Notre Dame de Lourdes Church 101 Smith Street, Lowell MA, 01851 (978) 459-2339, Fax: (978) 446-0838 Why Baptize Your Baby?

Congratulations! We rejoice with you at the birth of your child. We, the parish community of Notre Dame de Lourdes, congratulate you, and welcome your new baby. A new life born into the human family and into our world should always be a joyful and happy event. This event changes people's lives. A new life gives promise, hope, and the expectations that the world will become a better place to live. We, the members of Notre Dame de Lourdes parish, share these hopes with you, but we want to do more. We want to do everything possible to make them come true.

If the above mentioned hopes and dreams are to come about, you, as parents, have a large responsibility. However, you are not alone. The Christian community of the parish into which you have asked to have your child baptized share that responsibility. We take that responsibility seriously. We believe that it is only when people come together in a spirit of love and begin to care for each other that the Faith we profess really comes alive. This faith comes alive in friendships. The friendship and the love of God for all people are what this parish community is all about.

In asking the Church to baptize your child, you have asked that your child share in the life of our local parish community and the wider world wide Church. At Baptism, you are saying "yes" for your child to God's invitation to belong to a Christian Community. We, as members of that family, also say "yes" to the acceptance of a new member. Together we accept the responsibility for that new life. We accept to walk together with our newest members on a journey of faith.

Faith

Our Christian faith is our response to God who calls us to believe. Our faith is a response to our Savior Jesus Christ and in the message of love that Jesus taught and lived. That love continues to be experienced through the gift of the Holy Spirit showered upon the Church in which you have asked to have your child baptized.

Baptism is a sacrament that celebrates the entrance of a person into the total Christian community as well s into the local parish community at Notre Dame de Lourdes. Baptism is a party, a joyful celebration of welcome. Parents and the rest of the parish family together make a statement together that they accept the responsibility of accompanying this new member on a faith journey.

If there is no Christian community, or no thought on your part of continuing to live in the Catholic Christian community after the welcome celebration, then there is no reason to celebrate this sacrament. Your decision to have your baby baptized must come only after serious though. Why? Because baptism does not end once the ceremony is over. Baptism is not something which pertains to the child alone: You and the parish are involved every step of the way.

Bringing your child to the baptismal font expresses your commitment to raise the child in the Christian faith. This faith needs to be awakened, strengthened, and developed as your child matures. To present your child for baptism is to accept responsibility for the growth of that faith.

You have a significant part to play in passing on the Christian life as lived in the Roman Catholic tradition to you new child. It is through you, what you do and say, that your child will learn to know and love God. It is through you that your child will learn to live beyond the family circle and become involved in the larger community - city, state, and nation. Through your example, your child will acquire an awareness of being a living and active member of the church.

Because your responsibility is such a serious one, was ask you to take the time to reflect upon the Spiritual Rights of the Child:

1. The Right to know and love God.
2. The right to participate in a living community of faith.
3. The right to those needed resources for spiritual growth.
4. The right to religious and moral education from informed parents.
5. The right to hear the Word of God and to have it interpreted.
6. The right to times of silence and solitude to develop a contemplative spirit.
7. The right to active participation in a community of worship.
8. The right to live in a home with faith in God as the heart of daily life.
9. The right to pray freely.
10. The right to be of service to others.

Because the responsibility which you assume as Christian parents is such a serious one, and often difficult, we, the parish community of Notre Dame de Lourdes bind ourselves to assist you in the responsibility of raising a child in the Christian life.

Criteria for Godparents

Godparents accept to cooperate in the spiritual life and development of their godchild. They represent "the expansion of the spiritual family of the one to be baptized and the role of the Church as a parent. As occasion offers, the godparent helps the parents to lead the child to profess the faith and to show this by living it. "(Code of Canon Law [CIC] #872). As such, the Church requires certain criteria in selecting godparents.

The following are criteria to be considered in choosing godparents: (CIC #874)

1. Have completed the 16th year.
2. Be a Catholic who has been confirmed and has already received the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist and leads a life in harmony with the faith and the role to be undertaken.
3. Not be bound by any canonical penalty legitimately imposed or declared.
4. Not be the Father or mother of the one to be baptized.
5. A baptized person who belongs to a non-Catholic ecclesial community may not be admitted except as a witness to baptism together with a Catholic sponsor.

In addition, ALL SPONSORS are required to obtain a certificate of eligibility to be a sponsor from the parish in which they worship.

In addition, according to Canon Law, "each child may have a godfather and a godmother" (CIC #873).