twelve

Parents are, through the witness of their lives,

the first heralds of the gospel for their children.

Furthermore, by praying with their children, by reading the word of God with them

and by introducing them…into the Body of Christ—

both the eucharistic and the ecclesial body—

they become fully parents,

in that they are begetters not only of bodily life,

but also of the life, that through the Spirit’s renewal, flows from the cross

and resurrection of Christ.

–John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, #39

…early morning picture from the day of Nicolas’s baptism