If you were at our Easter Vigil Mass, then you would have had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate with us the initiation of five adults into the Catholic Church.
You may have also noticed that, during the baptism celebration, a group of children started to gather at the side of the baptistery, keen to get a closer look at what was happening. “There are people being baptised!” one of them excitedly declares to the others; the wonder and awe of the moment clearly evident.
Last Sunday, we heard the Gospel reading of the often-described doubting Thomas moment. Living our faith can be challenging. We can all have doubts at one time or another. Yet the witness of those, like our neophytes (newly baptised), who seek Christ with fresh hope has the power to strengthen the faith of us all. We may not be able to see Jesus’ hands and side, but we can see the impact of his presence among us.
Through baptism, we share in the death and resurrection of Christ, which we celebrate throughout the Easter season. As we are sprinkled with water, profess our faith, and celebrate as the light of Christ radiates from the paschal candle, may our Easter celebrations strengthen us as faithful, hope-filled disciples.
As St John Paul II reminded us forty years ago this November when he visited Australia, “We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song!”
Published in our parish bulletin, Carmel, 19 April 2026
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