Our Baptism

Over the weekend at a workshop on Living the Vows Today, we were reminded of their connection with our Baptism...really extensions of what all Christians baptized in Christ receive: an adoption as sons and daughters of God, an infusion of the Divine Life...i.e. the Holy Spirit, the gift of faith... and a mission: to spread the good news of our salvation to all we meet for the rest of our lives. So important is baptism, that annually, the Church devotes 90 days, one third of the Liturgical Year, to the preparation for the renewal of our baptismal promises (the 40 days of Lent) and to the celebration and contemplation of this priceless gift (the 50 days of the Easter Season). As we live these seasons, do we see them as such, or in the case of Lent, simply as a time of penance and personal renewal, and the Easter Season, especially after the lilies have faded, as a meaningless prolongation of Easter Sunday to fill in the time before Pentecost? Perhaps this year we can focus on baptism, what it means to us now as adults, and when Easter comes, renew those promises with a deeper understanding and appreciation of their importance, of the DIFFERENCE they have made and continue to make in our lives. Lord, thank you for sharing your life with me in baptism; help me to understand and appreciate this gift at a deeper level, and help me to live it faithfully each day. Amen.