Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.
But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.
And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” — Mt. 3: 13-17

Well, it wasn’t anything like that today at St. Mary Magdalene, where I was formally received into the Roman Catholic Church. No heavenly parting of the clouds, no angels ascending or descending or dancing on the head of a pin, no voices from above, nothing like that.

Not that I expected anything like that, mind you.

But it was, nevertheless, a moving and splendid occasion. And it was all over in five minutes. After Fr. Greg’s homily, my name was called, and, along with seven other candidates, we were prayed over by Fr. Greg, our sponsors, and the whole congregation. Then each of us were anointed with holy oil, and voila!, welcome to your new lives as Roman Catholics. Later on, I received Eucharist just like everyone else, waiting in line for Jesus’ Body and Blood to be given by two female Eucharistic ministers, and that was it.

And that’s the way I always wanted it to be. No muss, no fuss, just the next step in my spiritual journey beginning like my fellow candidates. The beauty of today’s occasion was in how very ordinary, in its own typical extraordinary way, it all was. I was just a part of a faith community coming together before the Lord, bringing all our various lives, personal stories, wants, needs, desires, sins, and celebrations just as millions of others have done for two millennia. The only difference being, this time, their numbers were increased by eight souls who sought only to come home to Rome, the Church of Peter, and Paul, and all the apostles, and all the fundamental and foundational sacramental traditions and teachings that have been taught, followed, ignored, debated, and rigorously defended since them in any number of ways, to take and receive the Real Presence of the Lord’s Body and Blood for the very first time.

It was humbling, exciting, and exhilarating to have finally taken that step. Now, on with the rest of my life, wherever and however that might lead.