Transcript

Baptism is the first sacrament of initiation.

It is the beginning of our long and fruitful journey as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Sometimes the best way to catechize is to experience an actual sacrament.

Today, Fr. Tapp will lead us through the Sacrament of Baptism for baby Grace Ann Spadoni.

Watch for the signs and symbols of baptism.

God calls each of us by name.

Listen as Father asks the name that the child has been given.

Hear Father ask the parents and godparents if they understand the awesome responsibility of raising this child in the Catholic faith.

Hear as they renew their own baptismal promises by rejecting sin and evil.

Watch as they claim this child for Christ.

Experience the great love that you see here today.

I would just like to give some background and some explanation before we begin.

Maybe most of you are Catholic.

If you're not Catholic, I want to talk about this in the context of Catholic baptism.

I just want to begin by saying everyone is welcome here.

God has created us all.

We're created in his image.

He loves us and he gathers us here together to celebrate this great moment in Grace's life.

She's even smiling already.

And in her parents, her godparents, and her family's life.

One of the things that I tell folks is when you walk in and out of a Catholic church, you may notice by the doors of the church are holy water fonts.

And Catholics instinctively go to those fonts.

They put their hand in the font.

They make the sign of the cross.

And if you ask them, why do you do this?

Most will say, I don't know.

I was just supposed to do that.

But really it's a reminder of baptism.

It's baptism that initiates us, that makes us members of the Catholic church, that brings us into the church itself.

And a lot of times when people leave the church, they'll do the same.

They'll dip their hand in the water, bless themselves, and walk out.

And it's the grace of baptism, the presence of Christ in their lives, that empowers them and strengthens them to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

That's what grace is being baptized into today, initiated into the church.

In some faith traditions, baptism is something that is done much later on, when a child maybe is 10, 12, or even older.

Some faith traditions will say, that person needs to be able to make a statement of faith themselves.

We look differently at baptism.

We look at it as a form of initiation, of being welcomed into the church.

This past year, Grace experienced Christmas maybe for the first time.

And her parents did not say, oh, Grace, you're too young to know about Christmas.

We're going to put you in the other room while we celebrate Christmas ourselves.

No, you would buy her presents.

You probably took her up to the tree and showed her the lights and decorations, even the Christmas creche.

And even though she doesn't understand, you probably told, very briefly maybe, the story of Jesus' birth.

That's initiation.

Parents do that all the time.

You don't say, I'm going to wait until my child is older to make decisions of faith and morals.

I'm going to initiate them right here and right now.

And that's what you're doing.

There's scriptural evidence about that happening in our church.

We see that in the Acts of the Apostles.

A woman named Lydia had her whole family baptized and initiated into the church.

We assume that means young children as well.

There were also officials in the jail that experienced conversion.

And they had their whole families baptized.

So it is an ancient tradition with us to do that.

Baptism also is a source of forgiveness.

Forgiveness of original sin.

Forgiveness for older folks if they've committed sin.

Any sin that they've committed.

We use through baptism a number of different signs and symbols.

I'd encourage you to pay attention to the words that I'll use as we use those particular symbols.

Like, I'm going to bless the water.

Listen to the words that are used during that blessing.

It talks about salvation history.

In particular, how water was a part of that.

We're going to use oil.

Oil blessed by the bishop.

Oil of catechumens.

And oil of chrism.

The oil of catechumens will be put over Grace's heart.

And the oil of chrism, which is scented oil, will be put on the crown of her head.

All of us have used oil before.

On our cars, to cook with.

When you get it on your hands, what happens?

It stays there for a while, right?

And symbolically, we're reminded when she has that oil over her heart, on the crown of her head, that God stays with her.

Will be with her her whole life long.

In the days of Jesus, in the days of prophets, oil was used for healing.

And oil was used to, especially perfumed oil, and one of these oils, the chrism is perfumed oil, is used to set aside a prophet or a king.

You can imagine in the days of Jesus and the days of prophets, people probably didn't smell real good.

But they would use this perfumed oil.

They could tell, oh my gosh, a prophet is entering our midst.

