ST. JUDE PARISH
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The Sanctifying Role of the Church
Baptism is the sacrament of faith which has the Risen Christ as its source, and it is the offer of salvation for all people. Intimately linked to Confirmation and to Eucharist, Baptism is, with these two sacraments, Christian Initiation. The child is baptized in the faith of their parents, godparents and of the Church.
Through Baptism, God enables us to participate in his life in Jesus Christ and makes us his children. It is through this sacrament that we receive the Holy Spirit and become members of the People of God, of the Body of Christ, which is the Church. Baptism becomes our commitment to grow in this new life and to strive to acquire spiritual maturity. By baptism, God purifies us from sin.

Basic Guidelines and Information for Infant (to include young children) Baptism
(Code of Canon Law, cc. 867-868; Catechism of the Catholic Church 1251)
Parents are responsible for bringing their child to the Sacrament of Baptism as soon after birth as possible. Except in case of necessity, the church is the usual place of baptism.
In order that a child be baptized, it is necessary that the parents consent, or at least one of them, or someone legally standing in their place, and that there is reasonable hope that the child will be brought up in the Catholic Faith.

GODPARENTS: A person may only have one or two godparents (also called sponsors); if two are chosen, they must be male and female.
In order for someone to be eligible as a godparent they must be chosen by the parents, have the ability and the intention to fulfill the role, be at least 16 years of age, and be a confirmed Roman Catholic, who has already received the Most Holy Eucharist, is leading a life in harmony with the Catholic Faith (including Marriage) and will be a good role model for the one being baptized, and be neither the father nor the mother of the child.

A baptized person who belongs to another Christian community may be admitted only as a “Christian witness” (not a godparent) provided that there is at least one Roman Catholic godparent who fulfills the above criteria. A non-baptized person cannot be a witness (Code of Canon Law, cc. 872-874; Catechism of the Catholic Church 1255).

Baptism calls us to live in the world, seeking the Kingdom in our daily lives.
During the blessing of the baptismal waters at the Easter Vigil, we recall God’s action within history. We hear, for example, about the liberation of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Christians believe that “Baptism does not take [the baptized] from the world at all.” Instead, the world becomes the “place” and “means” for the lay faithful to “fulfill their Christian vocation” (Christifideles Laici, no. 15). We give expression to our baptismal reality “in our daily lives” in “the field” of the world (Pope Benedict XVI, Sacramentum Caritatis[Sacrament of Charity], no. 79). The baptized work within the spheres of “work, culture, science and research; the exercise of social, economic and political responsibilities” to order them to the Kingdom (Compendium, no. 543).The baptized are called to contribute to the sanctification of the world. Being “present and active in the world” is a “theological and ecclesiological reality” (Compendium, no. 543). This reality is what leads us to work to protect the life and dignity of all people and to care for God’s creation here on earth. “The world is not something indifferent, raw material to be utilized simply as we see fit,” Pope Benedict XVI, notes. Instead, we see it as “God’s creation.” Our Baptism helps us see a “profound relationship” between our work here on earth and our future with Christ (Sacramentum Caritatis, no. 92).

The baptized are to live as lights in the darkness.
After being baptized, we acknowledge or receive a white garment to signify that we have risen with Christ. We receive a lighted candle, which symbolizes that we are a new creation, enlightened by Christ. We are now called to carry that light into the dark world to extend the light to others (CCC, no. 1243). The gifts given at Baptism, Pope Benedict XVI writes, are for “the building up of Christ’s Body (1 Cor 12) and for ever greater witness to the Gospel in the world” (Sacramentum Caritatis, no. 17). (Usccb)

Damian M. 8-29-2020

Oliver L. 8-29-2020