MY BAPTISM -A NEW BEGINNING
Hello! My name is Lucila and I am from Peru. I´m twenty years old and have been living in Italy for three years. I am currently in my fourth year of economics and when I finish I would like to study nursing, to be able to help people. I have a job taking care of an elderly lady who is very patient and loving with me.
My journey towards Baptism began in my childhood. From a very young age, I felt that I wanted to be with God, to have Him as my friend and to be able to share my life with Him. But in my country, your mother or father has to go to catechesis for you to be baptised. My mum didn’t have time and my dad lived here in Italy, so I had to wait.
My family believe in God but they weren’t very supportive of my decision to meet Jesus, to be part of his Family, and be baptized. On the contrary, they disapproved and I only received criticism like: “Why do you want to be baptized? What does it gives you? It is useless… You only get baptized to get married” But that wasn´t the reason I had this desire in my heart and when I tried to explain that there was so much more to it we only got into arguments because of what they thought. But I always stood firm in my convictions.
At a Mass held in Pavia for the Lord of Miracles – a very important festival in Peru – I met Sister Ursula. I shared the great desire that I had inside with her: to have this friendship with God and to be able to be baptized. I asked her if she could help me and she said that she could.
We started the meetings a year and a half ago. When I began to know God it was like finding a friend who listens to you and who does not judge you. It was what I needed the most -someone who would listen to me and understand me.
I have learned many things in his Word, because everything it says refers to things that happen to you in your everyday life. Sometimes you can think that “God does not understand me because He hasn´t been through the same things as me” but it is not true. Jesus went through even worse things. He was disowned by the people who should have loved him, persecuted at birth and had to flee from his country. He was betrayed and misunderstood. So we cannot say that God does not understand us. That is why when I read about Jesus´ life in the Bible I understood in my heart: “I´ve been there, I have gone through the same things that you have. You are not alone” And that has strongly impacted me. He has lived through so much and has done it “for me.” It is for me.
And finally the Easter vigil arrived, the night of my baptism and I felt very small.
I cried the entire celebration just like a new-born child. When I was being baptized, I imagined Jesus coming to me and hugging me saying, “Okay. Let everything out, all the anger, the suffering, the remorse, the negative feelings that you have accumulated inside. I am with you. I will be your support. This is A NEW BEGINNING. ”
I felt Jesus embraced my whole life and it was huge. That’s why I couldn’t stop crying.
It was also very significant for me when we lit the baptismal candle, because it was “to light my faith.” I am keeping this candle because I don’t want my faith to go out.
Everything was very special that day. Many people accompanied me. My dad and my sister also came and at the end we shared a typical Italian Easter bread: known as colomba, in the shape of a dove, with our Bishop and the priests.
I hope with all my heart that each person can find in God an unconditional friend, who will listen to them and guide them in life as I have found Him and that they never lose faith in Him, because that is the most important thing.