Oh my gosh, a king is entering our midst.

They could even smell that.

She will participate in the kingly and prophetic mission of Jesus from this day forward.

Other symbols that we'll use will be a light from the paschal candle.

I'll talk about that at the time.

And also a garment that will be placed over her that reminds us that she is clothed in Jesus Christ.

It's no accident that on the day of our funeral, when our casket is brought into church, as a sign of our baptism and as a sign of life with Christ, we use those same symbols again.

The body's blessed with water, the casket's cloaked in a garment, remind us of our baptism, and the casket's brought up to the center aisle, and at the foot of the aisle is this Christ candle, reminding us that even in death and certainly in life, Christ is our light.

Sometimes some parents, not you guys, but some parents have a sense that, oh, I need to have my child baptized, and then I'm kind of done, kind of done until they receive First Communion.

And then when it comes time for First Communion, they do the classes and the preparation and all that.

Kind of what happens between baptism and many other events in our life is the most important thing, how parents share and witness the faith to their children.

I don't know a lot of Latin, but there's one Latin phrase that I've always been familiar with in all my days of study, and it translates to this, you cannot give what you do not have.

You cannot give what you do not have.

And when we talk to parents all the time, they say, I want to pass my faith on to my child.

You have to have a faith that you work on, that you pass on to your child.

I'll finish with this and then we'll begin the ceremony, but maybe you've attended a funeral service where someone will say this person was born this year and then they died this year.

And they said the most important thing is not the day of their birth or the day of their death, but the dash in the middle, what we've done with the dash.

And this is what you're doing.

What you're going to prepare her for and with is that kind of dash moment, the time of her baptism, the time to her first communion, time to her confirmation.

Those are important events, but what happens in between is the most important.

Okay?

So Grace is getting anxious, so let's start, let's stand together.

We begin this ceremony and all of our ceremonies in the Catholic faith in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the communion of the Holy Spirit be with each of you.

My friends, what name do you give to your child?

Grace Ann.

And what do you ask of God's church for Grace Ann?

Baptism.

Okay.

Dear parents and godparents, you have asked to have your child baptized.

You are undertaking the responsibility of raising her in the practice of the faith so that keeping God's commandments, that she may love the Lord and her neighbor as Christ has taught us.

Do you clearly understand this responsibility?

Godparents, are you ready and willing to help the parents of this child in their duty?

Grace Ann, the church of God receives you with great joy.

In her name, I sign you with the sign of the cross of Christ our Savior.

Then after I do so, I'll invite your parents and godparents to do the same.

And notice how we started the ceremony with the sign of the cross.

This is really the first official time that she experiences that sign of the cross.

The Lord be with you.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark.

Glory to you, Lord.

Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.

On coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him.

And a voice came from the heavens, You are my beloved Son.

With you I am well pleased.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Please be seated.

Jesus did not have to be baptized.

But many things that Jesus did in his life were signs of what we should be doing.

Jesus was free from sin.

But we're touched by original sin and other sin.

He teaches us that we should be baptized to experience forgiveness and to experience the Father's loving embrace.

You heard in the Gospel the day that Jesus was baptized in the Jordan by his cousin John.

The heavens opened up.

And a voice came from the heavens and said, This is my beloved Son.

Listen to him.

You're not going to see the heavens open up.

At least I hope the roof won't open up here this morning.

You're not going to hear a voice.

But in our hearts we know the statement God makes to us is grace.

You are my beloved child.

This sacrament is all about reminding us how beloved she is in the sight of God.

And we celebrate that.

All of us have good days.

And we sometimes have bad days.

Sometimes we wonder, What good am I? What good is it, you know, what I'm doing or not doing?

Today's one of those days where you should be reminded and feel a peace in your heart.

God tells you today, You are my beloved child.

You are my beloved one.

I hope you know that today and always.

Let's stand together.

Dear friends, let us invoke the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for this child who is to receive the grace of baptism, for her parents, Godparents, and for all the baptized.

Our response will be, Lord, hear our prayer.

Give this child new birth and baptism through the radiant, divine mystery of your death and resurrection and join her to your holy church.

