October 16, 2009
The Christian Journey
Baptizing into the ‘visible Body of Christ, the Church’
BY FATHER JIM SAUER
With increasing conviction, it is my belief that the occasion of infant baptism provides our parishes with an opportune time to renew the faith of our parents and draw them back into a more active participation in the Church’s life (if they have become lax). To accomplish this, however, we need to abandon our practice of “one-night” preparation sessions for parents, which focus primarily on the Sacrament of Baptism itself. Our parishes need to develop a more extensive preparation process over a several month period (a good time to begin may be during the pregnancy).
Our aim must never solely prepare parents for their infants’ BAPTISM, but for their infants’ being raised as active members in Church life. Just as birth brings a baby into the life of a biological family, so Baptism is a bridge into the new life in Christ nurtured within both the family and local parish. We need to impress upon our parents that God, who creates a new human life through their love, also calls them to work with God in bringing this human life to eternal life.
Thus, the first question the priest/deacon asks the parents according to the Rite is “What do you ask of God’s Church for your child?” The answers in the ritual (which need not be their only responses) are “faith,” “the grace of Christ,” “entrance into the Church,” “eternal life.” Because Baptism is not a “magical moment” devoid of a context, parents then publicly promise to “accept the responsibility of training their child in the practice of the faith.”
How are parents, who don’t practice their faith (the minimum being weekend Mass participation) or who don’t pray in their homes or don’t witness Gospel living to their children, able to answer this question honestly before God and the Church? Is “training their children in the practice of the faith” in harmony with the Catholic Church’s understanding of this? Parents are not saying that they will simply raise their children “privately” to be Christians, but that they desire their children be an active part of the “visible Body of Christ, the Church.” Being part of the visible Body of Christ requires a definite lifestyle and involvement in parish life.
The RCIA raises many practical questions applicable to adult and infant baptism. Reflecting on the RCIA will help us in our total parish ministry. For example, paragraph 39 of the RCIA claims that some inquirers, “even though they do not fully believe, show some leaning toward the Christian faith (and who may be called ‘sympathizers’).” My sense is that our parishes have often fallen into the custom of baptizing infants of “sympathizers.”
This is precisely why our parishes need to apply time and resources to help parents grow into a fuller faith lived out among other believers. Obviously our parents show “some leaning toward the Christian faith” by requesting baptism for their newborns. The challenge to parish ministers is to discern with the parents whether they are “believers” or “sympathizers.” The Lord has taught us how to do this — “You will know my disciples by their fruit.”
If we do not work more with our young parents in this discernment process and help them grow into a fuller faith when they bring their infants for baptism, our active parish membership may well continue to decrease. At the same time, I have a strong hope that either our parents will recognize their responsibility now OR eventually at a later date by the kindness, hospitality and pastoral care we extend to them.