Today I Celebrate My Re-Birthday

Baptism of Christ, El Greco

It goes without saying that Baptism is a big deal and it should be treated as such. A few years ago I read an article on Catholic Culture that talked about the practice of celebrating Baptismal days like birthdays because they are our re-birth days. We now celebrate the anniversary of our re-birthdays. I recommend you do the same with your family. Treat your family member to their favorite meal, make them a cake and reflect on the readings from that day.  You can also use it as an opportunity to review the Church teaching on Baptism. I assure you that doing all of this will enrich your lives. In preparing for a talk I was going to give to RCIA a few years ago, I discovered I was baptized on the traditional Feast of the Epiphany, January 6th.  Now this feast day has even more personal meaning to me.

Take some time out in the next few days to discover the dates of your Baptism and those of your family.  Mark the date on your calendar and plan on celebrating. If you don't remember the date, I have a few recommendations. First, if you received your marriage certificate from you parish, they would have had to confirm your previous sacraments.  Additionally, you can contact the parish or diocese in which you were baptized. I was surprised that my old parish where I was confirmed had my records. This was fortunate since the church I was baptized in no longer exists. Even if that is the case, the diocese will have a record of the Baptism.