We pray to the Lord.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Make her a faithful disciple and a witness to your gospel through baptism and confirmation.

We pray to the Lord.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Lead her through holiness of life to the joys of the heavenly kingdom.

We pray to the Lord.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Make her parents and godparents a shining example of faith to this child.

We pray to the Lord.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Keep her family always in your love.

We pray to the Lord.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Renew the grace of baptism in each one of us.

We pray to the Lord.

Lord, hear our prayer.

We're going to do a thing called the invocation or litany of the saints.

If you kind of turn around and see behind you, there are pictures of different saints and holy figures from our church.

St. Jude, Mary, Jesus himself, and Joseph.

You'll see other figures in the stations of the cross.

In kind of a real way, it reminds us we're surrounded by saints who are living and saints who have gone before us.

So we ask those saints to pray for grace, to pray for her parents and godparents.

Our response is pray for us.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.

St. John the Baptist, pray for us.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

St. Peter, pray for us.

St. Paul, pray for us.

St. Paul, pray for us.

St. Grace, pray for us.

St. Anne, pray for us.

All holy men and women, pray for us.

We do a prayer now called a prayer of exorcism that has kind of weird connotations for some of us, but in the early church and in the life of the church, a prayer of exorcism is just a prayer that we be free from evil, that we be free from temptation, and that's what we pray for grace at this moment.

Almighty and ever-living God, who sent your Son into the world to drive out from us the power of Satan's spirit of evil and bring the human race rescued from darkness into the marvelous kingdom of your light, we humbly beseech you, free this child from original sin.

Make her a temple of your glory and to grant that your Holy Spirit may dwell in her forever through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Please be seated.

So I'm going to do the first of the anointings.

That will be over her heart with the oil of catechumen.

So I'll do the admonition.

I'll put the mask on and then offer her that anointing.

Grace, may the strength of Christ the Savior protect you.

As a sign of this, we anoint you with the oil of salvation.

In the name of Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns forever and ever.

Amen.

That's good.

And now we ask for God's blessings upon this water that will be used for Grace's baptism.

And again, I just invite you to listen to the words that accompany this blessing.

It reminds us of how people experience salvation in our faith's history through water.

Let us pray, dear brothers and sisters, that the Lord God Almighty may bestow new life on this child by water and the Holy Spirit.

O God, who by invisible power accomplish a wondrous effect through sacramental signs, and who in many ways have prepared water, your creation, to show forth the grace of baptism.

O God, whose spirit in the first moments of the world's creation hovered over the waters, so that the very substance of water would even then take to itself the power to sanctify.

O God, who by the outpouring of the flood foreshadowed regeneration, so that from the mystery of one and the same element of water would come an end of vice and a beginning of virtue.

O God, who caused the children of Abraham to pass dry shod through the Red Sea, so that the chosen people set free from slavery to Pharaoh would prefigure the people of the baptized.

O God, whose Son, baptized by John in the waters of the Jordan, was anointed with the Holy Spirit, and as he hung upon the cross, gave forth water from his side along with blood, and after his resurrection commanded his disciples, go forth, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Look now, we pray, upon the face of your church, and graciously unseal for her the fount of baptism.

May this water receive the Holy Spirit, the grace of your only begotten Son, so that human nature, created in your image and washed clean through the sacrament of baptism, from all the squalor of the old life may be found worthy to rise to the new life of newborn children through water and the Holy Spirit.

May the power of the Holy Spirit, O Lord, we pray, come down through your Son into the fullness of this fount, so that all who have been buried with Christ by baptism into death may rise again to life with him who lives and reigns forever and ever.

Amen.

Please stand.

At every Mass, we make a profession of faith.

We renew our commitment made on baptism, and we're going to do that really for Grace today and along with her.

Parents and godparents and people of faith, through the sacrament of baptism, the child you have presented is about to receive from the love of God new life by water and the Holy Spirit.

For your part, you must strive to bring her up in the practice of the faith so that this divine life may be preserved from the contagion of sin and grow in her day by day.

If your faith makes you ready to accept this responsibility, renew now the vows of your own baptism.

