You have read the title so you will guess that this picture is of the Catholic Church in Otematata. This is where on 10 September 1961, I was baptised. The Church is no longer there.
(Can anyone tell me what happened to it - I took the picture in the early 1980's)
At my birth a couple of weeks earlier I first breathed on my own. But it was only when Fr. Reg O'Brien poured the water and called on God "I baptise you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" that I really began to live.
Fr. O'Brien would have prayed this in Latin. But God listens in every language. The pope reminded us of this yesterday in the Wednesday Audience. Listen to the young guy in this clip (jump ahead to 37 seconds to hear him)
I have been thinking a bit about baptism this week prompted by a couple of things. I will blog my thoughts here tomorrow, and in the parishes newsletter this weekend.
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ps. If you don't know when you were baptised, you might like to find out by sending an email to the church/parish where you were baptised with your full name, parents names and your date of birth. When you do find out, celebrate the anniversary each year as your own personal major feast.
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