The Rite of Baptism
The Rite of Baptism is the sacrament of “Entry into the Church”. The sacrament is an opportunity for the Church to welcome someone into the Church as well as for the family to thank God for the gift of a child. This is the sort of scene Jesus himself would have been familiar with, parents bringing their children to him to be blessed.
It must be stressed how important preparation is for the families, having a child is a life changing experience, we begin to think about what is important in life, we want to make the world a place fit for our children to live in. This is God calling us to a deeper relationship with him. Therefore preparation classes are held on the last Tuesday of each month, please check the website for the date of the next class. These classes are attended by parents of children being baptised that month. This makes for the beginnings of “community”.
Baptism is a community sacrament but baptisms during Sunday Mass do not prove practical. Baptisms are therefore celebration on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month at 3pm. As parents are making a commitment to bring their children up as Catholics a baptism certificates of one of the parents will need to be shown to the priest when filling out the application form, this form can be obtained after mass or from the presbytery.
Godparents for the child being baptized need to be chosen. These Godparents both need to be Christian and at least one needs to be Catholic.
The parents being of mixed faith is not a barrier to baptism, when parents are of mixed faiths, the emphasis is “what do we share in common?” Children can grow up to be bridge builders and experience the richness of different cultures and traditions. Every effort is made not just to make the experience a wonderful day for the family but more importantly a day where those at the celebration have an encounter with God.