Renounce sin and profess faith in Christ Jesus, the faith of the Church, in which this child is to be baptized.

And so, do you renounce Satan?

I do.

And all his works?

I do.

And all his empty show?

I do.

Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?

I do.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered death, and was buried, rose again from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father?

I do.

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?

I do.

This is our faith.

This is the faith of the Church.

We are proud to profess it in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Amen.

Is it your will that Grace Ann be baptized in the faith of the Church, which we have professed with you today?

Okay.

Godparents and parents, if you'll come forward.

You can be seated.

You can stand behind them.

You can place her over the font.

If you'll extend your hands, either to touch her or just over her.

Okay.

You can place your hands on her, too.

Okay?

I know.

We'll just do that close enough.

Grace Ann, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Join me in welcoming this new Christian.

Yay!

You did great.

Go back.

Okay.

Amen.

So we'll continue with the next anointing, and that'll be on the crown of her head.

I invite you to listen to the admonition that's with that anointing.

Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has freed you, Grace Ann, from sin, given you new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and has joined you to his people.

He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation, so that you may remain as a member of Christ, priest, prophet, and king unto life eternal.

Amen.

Amen.

It's that water guy again.

Amen.

Grace is already dressed in white as a reminder that she is given new life in Christ, but we have an additional garment that also expresses that.

I'm going to ask that the godparents please place that over her.

Okay.

Amen.

Grace Ann, you have become a new creation and clothed yourself in Christ.

May this white garment be a sign of your Christian dignity, and with your family and friends, to help you by word and example, bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven.

Amen.

At the Easter vigil, the church was dark, and we brought into the church this Christ light.

We heard the statement, Christ our light, and we would say, thanks be to God.

This child has been given the light of Christ through baptism, and in a symbolic way, we pass that on to her parents and to her godparents.

Amen.

Receive the light of Christ.

Parents and godparents and people of faith, this light has been entrusted to you and kept burning brightly so that this child of yours, enlightened by Christ, may walk always as a child of the light.

And persevering in the faith, may run to meet the Lord when he comes out with all the saints in the heavenly court.

Amen.

And may the Lord Jesus, who made the deaf hear and the mute speak, grant that you may soon receive his word with your ears and profess faith with your lips to the glory and the praise of God the Father.

Amen.

Let's stand together.

It will be just a few short years, maybe six or seven, when grace will come to this altar and receive from this altar the body of Christ.

Before we go to communion, before we participate in the Eucharist and receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ, we always pray in Our Father.

That's a way to prepare us for that moment.

So, looking forward to that day when she will do that, we pray together Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

The Lord be with you.

Bow down your heads for the blessing.

May God, the author of life and love, who has given mothers a generous heart to embrace their children, look upon this mother and bless her, so that as she gives thanks for the gift of her child, she may rejoice in her love, her growth, and her virtue.

Together we say, Amen.

May God, the origin and model of all fatherhood, also accompany with his favor the father of this child, so that by the example of his conduct, he may lead them to a maturity of Christian life.

Together we say, Amen.

May God, the lover of all, look mercifully now on the relatives and friends who have gathered here, that he may guard them from evil and bestow on them abundant peace.

Together we say, Amen.

And may almighty God bless you all, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Grace, we welcome you into our Catholic family.

Congratulations!

Yay!

It is really all about love.

You loved your child into being.

It is God's love and the love of Christ that brings you to the waters of baptism.

As parents and Godparents, you have accepted the great duty of raising this beautiful child in the Catholic faith.

Take care of your own spiritual life, so that you may lead by example.

Attend Mass regularly.

Receive Jesus in Holy Communion.

Pray with your child.

Teach your child that they have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit as their helper and guide on this beautiful journey.

No matter what life brings, they will never be alone.

We, the Church, are also here to accompany your family on this journey of faith.

As you wake or as you tuck your child in at night, once again claim your child for Christ by tracing the sign of the cross on their forehead.

Bless your child and allow them to bless you.

You have been gifted with a beautiful child.

May God bless you as you embark on this remarkable journey of faith.