Our godchild turned out to be a "he" – Noah Alexander.
Me & Austin with Noah (and a random lady) at the World Series!
Noah was baptized last Saturday in Fort Worth. He wore the same baptismal garment that Carol and her three siblings wore when they were babies. "It's not a dress, it's a gown," she kept repeating. :)
Proud big brother on the right is a favorite little buddy of ours!
When we went to the Holy Land in September we took some water from the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized and brought it back to use in Noah's baptism (after some heavy boiling to remove the contaminants).
This is us at the Sea of Galilee. The sea feeds the Jordan.
Apparently we didn't take any pictures at the river!
We brought the water to the front in one of those mini wine bottles and the deacon added it to the holy water. Of course we'd discussed it with him in advance, but I'm sure all the other families in the church were like, what the heck did they just pour in there?!
Austin and I took a series of classes at our church last year in preparation for Noah's baptism and the baptism of my other godson, Jacob Michael.
Me, Jacob and his mom, April, who I've known since kindergarten!
"Your task, your ministry, is to be a role model for this child, a support in faith for this family, and a good example of one who lives the Christian life," our book read. Whoooooeeeee that's a lot of pressure! :)
I should also give a shout out to my third first godson, Gabriel Kim, who is my cousin on my mom's side. I wasn't able to be there for his baptism because he lives in Iowa and I'm in Texas. Gabe's getting ready for his First Communion soon!
No, I do not have a non-cheeseball picture of him :)
Are you confused yet? I feel like I am.
Our uncle, who is a Catholic bishop, presided over the liturgy with about 20 family members gathered around the baptismal font. As I was taking awholebuncha pictures, I tried to photograph all the different signs of baptism we'd learned about in the class. The signs and symbols used in baptism (and all other sacraments) all have a special meaning with the purpose of pointing us to God.
So, take a seat, ye who desire to be educated!
The gathered community signifies the whole Church, standing to welcome its new member.
The parents and godparents follow the celebrant in tracing the sign of the cross on the baby's forehead to claim the new member for Christ.
During the Liturgy of the Word, Bible passages and a homily help go deeper into the mysteries of baptism.
The priest or deacon (or bishop!) anoints the child on the chest with the oil of the catechumens which calls on Christ to strengthen her. A second anointing, using chrism on the forehead, comes later. That symbolizes being joined to Christ, who is Priest, Prophet and King.
I don't have an eloquent ending to this long post, so...
The priest or deacon (or bishop!) anoints the child on the chest with the oil of the catechumens which calls on Christ to strengthen her. A second anointing, using chrism on the forehead, comes later. That symbolizes being joined to Christ, who is Priest, Prophet and King.
Water is the central symbol to baptism. Water is powerful – it can give life, save live, and take away life. In the waters of baptism, new life emerges, all is clean, and sin is washed away and destroyed. The sacrament calls for a generous use of water, either by immersion or by pouring (most common for babies). Water is poured three times as she is baptized "in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
A shell is often used to pour the water. I read that a lot of early Christian art shows John the Baptist standing in the water with Jesus, using a scalloped shell to pour water over his head.
The baptismal garment is white, a symbol of being purified by and clothed in Christ. Most already wear a white garment, but is seems like the church usually provides the parents with a new white garment that is placed on them during the liturgy.
The lighted candle signifies the light of Christ to be kept burning bright throughout life. The flame comes from the Easter candle. Some couples use the candles from their baptism for the unity candle at their weddings. We would have loved to do that, but we couldn't find ours!
I don't have an eloquent ending to this long post, so...
No comments:
Post a Comment