The Sacrament of Baptism

Below you will find general information about the Sacrament of Baptism. We hope this will be helpful in preparing for the Baptism of your child, or provide information needed to understand the sacrament and its meaning for Catholic Christians.

What is Baptism?

 

Baptism is a beginning. Baptism is the first of three sacraments of initiation in which a child is incorporated into Christ, becoming a new creation through water and the Holy Spirit. It is just the beginning of the lifelong journey of faith. Baptism is sealed by confirmation and completed in Eucharist.

After Baptism it is the responsibility of the parents, in their gratitude to God, and in fidelity to the duty they have undertaken, to enable the child to know God, whose adopted child it has become, to receive confirmation, and to participate in the holy Eucharist. In this duty they are again to be helped by the parish priest by suitable means.

Infant baptism is an act of worship. Like all sacraments, Baptism is an act of worship in which the whole church turns their hearts and minds and bodies toward God. Through the Rite of Baptism parents present their child for initiation into the church. Together with the parish community, they offer praise and thanksgiving to God for the gift of salvation. They ask God to raise their child from the natural human condition to the dignity of an adopted son or daughter of God. By becoming one with Christ in Baptism the child is freed from original sin and united with the Christian community.

 

Baptism is a communal event. Like all sacraments, Baptism belongs to the entire church. It is celebrated in the midst of the community as a sign that Baptism calls all of us to nurture and care for the child and support the parents in their crucial task of handing on the faith.

 

“Before and after the celebration of the sacrament, the child has a right to the love and help of the community. ... It is clear that the faith in which the children are baptized is not the private possession of the individual family, but is the common treasure of the whole church of Christ.”

 

~ Introduction to the Rite of Baptism for Children

Baptism requires the faith of parents, godparents and the entire church. For an infant to be baptized, it is
necessary:

1. At least one of the parents consents to it, or the person who lawfully takes their place.

2. There is a well-founded hope that the child will be brought up in the Catholic religion.