"Come here Honey, let me scratch you!"

"Come here Honey, let me scratch you!"
These were the words which were echoing through my mind throughout the whole day-"Come here Honey, let me scratch you!"Where did they come from? What did they mean?Just listen carefully, and I will tell you tell you.

My niece is 10. Her name is Niki. She is a beautiful funny girl. Sweet, wanna be on the center all the time, although we know just why. Her Dad committed suicide 1.5 year ago and she is still suffering badly. She longs for love,more than we sometimes do. Her Mom's side is Roman Catholic and when she entered kindergarden she decided to go to Sunday School. My family is not really religious.We didn't sing nor christmas songs about Christ at christmastime, nor Silent night just for the culture's sake-not even the "Christian" side. But she decided to go with her Grandma to the Sunday School. Not her Mom wanted, nor the Grandma, noone else suggested. She. By her own will. She enjoyed them a lot, and of course when she learnt something new she immidiately told, showed, sung me-that is how I knew she really loved it.
A couple of weeks ago my parents brought the news she wanted to be baptised. She picked the date nearest to her real birthday and so this Sunday, February 1, 2009 we had her baptismal event-cos it was a real event on earth and in the heavens. She will belong to the Roman Catholic Tradition from now on.
The baptismal ceremony was beautiful. We all surrounded her in front of the baptismal fountain. Next to her was her Mom and Godmother and behind them all the relatives in a half circle about 35. She heard the origins of baptism, the words by Christ and after that she confessed by the old roman rite that she wanna follow Jesus and say no to the devil. We confessed our faith in Christ and she got the first cross with oil on her forhead. After this came the baptism with the water and word and it was followed by the crisma (another cross with oil on the forhead).

Now the priest instructed us- all who were baptised or unbaptised, christians or non-christians - one by one let everyone mark her by the cross of Christ on the forehead and greet her with the sign of peace: two kisses on the cheek.
And there came the moment,the cairos (God's special time,moment) in the cronos (ordinary time).there came the mystery of Baptism in that very moment, when I heard one of the non-christian relatives saying: "Come here Honey, let me srcatch you".
Let me scratch you...
Not knowing really the meaning what the symbols were.
And not really knowing what they meant.
Scratching,graving which even if it is healed leaves a mark forever as a reminder.
Like in God's palms when he says:
" Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands" -Isaiah 49,16 KJV

I felt he -in and unconscious,non-christian way- joined and represented the mystery of Christ at that place. The mystery what we, even Christians don't fully understand. The pure and overflowing love and care, the compassion with the child who needs and misses her Daddy, and the "we will carry you feeling " when he put his armes around her he just embodied Christ for her.
I love you-he said.

And now, today She was adopted. She has a Mom a Dad and Father. Never be alone. Never be lost and never be unnoticed. No need for being in the center among the people for love and care.
For the mystery has happened again: that she is in the center, in the very center of Christ's heart from this moment- forever and ever. Amen .