Why Baptize?

One of the important questions asked of parents at the moment when their child is presented in church during the ceremony is “what do you ask of the Church for your child?”. Parents usually respond that they wish to have their child baptized, but another question remains unanswered, at least publicly. Why do you want your child to be baptized? While some parents have the natural inclination to respond to that question with the acknowledgment of their own baptismal journeys and their desires to raise their children in the faith, all parents who desire baptism for their children make this decision to offer their children the foundation for a meaningful life and a relationship with Christ. The responsibilities of parenting are very serious ones that parents accept with the birth of their child. Parents realize that the child they’ve been given is a miracle from God. Our faith teaches us that God is the creator who gives life and forms life in the womb (Ps. 139:13). As the Catechism teaches us, Baptism “accords with parents’ role as nurturers of the life that God has entrusted to them” (CCC 1251). Thus, parents’ decisions to baptize their newborn is a way in which to honor and give thanks for the miracle bestowed onto their family from God. The decision to have children baptized must come only after serious reflection. Baptism involves the pledge of parents to raise and educate their children in the beliefs and practices of the Catholic faith, and thus it is vital for parents to realize the importance of that commitment. Baptism is seen as a journey, an answer to God’s call through the ways in which we live our lives. It is not a sacrament that only pertains to the child, rather it is an invitation to the entire family to draw closer and deeper to our faith.