Each year during Holy Week, the seminarians of the Diocese are asked to serve with Bishop Sullivan at one of the Triduum celebrations. During this past Triduum, I have had the privilege to serve with him at the Easter Vigil at Our Lady of Hope Parish in Blackwood NJ. The liturgy of the Easter Vigil gives one a great sense of the mystery of Christ’s Resurrection and on how Christ conquers death so as to save us from sin so we can hopefully be with Him one day in Heaven. Another thing that one experiences is witnessing a person be baptized and received into the Catholic Church. For me, this year was a bit of a different experience.
Ever since I was a child, I have always attended the Easter Vigil. I was always up close to the action since I always altar served the Vigil. This year was no different! What struck me the most this year was watching the emotion on the elect’s faces as they were approaching the baptismal font. For Blackwood, they were blessed to have seven people baptized and one person received into full communion with the Church. As I was watching them come one by one to the baptismal font, I saw nervousness, excitement, and joy! My first thought was how often do we, as Christians by infant Baptism, take for granted our faith. These neophytes, at some point in their life, had to choose to accept the true faith by realizing the Catholic Church encompasses all that Jesus intended for us to have in order for us to live in union with him on this earth. You can tell by these emotions how important this was for them. How often do we forget how lucky we are to have been baptized into this faith, especially for us who have been baptized as infants.
What also moved me was witnessing one of the women, who was already baptized, be receiving into full communion with the Church. She was very emotional, which was not something I remember ever seeing before! The question was poised to me again; How often do we take for granted the faith that was instilled in us at Baptism? This was a reminder for me to always remember that Jesus is at my side. He is there for me through both the good times and bad times. All I need to do is recognize his presence and ask for his help especially in times of trial. We need to remember that we are called to have a “child-like” faith in Jesus where we let Jesus take complete control of our lives so he can guide us to happiness! Perhaps when we receive Jesus at Mass, let us ask him to instill in us a deeper, genuine faith that always puts Him at the center where He belongs.
Timothy Mulranen
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