Dove

Today I brought a dove to chapel. It wasn't a real dove, but one that we fly overheard on Sundays when we want to more visibly celebrate the power of the Holy Spirit. We always have it in the procession on Baptism Sundays, and today I talked about the baptism of Jesus by John. When we baptize our children, we make certain promises on their behalf. We promise to resist evil, and follow in the apostles' teaching. We promise to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourself. We promise to strive for peace and justice among all people. And we promise to respect the dignity of every human being. It is only by making the choice, every day, to allow the Holy Spirit to enter into us that we can have the strength to follow through on these promises. Daily prayer with our children teaches them (and us) to have the daily habit of asking "Come, Holy Spirit, come".