Leah's Baptism

Last weekend we celebrated Leah's baptism! It was a day we will never forget. Honoring the presence of God in our lives is an extremely important part of who we strive to be as individuals and as a family, and claiming Leah for Christ was a heartfelt occasion. We were overly worried about the day itself, as Leah had struggled with a fever all weekend long, but after a full night of sleep on Saturday she awoke anew on Sunday (thank God)!!! My Mom made Leah's beautiful gown, it fit perfectly and she loved it -- to her it was a life-sized satin "lovie". The service was nice and the baptism itself was sweet. Thank you to our dear friends, Anthony and Kathy for accepting the role of Godparents for our sweet daughter, we know you will help us to lovingly guide Leah's faith journey. We celebrated the day with our families and a few close Catholic friends, thank you for those of you who shared the day with us and those who prayed for the day from afar. It was a day we will lock in our hearts forever.

For anyone interested, below is an excerpt from a baptism article that I enjoyed. I really liked this description written by Sandra DeGidio in the article The Sacrament of Baptism: Celebrating the Embrace of God...

The ritual of Baptism does not bring God's love into being as if that love did not exist before the ceremony. Baptism is the Church's way of celebrating and enacting the embrace of God who first loved us from the moment of our conception. Baptism is a ritualization and manifestation of something real—of the outpouring of God's Spirit and of our acceptance of that transforming love. It remains for us to grow into what we already are: daughters and sons of God. Baptism celebrates a family's and a community's experience of that love in the baptized.