One of the great joys of being a priest is doing baptisms, especially when I have witnessed the marriage vows of the parents. So, recently I had this joy again.
Andy and Kim asked me to baptize their baby daughter Haley. What a thrill for me, as well as for them. Baptism is the giving of the gift of citizenship in heaven. In these days when we are very conscious of what a lack of citizenship can do to a person's status in our country, so also we should become more aware of what it means to be a citizen of heaven. It means that we are sons and daughters of God, that we have the dignity of being as important to the Lord as any priest, prophet or king [or queen]. Only if we forget this dignity do we run amok in life. Only if we toss away our citizenship and our dignity do we fail to live up to our potential. So I am grateful to Andy and Kim not only for asking me to do their baby's baptism, but even more importantly I am grateful for the Faith being so important to this couple that they want to pass on this dignity, this citizenship in heaven to their daughter. As Haley grows up she will decide if she treasures this gift, but in the meantime I know her parents do!
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