Baptism Preparations

My brother and I were baptized within a month from our respective birthdays, as with most other kids in our family. Naturally, this is also what I want for our daughter but hubby had a dissenting opinion. He is after all a Filipino-Chinese and I hear that in most Fil-Chi families, Baptisms are automatically arranged to be celebrated on the baby's first birthday. For austerity's sake, it becomes a 2-in-1 event. And isn't it practical? You need to plan, source suppliers, arrange, invite, check to-do's, monitor RSVP's and spend only once -- emphasis too on the spending portion as party costs for a first birthday is comparable already to a simple wedding!!

That's me! Baptized on December 25, 1984

So how apt it really is for me to chance upon this Didache reading from my online Kerygma Family subscription, literally hours just before giving birth:

Source: Cecil Lim (cez_lim@yahoo.com) from Didache of Kerygma Family

It is a succinct reminder of what Baptism really is and how it is our responsibility as Catholic parents to ensure that at the earliest possible time, we are able to bring our child to be a part of the community and entrust her to God through Baptism.

In truth, each child could be baptized for a humble sum (or even at no cost at all) but many of us (this blogger included), worry more about other externalities -- the food we should serve, what fabric would look good on my baby, giveaways/souvenirs should we prepare (still thinking hard about this), down to the design of the baptismal candle -- all of which are, in the greater scheme of things, no more important than preparing our hearts for Jesus, choosing godparents well (not for their gifts but for their moral and spiritual guidance) and doing our best to raise our child in a Christ-like manner as we bring her closer to God and salvation.

This is why I'm really thankful that we have chosen St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori Parish in Magallanes. We were drawn to the place because of the architecture and the nice Baptistry (yet again, another superficial concern of mine) and yes, how near it is to our reception venue of choice. We were also relieved that they don't require godparents to join in (knowing how busy people are nowadays); instead, parents are the ones who must attend the seminar. Which is really reasonable since we are the primary carers of our baby. 

What surprised me really was how helpful that seminar is to us, in revisiting the importance of Baptism for our child. We spent about an hour and a half with other parents and the facilitators as they shared with us the teachings of the Church on Baptism. It was a laid back discussion in an intimate gathering, nothing too formal or preachy or intimidating but still, I really felt the sincerity, authenticity and conviction of our facilitators. 

So I'm sharing the baptismal guide from St. Alphonsus Mary De Liguori Parish (all text credit goes to them) so that it may serve as a guide for parents who intend to (or are still contemplating when to) baptize their baby, as well as the chosen godparents, on their roles and responsibilities which will be brought forth by Baptism.