Baptizing children

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nickiwool

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Hi, I have a question, my oldest son is 10 and has been baptized since he was 3 months old. However I left the catholic church and fallowed my husband into a protestant one, I left the protestant church a few years back and I am now back to Catholic šŸ™‚ Now my question is that I would like to baptize my other 3 children 9,7 and 3, how would I go about this when I have no one to be their Godparents? would I need Godparents to do this?

-Nicki
 
Make an appointment with your priest.

Your 9 year old is over the age of reason, and would therefore go through an RCIA process, adapted for children, and receive the sacraments of initiation. They will make their own profession of faith.

Your 7 year old is on the fence, close to being in the same position as th 9 year old. If you talk to your priest and get the ball rolling, you should still be able to bring your 7 year old in as an infant, which means you make the promises.

Your 3 year old is considered an infant still and therefore you would make the baptismal promises.

Regarding a sponsor or sponsors, your priest can help you with that.
 
1ke said:
Make an appointment with your priest.

Your 9 year old is over the age of reason, and would therefore go through an RCIA process, adapted for children, and receive the sacraments of initiation. They will make their own profession of faith.

Your 7 year old is on the fence, close to being in the same position as th 9 year old. If you talk to your priest and get the ball rolling, you should still be able to bring your 7 year old in as an infant, which means you make the promises.

Your 3 year old is considered an infant still and therefore you would make the baptismal promises.

Regarding a sponsor or sponsors, your priest can help you with that.
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Great! Thank you very much šŸ™‚
 
The real problem is in baptizing cats. :eek:

Itā€™s something not for the weak hearted šŸ˜‰
 
hahaha you all are silly!! I have no idea where this all went LOL! water gunning cats! Love it! you all made my day :grouphug:
 
nickiwool said:
Hi, I have a question, my oldest son is 10 and has been baptized since he was 3 months old. However I left the catholic church and fallowed my husband into a protestant one, I left the protestant church a few years back and I am now back to Catholic šŸ™‚ Now my question is that I would like to baptize my other 3 children 9,7 and 3, how would I go about this when I have no one to be their Godparents? would I need Godparents to do this?

-Nicki
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Quick question: Were your other childenā€“9, 7, and 3ā€“baptized in the protestant church you attended? I presume not, but just double checking.
 
Bklynguy said:
Quick question: Were your other childenā€“9, 7, and 3ā€“baptized in the protestant church you attended? I presume not, but just double checking.
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yes actually, my older son and 9 year old where ā€œanointedā€ I believe is what they called it. When my oldest was about 2 and my youngest about 10 months old or so. I left the church right after my daughter the 7 year old was born.

-Nicki
 
nickiwool said:
yes actually, my older son and 9 year old where ā€œanointedā€ I believe is what they called it. When my oldest was about 2 and my youngest about 10 months old or so. I left the church right after my daughter the 7 year old was born.

Edited: Oh ok I got the actual name of it, Dedicated. So yea my older two where dedicated to the Lord.

-Nicki
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dedication and baptism are not the same thing. you will need to bring this to your priestā€™s attention, but I think investigation will show this was not a baptism.
 
1ke said:
dedication and baptism are not the same thing. you will need to bring this to your priestā€™s attention, but I think investigation will show this was not a baptism.
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Ohh ok thank you, So then yea only my oldest was baptized, since it was done through a catholic church before leaving to protestant. Then he was dedicated with my 9 year old through the protestant church, I will bring this up for sure when I meet with my priest, again thank you,

-Nicki
 
nickiwool said:
yes actually, my older son and 9 year old where ā€œanointedā€ I believe is what they called it. When my oldest was about 2 and my youngest about 10 months old or so. I left the church right after my daughter the 7 year old was born.

-Nicki
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Oh, okayā€“like other posters have said here, I suggest you speak with your priest. Heā€™ll be able to look at the certificate to tell whether it was a valid baptism.
 
Bklynguy said:
Oh, okayā€“like other posters have said here, I suggest you speak with your priest. Heā€™ll be able to look at the certificate to tell whether it was a valid baptism.
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Many non-Catholic ecclesial communiies, especially the outside of mainline churches like Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal, etc, do not issue certificates or keep records.

The OP witnessed these dedications. If the person doing the dedication did not say ā€œI baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spiritā€ while pouring water over the childā€™s head, it was not a baptism.
 
I think the ā€œspeak to a priestā€ advice is the best. I donā€™t have any problems with the other suggestions either. At the risk of muddying the waters, it is my understanding that a Baptism (not dedication) from a non-conforming Catholic Church (i.e., Protestant) is valid or maybe recognized by the Catholic Church is a better way to phrase it. I donā€™t think it necessarily applies to this situation by the way. Whew! have I avoided all the potential arguments that could spring from a misudnerstanding of my post?

I think Iā€™ll stick to the cats.
 
1ke said:
Many non-Catholic ecclesial communiies, especially the outside of mainline churches like Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal, etc, do not issue certificates or keep records.
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Interestingā€“I did not know this. My wife had a certificate, but then again, she is a Lutheran and they have certificates (only because I saw it when she had to produce it before our marriage was convalidated in the Church). Also, they do practice a valid baptism with water and in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I didnā€™t know that some others do not provide any certificates. It makes sense, though, especially for smaller non-denominational ecclesial communities.
1ke said:
The OP witnessed these dedications. If the person doing the dedication did not say ā€œI baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spiritā€ while pouring water over the childā€™s head, it was not a baptism.
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Good pointā€¦she mentioned ā€œanointed,ā€ so Iā€™m not sure exactly what that means. Iā€™m going to guess that water and the name of Trinity was not invoked, but only the OP can answer to that for sure.
 
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