Gospel of John, chapter 3:5

Before performing a baptism, a priest approached a young father and said, “Baptism is a serious step. Are you prepared for it?”

“I think so,” the man replied. “My wife has made appetizers and we have a caterer coming to provide plenty of cookies and cakes for all of our guests.”

“I don’t mean that,” the priest responded, “I’m talking about the spirit.”

“Oh, sure,” came the reply. “I’ve got plenty of spirits. I’ve got a case of whisky and a keg of beer.”

We may laugh at the young man, but the way many Christians live their lives is not much different from the way the young man prepared for baptism.

Baptism is more than a ritual; it is our entry into the Christian life; and by it we are made members of Christ and His body, the church. Jesus made baptism the requisite for entry into His kingdom: “Unless you are born of water and the spirit, you shall not enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).

Over the years, I have performed thousands of baptisms, but I have to say that most of them were approached as mere rituals rather than the beginning of a Christian way of life for the child. Why was that? Well, since the majority of baptisms I performed were infant baptisms, I have to conclude that most parents and sponsors were not really engaged in their children’s spiritual welfare. Children follow the example of their parents. If the parents are not practicing their faith; if they do not attend church regularly; if they fail to bring their children to catechism classes; the children’s spiritual welfare will undoubtedly suffer. The result would be that the same cycle of ritual baptism would be repeated all over again when these same children grow up and want to have their children baptized. They would merely be following a tradition of ritual baptism. And that is precisely what is taking place for the most part.

Grace builds on nature, and unless parents practice what they profess, their children will be deprived of the wonderful gift of their own baptism. Max Lucado wrote: “Some people believe they are going to heaven when they die because a few drops of water were sprinkled over their heads a few weeks after their birth. They have no personal faith, have never made a personal decision, and are banking on a hollow ceremony to save them.”

The real significance of baptism is that we have died with Christ to sin, and rose to new life. Please pray for all the baptized.

Fr. Hugh Duffy