Baptism - A time of new beginnings...

We remember these times, and the past year, 2020, more for what we missed and lost than for what we could do, or where we could go, and who we could be with. We will recall it as a time when we had to stay apart from others, and to have no close contact with people. We learned a new language too, like support bubbles, social distancing, mRNA, and other abbreviations. And when shops, businesses, and banks, would be wary of customers coming in wearing face coverings, today you may not be admitted unless you sport a facemask.

In the church, we will remember 2020 as the year when we had to close churches and stop people from coming to Mass. We resorted, successfully in the main, to an online presence and certainly here in Priorswood, our weekday Mass and evening Rosary on Facebook live and on the webcam on Sundays has been not only a powerful time of solidarity but a lifeline for all concerned. We have lost but we have gained too.

While we can’t say Mass with the people right now, and only hold funeral Masses with 10 people, and while we can’t book in or celebrate Baptisms, we can gather with people from all over the world on our social media timeline. God closes one door, but he opens another.

Today, we see Jesus coming to John for Baptism. The Baptist is the one who prepares the way for Jesus. For those following John and accepting baptism it was a chance for them to begin again with a new confidence. When Jesus descended into the waters of the Jordan and ascended, the heavens were torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descended on him and the voice said; “You are my Son, the Beloved, my favour rests on you.”

One of the ceremonies that has suffered in the parish because of Covid is the baptism ceremony. Indeed, this was the parish where I celebrated my first baptism as a deacon back in 1996, and I still remember her name. We have been unable to book in any baptisms and there are many who are waiting for the baptism of their baby to take place. I know how painful this can be, and Fathers Bill and Terence would understand this. Declan, who was ordained to the permanent Diaconate in August, also understands because as a deacon, he is one of the ordinary ministers of baptism.

One of the cornerstones of the ministry of a parish is to welcome a new member of our church among us and we here would acknowledge the importance and the significance of this, both infant baptism and adult baptism. Baptism is the gateway to the other sacraments of the church and the same Holy Spirit that descended like a dove on Jesus, comes down upon the child or adult who is baptised. Holiness hits us when we are baptised and this is for our life on earth, and for the eternal life.

I was baptised in late October 1969 in the Church of the Holy Child, Whitehall, the parish where my parents were living in when they got married. My mother recalls that Fr. Tom Stack who baptised me during the ceremony said, “Baptism is a time of new beginnings…” I reconnected with Tom Stack years later and he brought my baptism candle up in the offertory procession at my first Mass after ordination in June 1997. Just last month, Msgr. Tom Stack died after 60 years of priesthood. A member of the Radharc team of priests, Tom made pioneering programmes from the 1960’s to the 1990’s from a religious, cultural, and social point of view.  I am grateful to God to be here in Priorswood during these scary and challenging times. I am thankful for my Capuchin brothers and my blood family. I believe Covid 19 is a crucifixion but if it has anything going for it, perhaps it has reminded us how much we miss those we love. And I am full of gratitude for Msgr. Tom Stack and my baptism where it all began for me as it is for all Christians.