A Catholic Infant Baptism Service |
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Welcome |
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| The priest welcomes the child and the parents at the door of the church. | |
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At the door, the priest asks the parents and God-parents if they are willing to bring up the child as a Christian. When they say 'Yes' the priest welcomes and names the child and says, "I claim you for Christ our Saviour by the Sign of his Cross". The priest then traces the sign of the cross on the child's forehead and the parents and God-parents do the same. The sign of the cross is a symbol that the child now belongs to God. The people enter into the church. |
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(Click to see an enlarged photo in a new window) |
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The Word of GodThere is then a short reading form the Bible. The priest explains what it is about. Then there will be prayers. The prayers will be for the baby and for the parents and God-parents to help them in their job of bringing up the child. The ExorcismThe priest holds his hand up and says: "O God, you sent your Son to cast out the power of Satan, set this child free from Original Sin." This is the exorcism. Every human being has free will so it is a hard job to always act in a loving way like God wants us to. Sometimes people fail and act in an un-loving way like Satan (the devil) would want us to. The priest is asking God to help the child act in a loving way as much as possible. | |
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