Monday, August 26, 2013

Baby Jacob Reflections: On Baptism, faith, family & friends



This past Saturday may go down in my memory as one of the most awesome days in my life.

Before Kelli and I undertook the sacred vows of the Sacrament of Marriage we were asked "Will you accept children lovingly from God and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?"

We said yes and three years later God let us know we'd be given the opportunity to follow through on that. As you all know by now it was July 23, 2013 that we lovingly accepted Jacob Michael Stegeman into this world, but it was August 24 that we accepted him, in the presence of our family, friends and faith community, into the Church.

With a beautiful ceremony, held appropriately in the context of the Mass, and witnessed by everyone from Jacob's 8-month-old cousin Daniel to his two great grandmothers (one of whom is over 90) Jacob became a part of the faith that stretches back all through the ages.

In Jacob's name, we asked that he be baptized. Before proceeding we, and by extension our Godparent & Christian witness, were asked "In doing so you are accepting the responsibility of training him in the practice of the faith. It will be your duty to bring him up to keep God's commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbor. Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?"

In so much as we can understand such a massive task, we said we do.

Everything from the profession of faith by renewing our own baptismal vows to the clothing in his white garment to the anointing with holy chrism, was just beautiful, but more than that, it was supernatural. On August 24, our son became a new creation, claimed for Christ and we, as parents, are charged to live our vocation by raising him up for God.

I'm rambling, sorry. What I'm getting to is this.

This is a fallen world. Sin and death abound. A culture of death constantly attacks the culture of life and truth must often take a back seat to personal whims. In a culture like this, living that vocation seems impossible. It seems daunting to raise our son in this kind of world.

We know nothing is impossible with God, and after Jacob's baptism I felt even more strongly about just how God will help up in this case.

Our help, provided by him, will be the people standing around the font with us.

There were nearly 40 close relatives and friends there. There was Father Terry, our Godparent Karyn and Christian witness Cari. Kelli's parents, my parents, Jacob's great grandmas, Kelli's and my other siblings, cousins, aunts & uncles, friends, etc.

Past them was a packed church. A whole parish of people who we will meet and work and worship with over the years to come.

Symbolically, united with us there as well was the entire Church.

We are not alone in raising him. Jacob is not alone in being raised. He has a family in Kelli and I. A family in our extended relatives and friends, and a family in Christ's church. He has been marked with the indelible sign of the spirit that will remain with him forever.

I don't know how Kelli and I are going to raise him to be a strong, Catholic man in a world such as this. But I know the grace of God has been poured upon him and that is stronger than any worry.

Thank you so much to everyone who was a part of Jacob's big day. Thanks first to God, His Church, and Father Terry.

Thanks to my beautiful wife who was radiant and kept him calm all of Mass and who will no doubt be the backbone of his morality.

Thanks to our Godmother Karyn and Christian witness Cari, to Scott and Lynne for their help with the party, to Kelli's parents for making her the woman she is, to my parents for dealing with me and to everyone who came or prayed for us.

Thanks also to the St. Martin community for their tremendous welcome, and to the photographer who showed up so we'd have pictures we all can't wait to see.

Thanks everyone. Saturday was beautiful. With your help, and the grace of God, Jacob is hopefully in for a beautiful life.



1 comment:

  1. Just beautiful! I could not have hoped to see it written any other way! Print and laminate copies of all the Jacob blogs so on good days and challenging days you can look back with the assurance you can go forward! I cannot begin to tell you how deeply moved I was as Jacob was brought into the Family of God, I was not prepared for the deep and loving experience I witnessed. God bless your beautiful family, and may you all rest in the palm of God's hand and in His love.

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