Been asked to be a Godparent- am I eligible?

[Denois]

I really hope I’ve posted this in the right place. If not - apologies!

Anyway - here goes. I was baptised and confirmed at the age of 17 and my dad was also confirmed at that point. For two years I attended Mass every Sunday and occasionally throughout the week. Then university started and I was just swept away - I stopped attending Mass as frequently. I began to sin in many ways and have been to confession twice since in an attempt to integrate back into the church.

I have wanted to get back to church for a while now, I guess I feel God calling me in many ways. My dad still attends Sunday Mass every week but I’ve just sort of drifted away.

My sister had a baby five weeks ago and has asked me to be Godmother. I fully believe in the church and am willing to work hard to fulfil my role and ensure that my niece is brought up in the church. I’m just worried because I haven’t attended church very much in the past year. I feel awful about it and fully intend to go to confession tomorrow and integrate back in properly. I believe and I pray every single night. I guess I’ve just had some mental health problems and due to these I’m struggling with sleep and thus struggle to get up for Mass on a Sunday. On top of this I am definitely in a state of mortal sin and hope to be absolved tomorrow. I get scared to go to confession and work myself up about it but as soon as I’m finished and absolved I feel wonderful.

I guess my question is - if I begin attending church regularly (which I wholly intend to) and hopefully get involved in volunteering for the parish would I be eligable to be my nieces Godmother? I imagine she’ll be baptised within the next 2-3 months. I want to prove that I’m ‘worthy’ so to say but I’m worried that I’ll be deemed ineligible due to my lack of attendance in the past few months.

It sounds like an excuse but with university and the problems I’ve encountered I’ve just not been able to make it to church. I could have tried harder but physical and mental exhaustion has got in the way. I realise now, however, that for my life to be whole, no matter how bad things are, I need God.

Any help with this matter would be very much appreciated!
Thanks and God Bless!

 

[Inquiringperson]

I really hope I’ve posted this in the right place. If not - apologies!

Anyway - here goes. I was baptised and confirmed at the age of 17 and my dad was also confirmed at that point. For two years I attended Mass every Sunday and occasionally throughout the week. Then university started and I was just swept away - I stopped attending Mass as frequently. I began to sin in many ways and have been to confession twice since in an attempt to integrate back into the church.

I have wanted to get back to church for a while now, I guess I feel God calling me in many ways. My dad still attends Sunday Mass every week but I’ve just sort of drifted away.

My sister had a baby five weeks ago and has asked me to be Godmother. I fully believe in the church and am willing to work hard to fulfil my role and ensure that my niece is brought up in the church. I’m just worried because I haven’t attended church very much in the past year. I feel awful about it and fully intend to go to confession tomorrow and integrate back in properly. I believe and I pray every single night.** I guess I’ve just had some mental health problems and due to these I’m struggling with sleep and thus struggle to get up for Mass on a Sunday.** On top of this I am definitely in a state of mortal sin and hope to be absolved tomorrow. I get scared to go to confession and work myself up about it but as soon as I’m finished and absolved I feel wonderful.

I guess my question is - if I begin attending church regularly (which I wholly intend to) and hopefully get involved in volunteering for the parish would I be eligable to be my nieces Godmother? I imagine she’ll be baptised within the next 2-3 months. I want to prove that I’m ‘worthy’ so to say but I’m worried that I’ll be deemed ineligible due to my lack of attendance in the past few months.

It sounds like an excuse but with university and the problems I’ve encountered I’ve just not been able to make it to church. I could have tried harder but physical and mental exhaustion has got in the way. I realise now, however, that for my life to be whole, no matter how bad things are, I need God.

Any help with this matter would be very much appreciated!
Thanks and God Bless!

I know this doesn’t answer the topic of the thread, but have you considered going to a Saturday evening Mass or Sunday evening mass to fulfill your obligation? It might be easier for you to do if you struggle with getting up in the morning to go to Mass.

 

[nodito]

Yes, you can be a Godparent if you are a Catholic in good standing, which includes fulfilling your Sunday obligation every week.

Here’s what you do:

• Go to confession tomorrow and accept God’s love and mercy.
• Accept your sister’s invitation to be your niece’s Godparent.
• Start scheduling Mass every week like you would any other obligation. Look up Masses on Thursday morning so you can find the time that best fits and arrange transportation if needed. Saturday night or Sunday evening maybe? Masstimes.org lists all masses in your area and can be useful for finding new parishes.

God bless.

 

[BartholomewB]

Denois

I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules on this subject. It’s the kind of thing that can vary from one diocese to another and even from one parish to another. I have known of a case in my family where the mother invited her sister and brother-in-law to be her son’s godparents. The sister was a bit like you – she had been baptized in the Catholic Church in infancy but hadn’t been to mass in years, let alone confession. And her husband wasn’t a Catholic at all. It didn’t matter, the priest never queried the parents’ choice.

