Journey of Faith
Christ claims you for his own. Receive the sign of the cross. Live as a disciple of Christ, fight the good fight, finish the race, keep the faith. Confess Christ crucified, proclaim his resurrection, look for his coming in glory.
May almighty God deliver you from the powers of darkness, restore in you the image of his glory, and lead you in the light and obedience of Christ. Amen.
You have received the light of Christ; walk in this light all the days of your life. Shine as a light in the world to the glory of God the Father. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord in the name of Christ. Amen.
Almighty God, we thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food of the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ. Through him we offer you our souls and bodies to be a living sacrifice. Send us out in the power of your Spirit to live and work to your praise and glory. Amen.
As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:6-7
The writer at the end of his life looks back over his Christian pilgrimage. Today in Baptism we focus on baby Tadhg at the beginning of his life. The perfect tense of words in 2 Timothy imply a finished work of lasting significance. We lie somewhere between those two – we are on a journey, all on different stages of that journey, baby Tadhg is just setting out. Whenever we are on a journey we periodically need to check our bearings.