At the Easter Vigil, in many churches, a number of people step forward to be baptised or to be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church. In the United Kingdom, that number is growing. Indeed, I understand that in the Diocese of Westminster these numbers have doubled over the last two years.
But this is about more than numbers. Each one of these people who comes forward, often sheepishly, has made a profound journey of heart, mind and soul. The step they take represents a shift in their life view, radically so for those coming to faith and baptism, less dramatic in those already baptised who are embracing, and being embraced by, the community of the Catholic Church.
