Today I was supposed to facilitate the last of the second series of trainings for catechists. in the village of Agua Buena, Concepción. For some strange reason the message never got out and only thee people showed up.
But as I passed through San Isidro La Cueva I saw Padre German and a crowd gathering for Mass. One of the catechists from there told me there were 42 baptisms.
This is a result of the new process for baptism of children under seven. There are five pre-baptism sessions and a retreat. This enabled many who wanted to have their children baptized but for various reasons hadn’t. Some were single mothers, some were parents not yet married in the church, others hadn’t been in base communities (which was a pre-requisite until Padre German arrived.) The fruits of the change in policy and the introduction of new materials are evident - probably close to one thousand baptisms of children under seven in the next few months and some parents asking about marriage.
I wanted to see what was happening in Sna Isidro. Since there was no training session I decided to stay for the Mass – which lasted almost three hours, with forty-two children under 7 being baptized.
It was a delightful Mass - even though Padre German spoke too long.
Here are some photos:
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| The provisional chapel in San Isidro La Cueva |
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| Padre German blessing Erasmo and Delmin, the catechists |
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| Signing with the cross |
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| Renouncing Satan |
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| Baptism |
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| Father, what are you going to do to me? |
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| A willing baptism of an infant |
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| Share the light of Christ. |
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| Sharing the light of Christ |
More photos can be found in my San Isidro set on Flickr
here.
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