Fifth Sunday of Easter

Maryknoll Father Tom Tiscornia reflects on the role of the newly baptized, and how their faith can be an inspiration for living out the faith.

The recently baptized are a tremendous gift to the Church and especially to their own communities. They have confirmed their belief in Jesus with their public act in the midst of a believing community.

What a joy I always felt with sharing in the times of instruction with women and men in their villages, students in their schools as they publicly prepared for Baptism. Their moment of coming forward to demonstrate their faith in Jesus and the Church always encouraged and amazed me. Maybe I was jealous in the sense that they themselves made the decision to be baptized. How did this happen?

Maybe like Thomas and Philip in today’s gospel they questioned and then came to believe. The example of others living out their faith surely influenced them.

In the Nuba Mountains, Sudan, Dr. Tom Catena serves a population of over 750,000 as the only resident surgeon in the area since 2008. As a Catholic missionary physician living out his faith, he is a model of what it means to live out his faith by serving the many sick and wounded. Just like the newly chosen deacons we hear about in Acts, Tom serves at the table. This then is witnessed by many who are healed or served.

Not to say that there are large numbers of people who come forward for baptism but the seed is planted and those who do ask for baptism are the ones who amaze me and encourage me to journey with them.

During the process of instruction the question of Thomas “how can we know the way?” and that of Philip “show us the Father” are answered, it then has to be shared with others by way of example and practice.

Fr. Thomas Tiscornia, M.M., originally from Hoboken, New Jersey, was ordained in 1973. During his six decades in mission, he served in Sudan, Tanzania and South Sudan. Now retired, he lives in Los Altos, California.

Photo: Nuba Mountains, courtesy of Andreas31, available in the public domain via Wikimedia Commons.