you to the individuals and individual families who are responding to God’s grace. Thank you, God, who have willed it so!