Bittersweet Baptism

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This Sunday, 11-26-06, our 2mo. old son, Andrew, will be baptized Catholic. My wife who is Lutheran-WELS, has a terrible time during baptisms because it reminds her of the christian disunity within our family. Her negativity with this, emotionally and physically drains me. With her attitude being as such do I have to worry about any validity to the baptism seeing both parents need to support the baptism? Please pray for us! Thanks for any (name removed by moderator)ut or advice!
 
Proeliator said:
This Sunday, 11-26-06, our 2mo. old son, Andrew, will be baptized Catholic. My wife who is Lutheran-WELS, has a terrible time during baptisms because it reminds her of the christian disunity within our family. Her negativity with this, emotionally and physically drains me. With her attitude being as such do I have to worry about any validity to the baptism seeing both parents need to support the baptism? Please pray for us! Thanks for any (name removed by moderator)ut or advice!
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Of course not, the validlity of the Baptism does not in any way hinge on the parents support. She should realize however that Baptism is one of the uniting Sacraments between Catholics and Lutherans. Validly Baptized people are united closer than blood relatives.
 
Thank you Bro. Rich. Thats What I kind of thought but wasn’t sure because of the questioning prior to the baptizing…What do you desire for your child?
 
“Canon 868 §1 For an infant to be baptised lawfully it is required:
1º that the parents, or at least one of them, or the person who lawfully holds their place, give their consent;”
(From The Code of Canon Law: New Revised English Translation, HarperCollins Liturgical, 1997, ISBN 0-00-599375-X.)

So it would be good to have the mother’s support and involvement. But it is not necessary, the Catholic Church will baptised with just one parent’s consent.
 
John_Lilburne said:
“Canon 868 §1 For an infant to be baptised lawfully it is required:
1º that the parents, or at least one of them, or the person who lawfully holds their place, give their consent;”
(From The Code of Canon Law: New Revised English Translation, HarperCollins Liturgical, 1997, ISBN 0-00-599375-X.)

So it would be good to have the mother’s support and involvement. But it is not necessary, the Catholic Church will baptised with just one parent’s consent.
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And when necessary without either parents consent.
 
Not much to add, just will be praying for you and yours.

Remember that WELS is about as Lutheran as Lutheran can get in this country. They are tighter with closed communion than the Missouri Synod, and are very precise in their beliefs. So, every one of your beautiful children being baptized in the Catholic Church has got to be hard on her. wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl? Given what I have heard from WELS Lutherans, and what I have read on their web site, your wife must love you very much.
 
My wife and her entire family are what I would call staunch WELS Lutherans! I have seen first-hand the faith they have. I pray they have seen mine! It is a very hard situation to be in. We agreed prior to marriage that the kids would be Catholic. Now she is trying to raise them WELS. It has been stressful for both of us. Any suggestions?
 
Proeliator said:
My wife and her entire family are what I would call staunch WELS Lutherans! I have seen first-hand the faith they have. I pray they have seen mine! It is a very hard situation to be in. We agreed prior to marriage that the kids would be Catholic. Now she is trying to raise them WELS. It has been stressful for both of us. Any suggestions?
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Not offhand. From what I’ve seen, LCMS thinks it IS just another form of Catholic (My sister is one, and that’s what she constantly states); and ELCA is all over the map. Then there are all the other Lutherans who belong to denominations or “fellowships” that comprise 3, maybe 4 churches, and they have a variety of beliefs. But WELS- WELS makes the Lutherans in fictional Lake Wobegon look positively laid back and relaxed in doctrine! So, no, except to offer to pray for you and yours (something I do not do lightly), nope. Perhaps somebody else with a WELS spouse will find you.
 
All went well! Both of our families were able to put our differences aside for the day and let Andrew bask in the baptismal font! My wife seemed OK and did not cry this time.
His head was full of chrism. This time my wife did not wash his head right when we got home. As a result everyone who held him left smelling like chrism (no complaint from me!), including her family! Thanks again for your prayers and anyone else who may have prayed but didn’t say anything in writing.
 
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