Childrens first communion

[ropodenden]

Hello Everyone
I was baptised church of england, my mum is a protestant and my dad a strong irish catholic, from the age of 9 yrs old my dad took me to his church every week up until i left home at 17. I had my little girl at the age of 21 and was informed i could only have her baptised in the church in our parish which is church of england, i wanted to have her baptised catholic but was put under pressure from my in-laws that the village church was the only church she could be baptised in.
Since then we have moved house and my daughter who is 7 and son who is 5 now attend a roman catholic school…my daughter paticulaly likes going to school mass and mass with brownies, I attend with her also.
Next year the whole class is doing their first holy communions and my question really is will my daughter have to be baptised again into the catholic church??

In my opinion it is the same bible, the same jesus and the same god, rituals at mass maybe slightly different but surely as long as she has already been welcomed into gods eyes then she should be ok??

 

[Corki]

You say you were Baptized Church of England. Were you ever received into the Catholic Church or are you still CofE?

The is not “baptized again”. If your children were Baptized in a Christian church with a Trinitarian formula, the Church recognizes their Baptism. But the children need to be received into the Catholic Church before receiving First Communion. The process for doing that with children is different in different places. You should speak to the pastor and ask him what the steps are.

However, are either you or your spouse Catholic? If not, the priest needs some assurance that the children will be raised Catholic otherwise he may want them to wait until they are old enough to ask for the Sacraments of the Church themselves.

 

[DJgang]

So…are you now a catholic? I wouldn’t think your children would be received into the church if you are not catholic.

Nicene Creed…we believe in one baptism for the forgiveness of sins…

 

[Vince1022]

Hello Everyone
I was baptised church of england, my mum is a protestant and my dad a strong irish catholic, from the age of 9 yrs old my dad took me to his church every week up until i left home at 17. I had my little girl at the age of 21 and was informed i could only have her baptised in the church in our parish which is church of england, i wanted to have her baptised catholic but was put under pressure from my in-laws that the village church was the only church she could be baptised in.
Since then we have moved house and my daughter who is 7 and son who is 5 now attend a roman catholic school…my daughter paticulaly likes going to school mass and mass with brownies, I attend with her also.
Next year the whole class is doing their first holy communions and my question really is will my daughter have to be baptised again into the catholic church??

In my opinion it is the same bible, the same jesus and the same god, rituals at mass maybe slightly different but surely as long as she has already been welcomed into gods eyes then she should be ok??

If she has been baptized already she would not be re-baptized.

 

[puzzleannie]

. I had my little girl at the age of 21 and was informed i could only have her baptised in the church in our parish which is church of england, i wanted to have her baptised catholic but was put under pressure from my in-laws that the village church was the only church she could be baptised in.
Since then we have moved house and my daughter who is 7 and son who is 5 now attend a roman catholic school…my daughter paticulaly likes going to school mass and mass with brownies, I attend with her also.
Next year the whole class is doing their first holy communions and my question really is will my daughter have to be baptised again into the catholic church??

your opinion and mine are not relevant
the teaching of the Catholic Church is the only relevant thing to look at if you would like your son and daughter to become Catholic. The way to proceed is to talk to the pastor (not the school principal) of the Catholic school or the parish in which it is located. No your child who was baptized in the CofE should not, and cannot, be rebaptized. There is one Lord, one Faith, and one Baptism as Paul reminds us. She can be instructed in the Catholic faith, since she is 7 (the age of reason) and be prepared for profession of faith, confirmation and first communion. Whether or not this will happen the same time as her classmates make first communion is for the pastor to decide. Your son who is 5 can be baptized Catholic now if he has never been baptized, or when he is of age (generally 7) do the same as your daughter, and prepare for the other sacraments.

I assume, although you do not say it, that you are baptized Catholic. If you were not, and were planning to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church, your children would do it at the same time with you.

Welcome home, so glad you now have the freedom to worship as you wish.

 

[laszlo]

The local pastor (who controls the Catholic school) is competent in this question.

Either your baptism and the baptism of your children is valid in the eye of the Church

For your daughter the education in a Catholic Church is sufficient to receive communion w/o anything else. You yourself had to make some formal (RCIA) or informal education and take the Confession of Faith (Tridentine formula) to be accepted as Catyholic and be able to receive Sacraments.

In both cases you must discuss it with the pastor and follow his directions. This is his authority

 

[John_Lilburne]

Some extracts from the RCIA liturgical book:

"5 RECEPTION OF BAPTISED CHRISTIANS INTO THE FULL COMMUNION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH …

387 This is the liturgical rite by which a person born and baptised in a separated ecclesial Community is received, according to the Latin rite, into the full communion of the Catholic Church. The rite is so arranged that no greater burden than necessary (see Acts 15:28) is required for the establishment of communion and unity. …

391 The baptised Christian is to receive both doctrinal and spiritual preparation, adapted to individual pastoral requirements, for reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church. The candidate should learn to deepen an inner adherence to the Church, where he or she will find the fulness of his or her baptism. During the period of preparation the candidate may share in worship in conformity with the provisions of the Ecumenical Direc- tory.
Anything that would equate candidates for reception with those who are catechumens is
to be absolutely avoided.

392 One who was born and baptised outside the visible communion of the Catholic Church is not required to make an abjuration of heresy, but simply a profession of faith.

393 The sacrament of baptism cannot be repeated and therefore it is not permitted to confer it again conditionally, unless there is a reasonable doubt about the fact or validity of the baptism already conferred. If serious investigation raises such prudent doubt and it seems necessary to confer baptism again conditionally, the minister should explain beforehand the reasons why this is being done and a nonsolemn form of baptism is to be used."

If you are wanting to read more of this book, part of it is available in the RCIA introductions for England and Wales, at liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resources/Rites/RiteRitual.html . See the PDF by clicking on “Rite of Christian Initiation – Introductions” .