My sisters and brothers, welcome! I’m so glad to be here with you as you make this next step in preparation to be baptized into or received into the Church at the Easter Vigil, just a few weeks away. Thanks to pastors, catechetical leaders, and all who’ve come to support you today! Our hearts are beating just a little bit faster because that day, the Easter Vigil, will approach very quickly. We can’t wait to have you with us, and to see how the Lord is working in your life.

You’ve come from near and far to be here. There are a couple things you should notice today:

1. You are not alone. Others have felt and hear the same call from Jesus to recognize He is alive, He is with us, He calls us to follow Him. Some have come here to be with you because they had the same journey and remember how beautiful this day was!

2. You see other Christians here who are members of the Church – that is, the Body of Christ living in the world today. These are your sponsors, your catechists, and the parish team that have accompanied you through teaching the classes, guiding your faith experience, offering encouragement, walking with you in moments of doubts, and celebrating the successes and steps you have taken to become part of this amazing reality we call Church – the Catholic Church, the Body of Christ made visible.

3. There’s a very special saying in Latin – now your class take away: Ubi Petrus, ibi ecclesia (Where Peter is, there is the Church). We not only have the continuation of Peter’s ministry in the person of Pope Leo, the 266th successor of Peter, but also the sending of Apostolic witnesses through the bishops who have been sent to virtually all lands around the world. You see the bishop standing before you today. He is one who was sent by the successor of Peter and is here in person. Interestingly, this Sunday is the Feast of the Chair of Peter. It’s the oldest surviving institution in the world. It is from there that we have unity and continuity with the Apostles and early Church. Today, that mission continues right here. In that sense, we are all brothers and sisters because we know to Whom we belong, from whence we came, and why we live as a Church that is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. At the heart of it all, Christ is the Good Shepherd. The witness of Christ’s resurrection is passed on from person to person, generation to generation, and the call of Christ to “follow” never ceases. We are those witnesses. We are that community.

In fact, Catholic means – universal. It means everywhere and always. It means that within the Church, within your parish, where Christ is indeed present, everything is waiting for you; everyone is waiting for you; Christ is waiting for you. We are waiting for you to join us. We are saints and sinners. We are people who offer hope, yet at the same time we struggle with our own faults and failures. We are people who have great faith, but, at times, we are people who doubt. We also have Christ the Rock – solid and faithful. We also know of God’s embrace of mercy when we fall down. We know of God’s providence in the Eucharist when our souls are starving and hungry. We know that the Christian faith has inspired artists who have given the world great art and musicians who have created Masses, requiems, motets, chants to inspire us. We know of architects who have created some of the most inspiring Gothic cathedrals. We know of intellectuals who have grappled with ideas, philosophy, and culture. We know of scientists and researchers who have given us the fruit of their research and findings. Everything is worthy of a Christian vision as we look for and long for peace. Together we are part of an amazing history. We are part of an astonishing group that has occasionally messed up, but in the end have gotten a lot right.  

My hope for you today is to welcome you to the Church in which we find everyone. Especially, we find Christ – our Way, Truth, and Life – our hope and the One Who died on the Cross because He loved us so very, very much.  

The story of Christ, after all, is one of the greatest love stories that we will ever encounter. No one has loved us more. In fact, through the grace and the love of Christ, we are not stuck in our sins, not paralyzed in our world. We can be witnesses of hope wherever we are. This weekend, Jesus goes into the desert to “wrestle” with the devil. Deserts are places of dramatic extremes – hot and cold, life and death, barrenness and a botanical wonder, especially after a rain shower.  His 40 days and 40 nights of fasting, of preparing for His ministry, reminds us that we, too, need to get our priorities right. Retreats, days of recollection, Sunday Mass, Confession, spiritual direction, all invite us to listen to God speaking to us – in Scripture, in the Mass, in the people and events around us. Perhaps that’s why He created the heavens and the earth – He’s shouting to us: “I’m here. I love you. I want you to follow Me in freedom, and I will show you something you have yet to imagine – eternal life. I’ve made it for you. It’s waiting for you.”

So, yes, we are a hospital of sinners, a waiting room, but one filled with a hope and way of living that gives us the greatest freedom, the greatest hope, and the greatest love. It leaves us with some questions for consideration: Am I ready to join this “way” that Christ laid out? Am I ready to live with the wonder and surprise that each day gives? Am I ready to walk with the people of my parish – saints and sinners – a field hospital that allows us to be healed and to live our faith with immense joy and hope. No one can take that from you, even in the darkest moments of life. That is the Church for me today, especially here in the south.  

Thank you for answering the Lord’s call – which may have come from your personal study, your patient reading of Scripture or the Saints, an event you saw or experience along the way, or the gentle nudge of parent, child, friend, fiancé, or spouse.  

Again, thank you for your call and we are so glad you are with us today! God bless you all!