Baptism

Why am I talking about Baptism during Lent? We don’t even have a Baptism Weekend during Lent…The highlight of the Church Year is Easter, the Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We forgo baptisms during Lent in the anticipation of the Easter Vigil when the unbaptized joining the Catholic Church are baptized. Remember Baptism is a sign of the death, the burial (which is symbolized by going into the water) and the resurrection of Jesus (the coming out of the water). What glorious time the Easter Vigil is when the Elect become part of the Catholic faith with the community as witnesses.

Check the pictures of our Elect out in the gathering space get to know their faces so you can greet them and welcome them when you see them. Remember they are now called The Elect and not catechumens and they are called the “elect” because they have been chosen and called forth by the Bishop on the 1st Sunday of Lent at the St. Joseph the Workman Cathedral in La Crosse. Pray for them and for the candidates who will join our community in full communion at the Easter Vigil

During Lent we look forward to the Resurrection with the anticipation of a great happening. We look forward to Baptisms with excitement and thankfulness as well. Maybe to remind us of our own Baptism we could set an empty bowl in our prayer space at home and then at Easter fill the bowl with water from the newly blessed water at church. Then each day until Pentecost family members can remind themselves of their own Baptisms by dipping their fingertips into the water and making the sign of the cross.