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By Heidi Busse
Effective Adult Faith Formation always reminds parishioners of their baptism. January -- with all of her resolutions -- is a great month to refocus on what it means to live our baptismal call. Below are some tips to help Adult educators highlight the importance of baptism to the Catholic life.
Use the language of the Second Vatican Council that we are all “called by our baptism” to build up the kingdom on earth today. This means conforming our lives to Christ through prayer, study (adult faith formation classes!), family life and participating in the Church and community.
An important part of responding to our baptismal call is stewardship. Work with your Development Director, Administrator or Pastor to frame your parish’s stewardship message in baptism.
Gather parishioners around the font for a session on baptism. Invite families and let the children touch the water as you speak. Discuss the font’s shape (the traditional shape of the womb represented new life in Christ), how the water in the font is blessed and invite families to take some of the holy water with them to bless each other and their home.
Offer a fieldtrip for adults to view baptismal fonts in the area -- talk about the history of baptism and how the RCIA process has returned the Church to her earliest roots of adult baptism and baptism by emersion.
If you are involved in your parish’s infant baptisms, encourage parents to have their baby baptized during Mass (if that is the norm for your church). Baptism is initiation into the community of believers and therefore, the community should be present to welcome the child.
Make an effort to remind RCIA catechumens that baptism is a sacrament of initiation into the Body of Christ which means full participation in the Catholic faith.
Work with your Social Justice or Outreach Coordinator to place parish justice efforts in the context of responding to our baptism (priest, prophet and king.
Make sure that confirmation candidates and their sponsors understand that at confirmation they will confirm their baptism and reinforce their commitment to initiation into a community of believers with all of the responsibilities therein. (The gifts of the Spirit which were received at baptism are deepened in confirmation.) These are only some of the ways to reinforce the message of baptism and baptismal call with the adults in your parish. Reinforcing their baptism grounds adults in their faith and encourages them to respond in full and active participation.
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