Baptism Guidelines
Congratulations!
God has blessed you with the gift of new life and now you are inquiring into baptizing your child in the Catholic Church. Your parish community celebrates with you and wants to help you prepare fully and well for this most important event in the life of your child and your family.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that: "Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit, and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as children of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated in the Church and made sharers in her mission?." [No. 1213]
So baptism is, then, first and most importantly one of the sacraments of initiation, whereby a person becomes a member of the Christian community. (The other two sacraments of initiation are confirmation and eucharist.) In baptism, your child becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ and a part of the body of Christ, the church. And the church, likewise, is enriched with the gift o f a new believer.
Important Information about the Rite of Baptism for Children
Role of Parents- In the rite of baptism, parents are asked whether they understand that
their role and their duty is to bring their child up to
keep God's
commandments as taught
by Jesus Christ. This
presumes that at least one parent
is a registered and
practicing
member of the Catholic Church, regularly
worshipping and receiving the
eucharist, and committed
to sharing that faith
with the child to be baptized.
- Requesting baptism for a child confers on the parents a serious
responsibility to follow through in raising the child as
a Catholic person,
sharing their
own faith, insuring
that the sacraments of initiation
(confirmation and
eucharist) are
received, and acting as good models of mature
Catholic
faith.
- Ideally, godparents will play an important and life-long role in the life
of the child. Therefore, they should be chosen with
care. The church requires
only one
godparent of either
gender. If two godparents are
selected, they must
be of
different genders. Godparents must be baptized,
confirmed Catholics who
have received the eucharist.
Godparents must be at least
16 years old and must
lead a life "in harmony with
the faith and the role to be undertaken."
[Code of
Canon Law, No. 874]
- A baptized person not of the Catholic faith may act as a witness along
with a Catholic godparent.
- Ideally, the one who serves as a godparent at baptism will also act as the
child's confirmation sponsor later on. This also
suggests the importance of
choosing godparents
thoughtfully
and prayerfully and with an eye toward the
future.
- The celebration of baptism for older children (who are no longer infants)
is scheduled on a case-by-case basis, insuring proper
catechesis for the child
to be
baptized, as well as
parents and godparents.
- For information, please call the Parish Office.
- Because of the importance of the sacrament of baptism and the commitment
it requires of parents, all parents are expected to
participate in the baptism
preparation program offered
by
Saint Joseph Parish. Godparents are welcome and
encouraged to participate.
- The program consists of one session, usually offered on the second Monday
of the month at 7:00 PM.
- Parents are strongly encouraged to participate early in the pregnancy; it
is even possible to participate in the preparation
program before
pregnancy.
- The evening of preparation will provide important formation and
information on the sacraments, baptism, the rite of
baptism and sharing faith
with
children.
- Infant baptism is normally celebrated at Saint Joseph Parish on the second
and fourth Sundays of each month, following the
Noon
Mass. Because of holidays
or
occasional conflicts, the
schedule may be adjusted. The
Parish Office can
confirm
a date
with you.
- The record of your child's baptism will be kept permanently at Saint
Joseph Parish. In the future you may request a copy of
the record for
sacramental
purposes by calling the
Parish Office.
- Subsequently received sacraments (First Communion, confirmation, marriage)
are also recorded at the parish of
baptism.
- In most cases changes may not be made to a baptismal (or other
sacramental) record, such as a desire by parents to
change the godparents at
some time
after the baptism.
Sacramental records preserve and
describe an
event at a
moment in
time and ordinarily may not be altered in any
way.
- No stipend or offering for the sacrament of baptism is required or
expected.
Order of Service in the Rite of Baptism for Children
The celebration of infant baptism follows this order of service:Reception of the Children
Celebration of God's Word
Celebration of the Sacrament
Blessing of the Baptismal Water
Renunciation of Sin, Profession of Faith
Baptism
Anointing with Christ
Clothing with the Baptismal Garment
Lighting of the Baptismal Candle
Prayer over the Ears and Mouth
Conclusion of the Rite
Baptism and Marriage
The birth of a child and preparation for baptism is often a time when parents reflect on the deeper values in life. For couples who were married outside the church (whose marriages were not witnessed by a Catholic priest or deacon), the baptism of a child presents an opportunity to have their marriage convalidated (blessed) by the church. In some cases, an annulment for a previous marriage may be necessary before the convalidation can take place.The Catholic Update is available from the Parish Office, entitled: Bringing Your Marriage Into the Church. It will provide you with excellent information and anticipate some of your questions.
A member of the parish staff will be happy to talk to you about your specific situation and help you with the process of convalidation (and an annulment, if necessary).