334. Should Babies Be Baptized?
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| Putting a child in the hands of God always calls for celebration |
There are a
number of people who claim baptism should not be administered in childhood but
in adulthood when the age of reason has
been reached, (though some may wonder when that is).
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After the parents ask for Baptism
for their
children, the celebrant welcomes
the children into
the Church by speaking each
child’s name and
making the Sign of the Cross on
each one’s forehead.
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When a
child is born, he/she do not have a choice as to whether or not they are to be immunized
against this or that illness, in some cases relevant to the times and
consequently obligatory. Babies are not
asked which clothes to wear, choose their own parents or where to sleep. A baby
has little if any choice of how his/her life is lived; their life is managed
and administered completely by their parents who, if they are good parents, try
to give and do what is best for their offspring. One of the greatest gifts
parents can give their children is the gift of faith, and the sooner that is
done, the better because leaving a child defenceless against the forces of
malignity is simply handing over that child to a life without God and if you
are without God one can imagine what you are full of instead.
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| At the Baptismal font: Asking God to send the Holy Spirit upon the water so that it might be a source of new life for those who will be baptized in it. |
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Each one is called again by name and baptized with
the following words: “I baptize you in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”
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Grace is
something you do not see, however that does not mean it cannot be perceived and
receiving the grace of any sacrament shows itself in the serenity of those who
receive it.
I could be
mistaken, however not by much, to think there are few if any convicted
murderers who have a firm belief in God or who practice a faith with
conviction; I am not referring, of course, to fanatics who believe and kill in
the name of a religious leader or symbol who is dead, gone and buried.
I mentioned
this so as to go on to what I think happens when the forces of good are absent-
evil sets in. Where the grace of God,
consequently goodness, is missing, evil takes over and I am not the only one to
claim this as the Irish politician Edmund
Burke says:
“The only thing
necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
It seems
that if we set aside God, we leave room for his counterpart, namely the Devil,
to step in… and if there are still people who don’t believe there’s a Devil,
let me just say his name is Lucifer. And Lucifer will set in where there is no
goodness- just like an untended garden- weeds
will grow where flowers are not.
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| The children are anointed with
chrism, which
seals the children as members of
Christ (whose name means “the
anointed one”). |
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A white garment is then presented
to each child. This garment
serves as a sign of the
child’s new life in Christ and
his or her membership in the Church.
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Finally, a small candle for each
child is lit from the paschal
candle.
As the godparents light the
candles
on behalf of the children,
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the celebrant says, “Receive the
light of Christ
The lit paschal candle proclaims that Jesus is
risen.
The small candle says
that these children now share in
his risen life.
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| Grace
is something you do not see, however that does not mean it cannot be perceived |
