The ceremonies and symbolic gestures of the missions have been referred to as “doctrine in action” (Sevrin). For the people of the villages all this was new either in contents or in presentation. The people were either not used to religion or had been put off it by the Revolution and its aftermath. These ceremonies thus aroused the curiosity of people unaccustomed to the Word of God and, if well prepared and well presented, were a means for religious truths to be absorbed.
The renewal of baptismal promises was an important moment of renewal and was given prominence. In the Diary of the Marignane Mission Eugene described the setting:
A table was prepared on which were placed an open missal, the holy oils, a lighted candle, some blessed salt and the small white robe with which one clothes the child after baptism. The Superior, having ascended the pulpit, explained the ceremony that was about to take place. The Blessed Sacrament was exposed. The Superior went on with his talk, and after an introduction he had the faithful renew their baptismal promises out loud and as a responsory…
Diary of the Marignane Mission, 12 December 1816, O.W. XVI
This invitation to renewal of commitment to Christ the Saviour did not fall on deaf ears, and Mariusz Suzanne noted in Aix and Marseilles that many sought confession thereafter to reinforce and deepen the experience of the ceremony.
In a world where we are constantly bombarded with new invitations and experiences this text is an invitation to go back to basics: the need to focus on, understand and renew our baptismal commitment each day and to live it in such a way as to make it the Gospel salt and light of our lives and that of others.