More Than an Honor
Today my wife and I received a very unexpected blessing. A young couple who we came to know as they journeyed through the RCIA process asked us to be the godparents of their child who is due to be born in early December. I can think of no higher honor that someone could bestow upon us. To entrust us with the responsibility of looking after the spiritual well being of their child is indeed awesome and beautiful.
This is my first opportunity to be a godfather since coming back to the faith. I'm reasonably certain that I failed miserably as godfather to the two nephews my sister entrusted me with, though I try to impart wisdom where I can. Mostly I try to remind them to do as I say...not as I did. But when my sister asked me to be a godparent, my faith was no where near where it should have been. I was a fallen away Catholic with no real concept of what it means to take on this responsibility. And it didn't help that my sister and I have rarely even lived in the same time zone so I've always been the distant uncle to them. Thanks be to God, she is a great mom and has been blessed that, so far, (both are in college, now) they seem to be living their faith.
Hindsight is painfully 20/20 at certain moments of our lives. My prayer is that twenty years from now, this child will have fond memories of her godfather and godmother, and that we won't be just names on a baptismal certificate. I look forward to her baptism, confirmation, first communion, and her becoming a bride if she so chooses. I pray she always sees me as a pillar of faith that she can lean on whenever this human experience gives her doubt. I pray she will look at my wife and see the saint I see. And I hope her parents will understand if my wife and I take a bigger interest in her well being than the typical godparent.
I am deeply humbled by this news and ever amazed at the love of God.
This is my first opportunity to be a godfather since coming back to the faith. I'm reasonably certain that I failed miserably as godfather to the two nephews my sister entrusted me with, though I try to impart wisdom where I can. Mostly I try to remind them to do as I say...not as I did. But when my sister asked me to be a godparent, my faith was no where near where it should have been. I was a fallen away Catholic with no real concept of what it means to take on this responsibility. And it didn't help that my sister and I have rarely even lived in the same time zone so I've always been the distant uncle to them. Thanks be to God, she is a great mom and has been blessed that, so far, (both are in college, now) they seem to be living their faith.
Hindsight is painfully 20/20 at certain moments of our lives. My prayer is that twenty years from now, this child will have fond memories of her godfather and godmother, and that we won't be just names on a baptismal certificate. I look forward to her baptism, confirmation, first communion, and her becoming a bride if she so chooses. I pray she always sees me as a pillar of faith that she can lean on whenever this human experience gives her doubt. I pray she will look at my wife and see the saint I see. And I hope her parents will understand if my wife and I take a bigger interest in her well being than the typical godparent.
I am deeply humbled by this news and ever amazed at the love of God.
posted by David Jackson | 7:50 PM
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