Baptism vs Christening

[japhy]

Baptism as a symbol of accepting God… you cannot baptize a baby because the baby is not on the age of accepting God and knowing God.

That’s not how the Church has historically understood baptism. Infant baptism was not invented by the Catholic Church, it has been practiced since the earliest days of the Church. Whole families and households were baptized.

Plus, baptism is not “a symbol of accepting God”. Baptism saves us by washing away our sins and appealing to God for a clean conscience.

 

[BostonMyrtleBea]

[edited]

P.S. Congratz on the Baby! Here’s praying that she grows a great God fearing person!

Thanks! She wasn’t “cleared” by the doc to be out in the public for quite some time and is still getting injections, but now she is doing great! Now that she is growing strong, she comes to Mass a few times a week. I think she likes the singing, but she does sleep most of the time

 

[dyfan]

Hello, I am hoping someone can answer my question.
My cousin and his wife are having their first baby soon. He was never Confirmed, his wife is not of the Catholic faith. Can he still have his baby Bapitsed even though he was never confirmed?

Thanks in advanced.

 

[BostonMyrtleBea]

Yes. The only people who need to be up-to-date w/ everyting would be the Godparents.

As for the Godparents, they only require ONE Godparent (in good w/ the Catholic church). The other can be a Christian Witness. The Godparent will need a letter confirming that they are good in the faith (accepted marriage, confirmation, etc…). I didn’t need one in Europe to be a Godmother, but my daughter’s Godmother needed to get one. Not sure if ALL parishes require this.

 

[FrDavid96]

Yes. The only people who need to be up-to-date w/ everyting would be the Godparents.

As for the Godparents, they only require ONE Godparent (in good w/ the Catholic church). The other can be a Christian Witness. The Godparent will need a letter confirming that they are good in the faith (accepted marriage, confirmation, etc…). I didn’t need one in Europe to be a Godmother, but my daughter’s Godmother needed to get one. Not sure if ALL parishes require this.

A “sponsor certificate” is a tool used by the pastor. It’s not strictly speaking required so long as the pastor is reasonably certain that the potential Godparent is qualified. This depends on the circumstances. If I know the family very well and know that their choice of Godparents would be sound, I don’t require one. Most of the time, if the Godparents come from outside my own parish, I do require one.

 

[BostonMyrtleBea]

I am Godmother to both of my newphews. The first got Baptized at my old parish (in Boston) and the other was at my brother’s parish (in Ireland).

I did ask about the form and found our that our Msgr. requires is for all Baptisms in our parish. I was suprised as I’d never heard of the form before.

I was thinking it must be parish by parish since I’d been involved with and without the form. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[marytk]

I use to think that “Christening” was a protestant term too. But I have a good faithful older Catholic friend who uses it. I think it might be part of some regional speech patterns

 

[BostonMyrtleBea]

Yes - I think so. Right or wrong, all of my (extended) family here and in Ireland call it a Christening. My brother could not find a “Baptism” card. Just Christening cards. I am pretty sure (when I went last summer) I bought a Christening card in the cathedral in Galway, Ireland. Anyway, I attempted to call it Baptism, but to be honest, Christening seems to have stuck since it’s what I’m used to. My Bostonian friends and family also call it a Christening

I surveyed everyone I knew

 

[klmarsh3]

I use to think that “Christening” was a protestant term too. But I have a good faithful older Catholic friend who uses it. I think it might be part of some regional speech patterns

I would have to agree. I am (and grew up) Protestant and never heard the term Christening except amongst Catholic friends. Other Catholic friends used Baptism like I did, but I heard (and still hear) Christening a lot amongst certain Catholics. Yesterday I had to help translate the term from/to another language and I realized I needed to know more. Since neither group of friends could tell me the difference, I came here to look for more information. Now I know.

Thanks to all for their answers/opinions.

 

[RyanBlack]

I would never use the word ‘Christening’ for baptism. You christen a ship by smashing a bottle of champagne on the hull, hardly a baptism. Non-Catholic churches also christen babies but don’t baptize them. I really don’t think the terms are interchangeable, no matter what Japhy’s dictionary says.

Actually, the Modern Catholic Encyclopedia (Liturgical Press 1994, Nihil Obstat Robert C. Harren: Imprimatur: Jerome Hanus, OSB, Bishop of St. Cloud, Minnesota) defines ‘christening’ as “The aspect of the baptismal ceremony in which the one baptized takes a Christian name.” So they don’t see the terms as interchangeable either.

What do you mean by “Non-Catholic churches also christen babies but don’t baptize them”? Quite a few non-Catholic churches (all of the non-Catholic Apostolic Churches, and quite a few Protestant groups as well) baptize babies regularly.

 

[SMHW]

What do you mean by “Non-Catholic churches also christen babies but don’t baptize them”? Quite a few non-Catholic churches (all of the non-Catholic Apostolic Churches, and quite a few Protestant groups as well) baptize babies regularly.

I’m not Phemie but I’ll dare to speak for her. She meant, “Some non-Catholic churches also christen babies but don’t baptize them.” “Some” was to be understood from the context of the paragraph.

…old thread, by the way…