April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.

BAPTISM: Welcome to the Church community


By MAUREEN MCGUINNESS- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

For Christine Canavan, as a mother and as a Christian, the days her sons Andrew and Aidan were baptized stand out as important moments.

"I felt like I was part of a cycle," she said. "My family did it for me, and now I was doing it for my sons."

Mrs. Canavan's sense that she and her husband were continuing a process begun by previous generations is an element of the Sacrament of Baptism.

In his book "Come to the Light," Rev. Richard Fragomeni, a priest of the Albany Diocese, states: "Faith is a gift of God, but it doesn't come from God directly. The faith we enter in Baptism is a gift of our ancestors."

Community event

It was important to the Canavans that their children's Baptism take place during Mass when "the whole Church is welcoming the child," Mrs. Canavan said.

The community plays an important role in the sacrament. According to the Rite of Baptism for Children, the child has the right to the love and support of the community prior to, during and after reception of the sacrament.

The document goes on to state 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.

All involved

"If we're initiating people into the community, it should be present," said Joyce Solimini, associate director for children, youth and family catechesis of the diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis. "The sacrament speaks to the conversion of the whole community and that this child is a part of all of us."

Baptism, Mrs. Solimini said, is the beginning of a life-long process for the family of the baptized.

"There is sin in the world," said Mrs. Solimini. "If left to our own devices, we would be pulled into that. When we are immersed in the mystery of Christ in community, it tempers the effects."

Waters of life

Like many parents, Mrs. Canavan wasn't sure how her children would react to the waters of Baptism. She was pleasantly surprised when "both of the kids were very peaceful on the day of their christening. Both slept."

The baptismal waters play a crucial role in the sacrament. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, they symbolize the catechumen's burial with Christ and rising up with Him; bring about the birth of water and the Spirit; and bring enlightenment.

"Baptism immerses us into the waters of the mystery of Christ," Mrs. Solimini said. "We're living in a new way."

Oil of blessing

After coming up from the water, the infant is anointed with chrism, an oil blessed at a ceremony before Easter by the Bishop and used during sacraments.

Through this anointing, the child shares in Jesus' mission to be priest, prophet and king. The anointing, said Rev. Paul Turner, author of "Your Child's Baptism," symbolizes the immense responsibility of Baptism: to live a life of prayer, to announce the word of God and to accept the role of leader.

When the baptized come up from the water, they put on a white robe, a sign of Christian dignity. According to Father Turner, "A white garment is placed on newly baptized children. It clothes them in a 'uniform' to make them recognizable as those who share in the risen life of Christ."

Family touch

The Church encourages families to provide a gown for their child at Baptism. When Andrew was baptized at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Delanson and Aidan at St. John the Baptist in Chestertown, they wore the same gown donned by their mother at her own Baptism.

Mrs. Canavan's mother made the gown by laying her baby on a piece of the same fabric as her own wedding gown and tracing a pattern.

At each of the boy's baptisms, their godfathers lit a candle from the Easter candle as a sign of the child's sharing in the risen life of Christ.

Mrs. Canavan has warm memories of both Baptisms. "It truly was a second birth," she said.

(07-06-00) [[In-content Ad]]


Comments:

You must login to comment.