THE
LIVES OF THE SAINTS
This reading is taken from
Luke's gospel, chapter 18, verses 15-18.
Some people brought their
little children for Jesus to bless. But when his disciples saw them
doing this, they told the people to stop bothering him. So Jesus called
the children over to him and said, "Let the children come to me! Don't
try to stop them. People who are like these children belong to god's
kingdom. You will never get into God's kingdom unless you enter it like
a child!" The gospel of the Lord.
Tonight is
being dedicated to all couples preparing to baptize their child. We
welcome you and we congratulate you.
We have all
come here tonight from different backgrounds, different nationalities,
all with different stories to tell, however, there is one common thread
that ties us all together. That is our faith. And, it all began with our
own baptism. You are giving your child THE greatest gift that your son
or daughter will ever receive in their lifetime. You are making the
promises of faith for your child as only you can at this time in his or
her life and with that comes an awesome responsibility. Raising a child
in today's society is an absolutely wonderful experience but it can also
be a very challenging one as well. God has blessed you with this
wonderful miracle of life and baptizing your child into the faith and
continuing to walk that journey of life with God at your side, makes the
road so much easier traveled.
Frank and I
have been involved in the Baptism Ministry for 7 years and our faith has
always been an important part of who we are. It's what cements us as
individuals, as a couple and as parents. We have two sons, Michael, age
9 and Christopher, age 7 and we decided very early on in our
relationship that if we were to be blessed with children, we would try
our best to make faith as important a part of their lives as it is ours.
We are not the perfect family because we have our faith or are involved
in this ministry. We strive everyday to do what's right and to include
God in our daily life. We experience all the same emotions that all of
you experience...joys, sorrows, stresses, anxieties, good times and not
so good times but knowing God is with us, makes all those turns in the
road of life bearable.
Attending
Sunday Mass is also priority in our lives. Attending Mass for us is not
"just showing up". For us, it's much like tonight, coming together in
community, praying to God and receiving the Eucharist. As a new parent,
sleep deprivation is probably very much alive in your family. You may be
a two income family, possibly even working six days a week. And, you may
be thinking that the last thing you want to do on a Sunday morning is
attend Mass. It wasn't too long ago that Frank and I were sitting in
your place and know full well, what it takes to get to Mass on time in
one piece. There were many a Sunday morning, especially during the
winter months, that by the time I got all the winter clothes on our
boys, I was ready for a nap. And, let's not forget the diaper bag that
somehow can fit close to everything you own for your baby There were
many Sundays, that I arrived at Mass, not much wanting to be there. Not
feeling very faith-filled, not feeling very spiritual. But then I
thought about why we were truly there. We were with our community of Ss.
Cyril & Methodius, praying together and preparing to receive the
Eucharist, the body of Christ. The Eucharist had taken on a whole new
meaning for me when I became a mom. As I said earlier, raising children
can be a very challenging experience, and I look at the Eucharist as my
nourishment, personally given to me by Jesus. By receiving Jesus in Holy
Communion, I have a renewed sense of myself. He is my strength to face
the week ahead, my tolerance for what situations are to come. He is the
one who renews my sense of compassion and patience when I feel I don't
have anything left. By receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, I feel I can
be to my children, the role model that they need to see. There's a
saying that I came across about a year ago and it simply says.... Home
is where your story begins. By receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, I am a
little bit closer to creating that story of my children's lives that
Jesus would want for them. Now, God has called each of you to create a
home in which Jesus lives, a story of life and of faith for your son or
daughter. When you come to Mass, you will meet people in all different
phases of their lives. You will meet people such as yourselves who are
just starting out as a family and with whom you can identify. You will
meet couples such as Frank and myself who have been parents for a little
while and who have walked the journey that you are walking and can offer
you the support you may need. And, you will meet people who are now
grandparents who have a wisdom beyond their years. This is our Family of
the Eucharist.
Part of your
responsibility as a parent, by virtue of your child's baptism, is to bring
your child to Mass. And, you may be thinking what can an infant possibly
grasp from attending
Mass. Yes, your child
basically eats and sleeps at this point in their lives, but you will
blink, and your son or daughter will be sitting up and taking it all in.
You WILL not know for a while what he or she is grasping from Mass or
living out their faith in your home. We too, couldn't understand when
Michael was just a baby, what he would grasp from being exposed to his
faith. We said prayers with him before bedtime, we spoke of God in our
home, and we took him to Mass from the time he was 2 weeks old. And, when
Christopher came along, he too joined us at
Mass.
But until they could verbally communicate with us, we had no idea that
what we were doing for them was having any affect, until one night in May
1999.
I have told this
story for 7 years because I feel it is truly our faith and the faith of a
child in a nutshell. In late 1997, we found out we were pregnant with
Christopher. We were thrilled that our children would be close in age and
best friends. However, simultaneously with this news, we were told that I
had cancer and needed surgery in my second trimester. The surgery was
successful but the recuperation was a challenge but because of Frank's
love and support and the wonderful role model I have in my own mom who was
afflicted with MS in her mid-thirties and managed to raise three children
despite her condition, I was able to face what was ahead of me. Sleep
deprivation was alive and well in our household as Christopher was awake
every hour or so wanting a bottle and Michael, from the time he turned 2
until almost his third birthday, experienced night terrors. In May of
1999, I was putting Michael into his PJ's, the same routine we had always
done each night, when halfway through, he stopped me, walked on the bed
over to the crucifix on the wall, looked up and said, "God, could you
watch over me tonight with the doggies and the big red men"? He turned his
head and after a few seconds, said, "OK, God, thank you". I began to cry
and realized I was crying for two reasons. During that year, I had felt
very abandoned by God as I prayed to him to help me solve my son's
problem, but didn't feel I was being heard. However, that night I
realized, God had answered my prayer. Michael knew that the cross was not
simply a piece of wood on the wall with a statue attached. He knew that if
he went to the cross, his prayer would be answered, and within two weeks
of his request, his night terrors ended and have never returned.
We did have an
affect on him. You will have an affect on your child. We all affect each
other in one way or another and Jesus has an affect on us, each time we
pray to him and each time we receive him in Holy Communion. So, whenever
you feel that you are simply too tired to say prayers at night with your
child, or too busy or too exhausted from a long week to attend Mass, or
feel uncomfortable bringing God into your home, think of a little, barely
three year old boy who knew to go to the cross and talk to God. This is a
beautiful time in your lives to renew your own baptismal promises. If
you've been away from the church for a while or are uncomfortable with
your own spiritual life, NOW is the time for you to grow together in faith
as a family of God.
In closing, we
would like to pray this family prayer with everyone here tonight.
Family Prayer
Loving God, We ask you to
bless our family and the life we share together.
Help us to work with one
another, sharing our gifts and talents to make our family
grow in faith, love and
service.
Help us to play together
joyfully, giving of our time and of ourselves
to make our family happy.
Help us to love one
another and always to be eager to show that love.
In joys and in sorrows,
in good times and in bad,
may be give strength to
one another.
As we strive to follow
the example of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may we respect
everyone's human dignity
in all our daily relationships.
Finally, may we all one
day share together in the everlasting
happiness of your
heavenly family. Amen
Witness talk “The Miracle of the
Eucharist” presented by Frank and Debbie Calascione
August 10, 2005 at the occasion of
Evening Prayer on the Lawn
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