Welcome! We welcome your family on this joyous occasion of the celebration of your child’s/godchild’s baptism! We look forward to assisting your family in preparing for the baptism of your child. The baptism preparation session at St. John’s is designed to provide the formation and information needed to fully understand the Sacrament of Baptism and your role as a Catholic parent/godparent.
This information is designed to provide you with some basic information about the preparation process and requirements. It will outline the parish’s approach to infant baptism. The first consideration is also the most important: making the decision to baptize your child and what this decision means to you.
May the Lord continue to bless your lives with love and the assurance that this child will be held dearly in the palm of God’s hand!
What are the requirements for parents?
We invite you to contact us even before your child is born and to plan in advance.
What are the requirements for godparents (sponsors)? Godparents are members of the Christian community who, by their lives and their faith, set a good example for the child whose initiation into this community they are sponsoring. Godparents may also support the parents in the upbringing of the child as a Catholic Christian. Ideally they should live in the same parish.
When and where is the Baptism celebrated? Baptism may be celebrated privately at a day and time convenient for the family or at a weekend Mass with the parish community.
Above all we wish you to remember that Baptism is not an isolated event; it is an expression of your faith and a commitment on your part to raise your child in the Catholic faith. The focus is as much on you as it is on the child. Through the communal celebration of infant baptism, St. John’s expresses its joy in welcoming a new member as well as its commitment to provide support and community of faith for you and your child as you undertake the mission of living as a Christian family.
Baptism by the Pouring of Water or the Immersion What about Baptism by immersion? Water is a primary symbol of Baptism. Baptism by immersion is the fuller use of this symbol. The Rite of Infant Baptism has a clear preference for immersion, thus letting the symbol speak clearly and powerfully.
The very word baptism means immersion. Baptism was celebrated in that manner in the early Church and Jesus himself was immersed in the waters of Jordan. Baptism by pouring of the water on the forehead of the child is another option, which has been in use in the Catholic Church for many centuries as well.
THE FIRST STEP TO TAKE…
For parents, you need to first call the rectory and set up a meeting with Fr. Pete.