A traditional Catholic baptism is a highly ritualized and intricate process which includes many details of the Catholic religion into the most official form of child baptism.
A Catholic baptism truly is built on a host of core beliefs which make the baptism of a young child of faith all the more important to both the parents and the young child involved in the faith.
The church believes that salvation comes through the grace of God alone through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
With this in mind, the Holy Spirit comes down from God to administer the baptism which includes the naming of the newborn, lighting the candle, giving the sign of Amen and finally saying the prayer of thanks to the Creator for having such a wonderful blessing come to them through the water of baptism.
This is one of the most important moments in the life of a Catholic.
There are several elements to a traditional Catholic baptism ceremony. First of all there is the naming of the child. It is normally decided by the priest with the approval of the parents. Generally it is either done by one of the priest or the parents themselves. It is important that all these preparations are made well in advance so that no problems come up at the last minute. These days with modern technology there is a lot of baby names that have been chosen especially well for the occasion.
Once the baby is baptized it is then said that he is now Christ’s child and that he is God’s son.
Then there is an exchange of Gifts between the newborn and God, which basically is to declare that the baby now belongs to God and is now under his protection. The baby then makes his first holy communion after which he is presented by the priest with his new name and this is done by the hands of the godparents. After this the celebration of baptism is underway. There is a great deal of fun involved for the entire family which can last all day long.
In some Catholic Churches they use a baby chalice where they place the gifts for the infant while others use a grand chalice which has more space to keep the gifts. They also have icons to decorate it with. Other than that some people use candles to light it during the ceremony. If you are using a traditional Catholic baptism ceremony then there is an angel to watch over the infant.
During the traditional Catholic baptism ceremony, the child is made to sit on a chair which is also placed under the Christ Child. This is done by a number of people. One by one the other kneel down before the child and give him/her the Sign of the Cross. It is believed that this will seal his baptism and that he will be one with the Lord.
If you are planning to go for the traditional Catholic baptism ceremony then there are a few important things that you need to be aware of first. Firstly, you should make sure that the church you are going to attend has a child care facility near it. Also, the priest who presides over the event should have been a child of the church. An infant can hardly hold their own weight, so the help of a good and caring priest is essential. The infant also needs to be handed over to the priest right at the time when he is being baptized.
You can either attend the service in person or send your child by a priest to a child care facility. If you are attending the service in person then the priest will ask you to come with him as he embarks on the service and then the baptism will be carried out by him. The child will get a present of his choosing also from the priest.
The Catholic religion believes that there are a number of important events in the life of a person. They are believed to be like marks that are left behind by our past sins. They are known as the “avatars” of these past sins. There are several symbols in the traditional Catholic baptism ceremony and these include the baptism veil, five symbols of the body of Christ, a chalice used for the administering of water, a white garment or hood that covers the head, a sword, a crown and a cross.
