Dear Saints,

Today is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which naturally calls to mind both our own baptisms and all those we’ve witnessed. In FY2024-25, for example, our parish celebrated more than three dozen infant baptisms. That’s three dozen chances for our community: first to support parents as they baptize their children in the faith, but then to consider our role in the rest of their lives.

Those babies are growing up in a fast-paced, often-confusing world. They’ll likely enjoy opportunities we never did, but they’ll also encounter challenges we can’t even imagine. If children born in the 1970s or 1990s arrived without a parenting manual, how much more daunting is it to raise those born into an ever-changing world of social media, AI, and growing mental/social health epidemics?

Offering parents our love and friendship while they stand at the baptismal font is a good first step. But it’s only a first step. As a parish, we are that family’s experience of the Catholic faith. It’s our responsibility to make sure they feel welcome and supported as the exhausting days drag on and the years fly by. God is well pleased to have offered us the mission of being warm and steady agents of his light to all who walk through our doors, and to give them every reason to return week after week. We should be well pleased to take him up on that invitation.

Christ’s Peace,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