A welcoming into the church community. A cleansing of the soul of original sin. A choice that her parents are making for her for the benefit of her spiritual wellness. On Sunday, September 22nd, 2109, Penelope Jane was baptized and welcomed into the community at St. Mary’s Parish in Annapolis, Maryland.
Surrounded by family and friends, Father Luyen Dau spoke of why we don’t wait for our children to decide for themselves to be baptized in the Catholic faith. For the same reason that we choose healthy food for them, choose what they consume from the media and protect them from what we can while they are young, we choose baptism because we choose to nourish their soul and to fortify them against the evils and the temptations of our world. In baptism, our child is born anew and accepts an invitation to enter into a new relationship with Christ. We accept responsibility for our child’s faith formation and we invite godparents in, to help us along the journey.
I was honored to be invited to not only witness, but to document, sweet Pip’s baptism. After the ceremony, we celebrated at Pussers Caribbean Grille just down the hill, on the waterfront in Annapolis. It was a gorgeous day, very fitting for a celebration, and tired little Pip only slept through about 20 minutes of the celebration. She spent the rest of the afternoon doted on by aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.
It was a beautiful celebration all around. Thank you, Cate and Jerry, for inviting me to be a part of this beautiful day.
