The bishop is the ordinary minister of the Sacrament of Confirmation. The priest pictured had the necessary authorizations to perform the sacrament.
Have you ever been to a baptism that takes place at an Easter Vigil Mass? It’s a remarkable experience.
On this Last Holy Saturday, most of us in Thornwood witnessed the baptism of Kevin Gerry, a great friend of ours. And in Kevin’s case it was, for us, more than remarkable. We had contemplated the power of death on Good Friday and were then able to see Christ’s victory alive in Kevin — amazed to contemplate God’s Divine Providence on his life. That baptism had been scheduled from all eternity but we had the chance of seeing the sequence of events of the last 168 days that brought Kevin in front of the altar.
On October 22, we hosted a fundraising event at our house. It was a Gala dinner to which a catering company came. Kevin “by chance” had been scheduled to work on that weekend, so he came with 19 others waiters to serve the tables. Kevin was given the task of filling ice and water in the dinner glasses and it just so happened that Br Matias was given the same task. From there God put his plan on fast forward…
They exchanged e-mails and a week later Kevin came back. Br Matias began introducing him to the Catholic faith. Soon he started the catechism program of the archdiocese until the great day came: baptism, confirmation and first communion all in one shot!
Kevin chose Br Matias to be his Godfather. His Godmother lives in Colombia and unfortunately was unable to come, but everyone was overflowing with joy!
Asking Kevin how he felt like about the whole thing he said: “It feels like I have finally come Home!! When I met Br Matias and the Brothers the first time, I was truly amazed. I thought ’Who are these guys,’ how so many were filled and overflowing with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Like when someone finds gold in a field, I knew I must do anything I could to find out more. And I am so truly thankful that the Brothers and the Holy Spirit were there to meet me”
God constantly seeks us and he is very creative! Please say a prayer for Kevin at the beginning of his new journey. Our Lord always uses other people as instruments to carry his love forward. At this moment of your life He could also be asking you to be His instrument, in one way or another to bring someone closer to him: be on the lookout!
