That Baptism was the very first step that I took as a Catholic – and as a Child of God – and I took it without any thinking.
When I was a little baby – before I ever said my first word or walked my first step – I was baptised into the Maronite Catholic Church. My parents arranged for me to be brought to the Church and carried by my God Parents and made a child of God.
That Baptism (and Confirmation, which is administered with Baptism in the Maronite Rite) was the very first step that I took as a Catholic – and as a Child of God – and I took it without any thinking.
And I have been thinking about that today. You see, because I was baptised as a Catholic, the next step was to be reconciled to God of my sins through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Again, I was a young child. I was only seven years old when I received the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the very first time. I did not make decisions about whether I would receive the sacrament. I did not get asked what I thought. Instead, I was asked to attend my school and (as was the custom in those days) my teachers prepared me for the sacrament. Later it was the same with the reception of the Most Blessed Eucharist…
Again, I became closer to my Beloved when I was only a mere child. I did not really consciously decide to receive Holy Communion. I did not do much thinking about it at all. My teachers at school taught me about the sacrament to prepare me for it and my parents encouraged me in my preparations and then I became closer to God when I was only a small child, and I never spent even a moment thinking about that…
And I have been thinking a great deal about this today. Because it occurs to me that I have lived a very blessed life. I was taught – from the cradle – about my Lord and my God. I was assisted to receive the sacraments. I was loved and looked after by my God in such a way through the actions of my parents who ensured that I was given opportunity to grow in faith. And that meant that later in my life, I had no hesitation in receiving the sacrament of marriage in the Catholic Church, and when I was sick, I received the Anointing of the Sick. And when my children were born, it was the same for them as it had been for me – they were baptised and confirmed in infancy, and received Reconciliation and Holy Communion as young children…
And all of this happened without thinking… Because my parents gave me such a gift as that – a lifetime of faith… And thinking of that it occurs to me that it is a wonderful gift I have been given by my Beloved, to have been born into a family like that – because there is really no need for any extra thinking about the important things…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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