BAPTISMAL PRESENTATION

Baptism Talk – To be given to parents and godparents

Read copy as listening to a Priest or Deacon

My dear parents and godparents,

Did you ever wonder why Catholic parents have their children baptized as soon as possible after being born? It is Heavenly wisdom. It is something we automatically do because God instills in us that supernatural desire to have our children become children of God. But, what many of us do not realize is that when our children are baptized something incredibly special happens to them. On that day, they receive their inheritance to Heaven, to paradise. God so loves us that he wants us to know, if we live a good life on this earth, when we leave this life, He has prepared a place for us to live with Him for all eternity in happiness and joy. Just think of it, the day you were baptized, you received that same inheritance.

Knowing of this marvelous gift for our children is telling parents that this God given inheritance must never be lost. When we bring children into the world, we have a responsibility in taking care of them as they are growing up. In our society we have all the means and information necessary to help us with their education, their health and so many other things. But as parents we are also responsible for their spiritual lives. And what does that mean? It means, as our children are growing up, they must be taught to love God and love their neighbor. This is especially important for them to learn in their lives.

And one other very important thing. They must be taught who Jesus Christ is. This is so very critical in their lives. In fact, it is important for all of us to have a good relationship with Jesus Christ. But for the children, this relationship with Jesus will help them to develop proper Catholic faith formation and help them in becoming mature adults to experience a good life.

You know the greatest thing about having this relationship with Jesus Christ, it is His desire to have a relationship with every one of His children. And for two reasons, the first reason is obvious, He loves us unconditionally. And the second reason has a lot of merit.  You see, He believes if we put Him into our lives, He will have a very good chance of getting us through this life and when we leave this life, He will be waiting for us in Heaven. That is how much He loves us. In today’s world, not having Jesus Christ as a guide in a person’s life, is trying to survive without the one ingredient, the one person, who will guarantee getting us through any difficulty in life.

But tell me, what is our normal relationship with our God? We go to Church on Sunday! And why do we go to Church? To pray, to thank God for all the blessings He brings into our lives and to receive the body and blood of His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. But tell me, when is the next time you usually connect to your God? Again, for most of us, it is the following Sunday. So, our relationship with our God is from Sunday to Sunday to Sunday. Well, let me tell you something, that is not a good enough relationship with someone who is so critical and important. Our relationship with God must be every day of our lives.

 As I told you earlier, Jesus desires to have a relationship with every one of His children and because of this desire, He does not make it difficult. And, that relationship can begin at any moment in a person’s life. So, how do we start a close relationship with Jesus Christ? The first thing you must do is recognize Jesus for who He is. And who is Jesus Christ? He happens to be the Son of God. He is one very important person. He knows every detail of every one’s life. And, if you want to have someone in your life, He is the one you would want.

As I said, He makes it extremely easy. Because all you must do is invite Him into your life. I do not care if you use words, I do not care if you use your thoughts. All you have to say is “Jesus, I love you and I want you to be a part of my life.” And this is where our faith is tested. When your words or thoughts from your heart reaches Jesus’ heart, in an instant that spiritual relationship begins. And, He stays with you forever, He will never leave you, even when you turn your back on Him. That is how much He loves us.

Usually, when I get to this point, I am told, I can surely invite Jesus into my life. The question is “How do I stay connected to Him, every day of my life?”

There is a method I have used for staying connected to Jesus every day of my life. It is related to the good and bad things that happens in a person’s life.

It was late in my life when I discovered an important part of Heavenly wisdom. I discovered that all the good that ever came into my life, came from one source. And, that source was God. And the only thing I could truly take responsibility for in my life, were the sins I committed. Just think about it if you could live your life with this little bit of wisdom. Because it will do two things for you. First, it takes away your pride. You do not have to go around bragging anymore about all the good things you did in this life. Because every time something good happens in your life, the first thing you do is give Jesus’ credit for that good. And the second thing it does for you, it gives you the one virtue that God expects from all His children and that virtue is humility. God expects us to be humble in our lives. Just think about it, if you could live your life, void of pride and be humble, it will take away most of your anxiety in life.

But, getting back to the good and the bad things that happen in our lives. When some-thing good happens in your life, and I do not care how inconsequential it may appear, a smile from your neighbor, a hug from one of your kids, maybe someone in the family getting a job promotion. Whatever the good is, at that very moment that good is happening, you say “Thank you Jesus.” And Jesus will recognize the fact, that when something good happens in your life, you immediately give Him credit for that good. And something good happens in our life every day, sometimes many times in a day. The whole purpose of this is to constantly say the name Jesus.                     

And, when something bad is happening in your life, when you are being stressed, all you must do is say “Jesus, I need your help.” And, because you have invited Him into your life, He is right at your side to help you through any difficulty in life. He will also recognize that when you are having difficulty in your life, He is the first one you go to for help. For some of us, as we get older, we will experience such pain that it is impossible to explain it to another human being. They might understand the circumstances, but they do not know how you are feeling, except one person. And, that person is Jesus. He knows exactly how you are feeling, at that very moment in your life.

The type of relationship I am speaking of does not blossom in an instant. It’s doesn’t hit you over the head and you say, “what happen to me”. We are not made that way. The type of relationship I’m speaking about is something that happens gradually, in a person’s life, over a period of time. And somewhere down the road in your life, you start to feel differently or something special happens in your life and you start the get the feeling that Jesus Christ, the son of God, is interceding in your life. And, when you get that feeling, it’s magnificent. To think that the Son of God is personally interested in your life.

My dear parents, help put Jesus Christ into your children’s lives and when you’re not with them, He will take care of them for you. And, when your children become parents, they will do the same for their children.