Understanding the Rite of Baptism for Children

The Rites Vol. 1

Introduction

1. The Term “Children or Infants refers to those who have not yet reached the age of discernment and therefore cannot profess personal faith.
2. From the earliest times, the Church, to which the mission of preaching the Gospel and of baptizing was entrusted, has baptized not only adults but children as well. Our Lord said: “Unless a man is reborn in water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” The Church has always understood these words to mean that children should not be deprived of baptism, because they are baptized in the faith of the Church, a faith proclaimed for them by their parents and godparents, who represent both the local Church and the whole society of saints and believers: “The whole Church is the mother of all and the mother of each.” 
3. To fulfill the true meaning of the sacrament, children must later be formed in the faith in which they have been baptized. The foundation of the formation will be the sacrament itself that they have already received. Christian formation, which is their due, seeks to lead them gradually to learn God’s plan in Christ, so that they may intimately accept for themselves the faith in which they have been baptized.

Ministries and Roles in the Celebration of Baptism

1. The people, of God, that is, the Church, made present by the local community, has an important part to play in the baptism of both children and adults. Before the Baptism and after the celebration of the sacrament, the child has a right to the love and help of the community.  During the rite, in addition to the ways of congregational participation mentioned in the General Introduction to Christian Initiation no. 7, the community exercises its duty when it expresses its assent together with the celebrant after the profession of faith by the parents and godparents. In this way, it is clear that the faith in which the children are baptized is not the private possession of the individual family, but the common treasure of the whole Church of Christ.
2. Because of the natural relationships, parents have a ministry and a responsibility in the baptism of infants more important than those of the godparents.
   1. Before the celebration of the sacrament, it is of great importance that the parents, moved by their own faith or with the help of friends or other member so the community, should prepare to take part in the rite with understanding. They should be provided with suitable means such as books, letters addressed to them, and catechisms designed for families. The pastor should make it his duty to visit them or see that they are visited; he should try to gather a group of families together and prepare them for the coming celebration by pastoral counsel and common prayer.
   2. It is very important that the parents be present at the celebration in which their child is reborn in water and the Holy Spirit.
   3. In the celebration of Baptism, the father and mother have special parts to play. They listen to the words addressed to them by the celebration, they join in prayer along with the congregation, and they exercise a genuine ministry when: a. they publicly ask that the child be baptized; b. they sign their child with the sign of the cross before the celebration; c. they renounce Satan and recite the profession of faith; d. they (and especially the mother) carry the child to the font; e. they hold the lighted candle; f. they are blessed with the prayers formulated specifically for mothers and fathers.
   4. A parent unable to make the profession of faith (for example, not being a Catholic) may keep silent. Such as a parent, when making the request for the child’s baptism is asked only to make arrangements or at least to give permission of the child’s instruction in the faith of its baptism.
   5. After Baptism, it is the responsibility of the parents, in their gratitude to God and in fidelity to the duty, they have undertaken, to assist the child to know God, whose adopted child it has become, to prepare the child to receive Confirmation and participate in the Holy Eucharist. In this duty, they are again to be helped by the parish priest (pastor) by suitable means.
   6. Each child may have a godfather and a godmother, the word “godparents’ is used in the rite to describe both.