Of course that was in just one parish, I have no idea whether that approach is widespread, or whether it was nothing more than a rare exception to the rule.

 

[nodito]

Denois

I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules on this subject. It’s the kind of thing that can vary from one diocese to another and even from one parish to another. I have known of a case in my family where the mother invited her sister and brother-in-law to be her son’s godparents. The sister was a bit like you – she had been baptized in the Catholic Church in infancy but hadn’t been to mass in years, let alone confession. And her husband wasn’t a Catholic at all. It didn’t matter, the priest never queried the parents’ choice.

Of course that was in just one parish, I have no idea whether that approach is widespread, or whether it was nothing more than a rare exception to the rule.

Yeah, that’s not allowed. If the brother-in-law was Christian, he could have been listed as a witness to the baptism, but according to canon law Godparents have to be practicing Catholics.

It’s a shame the priest didn’t do his due diligence. In both parishes where we’ve baptized babies we’ve needed the Godparents to get signed statements from their pastors saying they’re active members and/or sign a statement themselves saying their practicing and in good standing with the Church.

 

[BartholomewB]

Yeah, that’s not allowed. If the brother-in-law was Christian, he could have been listed as a witness to the baptism, but according to canon law Godparents have to be practicing Catholics.

It’s a shame the priest didn’t do his due diligence. In both parishes where we’ve baptized babies we’ve needed the Godparents to get signed statements from their pastors saying they’re active members and/or sign a statement themselves saying their practicing and in good standing with the Church.

Nevertheless the boy is validly baptized.

 

[nodito]

Nevertheless the boy is validly baptized.

I don’t dispute that.

 

[thistle]

I really hope I’ve posted this in the right place. If not - apologies!

Anyway - here goes. I was baptised and confirmed at the age of 17 and my dad was also confirmed at that point. For two years I attended Mass every Sunday and occasionally throughout the week. Then university started and I was just swept away - I stopped attending Mass as frequently. I began to sin in many ways and have been to confession twice since in an attempt to integrate back into the church.

I have wanted to get back to church for a while now, I guess I feel God calling me in many ways. My dad still attends Sunday Mass every week but I’ve just sort of drifted away.

My sister had a baby five weeks ago and has asked me to be Godmother. I fully believe in the church and am willing to work hard to fulfil my role and ensure that my niece is brought up in the church. I’m just worried because I haven’t attended church very much in the past year. I feel awful about it and fully intend to go to confession tomorrow and integrate back in properly. I believe and I pray every single night. I guess I’ve just had some mental health problems and due to these I’m struggling with sleep and thus struggle to get up for Mass on a Sunday. On top of this I am definitely in a state of mortal sin and hope to be absolved tomorrow. I get scared to go to confession and work myself up about it but as soon as I’m finished and absolved I feel wonderful.

I guess my question is - if I begin attending church regularly (which I wholly intend to) and hopefully get involved in volunteering for the parish would I be eligable to be my nieces Godmother? I imagine she’ll be baptised within the next 2-3 months. I want to prove that I’m ‘worthy’ so to say but I’m worried that I’ll be deemed ineligible due to my lack of attendance in the past few months.

It sounds like an excuse but with university and the problems I’ve encountered I’ve just not been able to make it to church. I could have tried harder but physical and mental exhaustion has got in the way. I realise now, however, that for my life to be whole, no matter how bad things are, I need God.

Any help with this matter would be very much appreciated!
Thanks and God Bless!

SPONSORS

Can. 872 In so far as possible, a person being baptised is to be assigned a sponsor. In the case of an adult baptism, the sponsor’s role is to assist the person in christian initiation. In the case of an infant baptism, the role is together with the parents to present the child for baptism, and to help it to live a christian life befitting the baptised and faithfully to fulfil the duties inherent in baptism.

Can. 873 One sponsor, male or female, is sufficient; but there may be two, one of each sex.

Can. 874 §1 To be admitted to undertake the office of sponsor, a person must:

1° be appointed by the candidate for baptism, or by the parents or whoever stands in their place, or failing these, by the parish priest or the minister; to be appointed the person must be suitable for this role and have the intention of fulfilling it;

2° be not less than sixteen years of age, unless a different age has been stipulated by the diocesan Bishop, or unless the parish priest or the minister considers that there is a just reason for an exception to be made;

3° be a catholic who has been confirmed and has received the blessed Eucharist, and who lives a life of faith which befits the role to be undertaken;

4° not labour under a canonical penalty, whether imposed or declared;

5° not be either the father or the mother of the person to be baptised.

§2 A baptised person who belongs to a non-catholic ecclesial community may be admitted only in company with a catholic sponsor, and then simply as a witness to the baptism.