RCIA - having a sponsor younger than you

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IdaCatholic said:
We weren’t married at the time. Do you consider it a title, or just a nickname you are fond of?
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A title. A bit of both, admittedly, but mostly a title. They are my elders in faith. I picked them specifically because I wanted to mold my faith after theirs. They basically raised me on how to be Catholic.
 
I think on a thread where someone is asking a question we should stick to actual titles. It’s less confusing. I’m still confused by your use of the term.
I was my wife’s elder, and spiritual elder in the faith. Still am. But I didn’t marry my goddaughter, but you think that’s the title?
 
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IdaCatholic said:
I think on a thread where someone is asking a question we should stick to actual titles. It’s less confusing.
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I specifically said I was adding onto Father George’s case, but fine. I’ll change it.
IdaCatholic said:
I was my wife’s elder, and spiritual elder in the faith. Still am. But I didn’t marry my goddaughter, but you think that’s the title?
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Was she baptized? Either way, if it doesn’t matter in the end, then it doesn’t matter. I view them as my parents in faith. I’m also not allowed to marry them since they were my sponsors at baptism.
 
I, literally, knew not a single practicing Catholic when I entered RCIA other then The Deacon at my parish.

I told him and he told me that he would get my a sponsor and if he could not, he would do it.

My sponsor ended up being a girl 8 years younger then me. I was 28 and she was 20. It worked out just fine. No, I do not go to her for spiritual matters, but I still can go to priests and or Deacons for matters of faith. It’s just fine.
 
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I was her sponsor in RCIA. So it was for her baptism This was Easter before our wedding. Are you saying there is a cannon law saying you cant marry your sponsor!?
 
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Thank you everyone for your feedback! I just texted this guy about him being my sponsor and now I just have to wait and see!
 
You have a lot of life ahead of you…hopefully some day you will have a doctor younger than you, or a priest younger than you, or a president younger than you, and realize its not that much of an issue.
 
IdaCatholic said:
I was her sponsor in RCIA. This was Easter before our wedding. Are you saying there is a cannon law saying you cant marry your sponsor!?
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I said baptismal sponsor. Either way, I apparently read it wrong: it was forbidden in the 1917 Code of Canon Law, but not the current 1983 code.
 
I was her sponsor for her baptism. I think it’s best we leave this conversation agreeing that perhaps it’s best to use correct terminology. You have thoroughly confused me but I think you just have a cute term for your sponsor that isn’t the official term. Can you see why confusion happens here?
 
IdaCatholic said:
You have thoroughly confused me but I think you just have a cute term for your sponsor that isn’t the official term. Can you see why confusion happens here?
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A “cute term”? Yeah, I’m out of here. I’m muting the thread.
 
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Yeah I didn’t mean it that way. Sorry. You j6st described it as a term of endearment that sounds better.

But just so we are clear you aren’t suggesting I committed spiritual incest right?
 
IdaCatholic said:
But just so we are clear you aren’t suggesting I committed spiritual incest right?
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The Church says no. The matter is settled.
IdaCatholic said:
You j6st described it as a term of endearment that sounds better.
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I use it endearingly towards them because I love them both very much, but I don’t use it because it sounds nice. It reflects what I see as their roles in my life and my respect and admiration towards them.

I won’t be responding to this tread anymore.
 
That is the colloquial term used for a Baptismal or Confirmation Sponsor
 
That is why romantic partners are discouraged from being sponsors, some parishes wink at this as yours did.
 
Under older Canon law you would not have been permitted to marry your goddaughter. That has been lifted, but, yes you are her godfather.
 
When someone comes to RCIA with their girlfriend/boyfriend, maybe romantic partner, fiancee, spouse, or even a sibling or other family member, that is wonderful. The relationship might, however, make the earnest discernment have difficulties. A catechumen might feel either overt or even subconscious pressure because of that close emotional relationship.

A sponsor ought be someone where the catechumen can ask difficult questions, talk about their struggle, without the pressure to continue toward baptism because they do not want to hurt the person they love.

What we do is encourage the loved one to be part of the RCIA process, to sponsor someone else in the group of catechumens who may not know any Catholics to fill that role. This way they attend preparation together. We also encourage people to have a sponsor of the same gender, women with women, men for men, because when discussing intimate moral issues, there can be some awkward or even immodesty talking to someone of the opposite gender.

Sometimes the romance ends, the marriage breaks up, and then the convert has a spiritual relationship that is also severed.

Again, this is not law, but, comes from much experience with the catechumenate.
 
I think you should rejoice in it. Because you are both of the same age and have similar struggles and questions about life and God and everyone just tries to find them… no matter how old. So if your sponsor was older maybe you would have been inclined to believe theyr have ALL the answers, and that is never truly the accurate truth. Plus I bet you can truly become best friends and sometimes you need a peer as interested in faith as you are. And that’s not always easy to find, especially when young.
 
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