Mary and I were privileged to become Godparents to our nephew, Matthew! We had a beautiful ceremony in which he was welcomed by the entire church.

It’s wonderful to see the joy and feel the energy that a baby can bring to people. In today’s world we need more of that joy and energy.

Matthew is nine months old and a hefty little guy. At one point during the ceremony, the priest asked for the Godparents to hold him for a blessing. Some how I was elected. As I stood holding Matthew, in the blink of an eye he thrust his right hand out towards a large lit candle that stood next to us. There with his little fingers, he scooped up some of the soft warm wax and proceeded to put it in his mouth! I was looking the other way and didn’t even see it happen. He apparently has no fear of fire and it didn’t trouble him at all. In fact, he liked it!

As we scooped little bits of wax out of his mouth, I thought, “Oh, well, this is it. I’ve only been a Godparent for five minutes and their going to revoke my privileges, cancel my contract and solicit a new Godfather.” But they gave me a pass on this one…whew!

What each parent wants, what each parishioner hopes for is that this child will survive, thrive and have opportunities in life that perhaps they didn’t have. That he will become a valuable member of our world community. That he will live his life with honor and integrity and treat others with love, kindness and generosity. That this child will live without hate and prejudice, and compassion fills his heart. That this child will do the good and honorable things that perhaps we were not able to do. That this child and every new child becomes a second chance…an opportunity for us to redeem ourselves…to be the hope for a peaceful world.

Blessings,
Dr. Rick Barrett

P.S. I ask that you place a blessing on Matthew in your own way and on all the newborns of the world…thank you.