PARENTS COLLABORATE IN THEIR CHILDREN'S DIVINE PATERNITY

VATICAN CITY, JAN 13, 2002 (VIS) - In the Sistine Chapel at 10 a.m. today, Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the Pope presided at a Eucharistic celebration during which he administered the Sacrament of Baptism to 20 newborns from Italy, France, Spain and the U.S.A.

In his homily the Pope said, addressing particularly the parents of the children, "the grace of Christ will transform their existence from mortal to immortal, freeing it from original sin. Give thanks to the Lord for the gift of their birth and of their spiritual rebirth today."

"These children," he continued, "today receive Baptism on the basis of your faith, which I will shortly ask you to profess. How much love, how much responsibility lies in the gesture you will perform in your children' name!"

"Yet, will they be able to open themselves to faith if they do not receive a worthy testimony thereof from the adults around them? These children need, above all, you, dear parents. They also need you, dear godparents, that they may learn to know the true God Who is merciful love. ... They will understand that God is faithfulness if they can recognize the reflection - though limited and fallible - of that faithfulness, above all, in your loving presence."

John Paul II concluded by emphasizing "parents' great responsibility of cooperating in the spiritual growth of their children. ... If your mission as parents 'according to the flesh' is great, how much more is that of collaborating in the divine paternity, offering your contribution to forming in these creatures the very image of Jesus, the perfect Man."

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