Having our children Baptized is the one of the greatest gifts we can give to them. Because of the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, every human person is born with the stain of original sin on their soul. Yes, even that sweet little infant who has stolen your heart! It is a great privilege, as well as a grave responsibility, as parents to have our children baptized. Baptism erases original sin by imparting the life of Christ’s grace.
“Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by original sin, children also have need of the new birth in Baptism to be freed from the power of darkness and brought into the realm of the freedom of the children of God, to which all men are called. The sheer gratituitiousness of the grace of salvation is particularly manifest in infant Baptism. The Church and the parents would deny a child the priceless gift of becoming a child of God were they not to confer Baptism shortly after birth” (CCC 1250).
How very much we are loved by God! Through the sacrament of Baptism, God takes us as His children. But what exactly does that mean?
We could liken it to human parenthood: what position do our children hold in our lives?
They are part of our family. They have the privileges of being our child: we care for them by nurturing and nourishing them; they live in our home; they belong to us; we love and cherish them.
Through Baptism, we become a part of the Family of God and receive all the privileges of being His child. We are given the key to the door of all the other sacraments. We are sealed with an indelible mark that says, “I belong to God.” We are partakers of God’s Divine Life and Temples of the Holy Spirit. We receive sanctifying grace which helps us to know, love and hope in God through the theological virtues. We are given the power to live and act under the promptings of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This enables us to grow in goodness through moral virtues. Our whole supernatural life has its roots in Baptism. Like a good parent, our heavenly Father pours down upon us His love, along with all the gifts and graces we will need to journey through this life and be with Him one day in heaven.
But like any gift that is given to us, if we do not use it, it cannot have the effect that was intended by the Giver. We need to be a part of the Church to receive God’s gifts and graces.
“The one mediator, Christ, established and ever sustains here on earth His holy Church, the community of faith, hope and charity, as a visible organization which He communicates truth and grace to all men” (CCC 771).
“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in Me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without Me you can do nothing” (Jn 15 vs 5).
Baptism makes us members of Christ’s Body and incorporates us into the Church. We must be an active part of the Body for our faith to grow. As a member, we need to be nurtured and nourished in our faith. We would never think about neglecting our child’s physical and emotional needs. We must take even greater care of their spiritual needs! It will have eternal consequences for them, as well as, for us.
“Christian parents will recognize that this practice also accords with their role of nurturers of the life that God has entrusted to them” (CCC 1251).
God is counting on us. When we brought our children to the Church and asked that they be Baptized, we made promises to God that we must take seriously! We must not allow their souls to starve, but feed them with all of the spiritual treasures that are available to us through the Catholic Church.
“For the grace of Baptism to unfold, the parents’ help is important. So too is the role of the godfather and godmother, who must be firm believers, able and ready to help the newly baptized – child or adult – on the road of Christian life. Their task is a truly ecclesial function. The whole ecclesial community bears some responsibility for the development and safeguarding of the grace given at Baptism” (CCC 1255).
We are one Body in Christ. We are the Family of God. As a family, we need to come together and partake of the gifts and the many graces our heavenly Father longs to bestow upon us. It breaks His heart when we are not there. He yearns for our presence. He loves us and wants what is best for us. From all eternity, God had a plan for us and our children. We cannot become fulfill that plan without the gifts and graces that are available to us as members of His Church. We need the sacramental graces that Christ merited for us, through His life, death and resurrection, but we cannot receive them if we are not present to receive them.
As parents, we do want what is best for our children. We make endless sacrifices every day for their good. Life on this earth will end for all of us one day, but eternal life is forever. Do not neglect the most important gift you can give to your child – the gift of faith – with all its heavenly benefits.
As God’s children, He loves us wants us to be with Him in heaven someday. He realized we would need help. To aid us on our journey, Christ established the Church, along with the Sacraments. Through the Church He communicates the truth and grace we will need to become the person He has called us to be from all eternity. Afford this opportunity to your child. Fulfill the promise you made to God on the day of your child’s Baptism, by participating fully in the life of the Church. It is a decision you will never regret!
Amen!!!! Beautifully written Avia Joy. My favorite part is NOT to allow our children's souls to starve but to feed them with all the Spiritual Treasures the church and Our dear sweet Lord provides!!!!
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