Common Questions

For many centuries, Baptism has been administered to small children, often newborns, because this sacrament does not depend on individual merit but is a blessing and a free gift from God. When these little children are baptized in the faith of the Church, they are not expected to have a full and perfect faith; their budding faith is called to grow within the warmth of the Christian community.

As with all abilities a child develops, his/her faith is encouraged to flourish and to be strengthened after baptism through faith enrichment, catechism and the practice of the Christian life. As parents, you are called to play a very important role in this growth.

For the Jewish community of Jesus’ day, baptism by immersion (in water) was the sign of a desire for conversion (returning to God with an upright life). Jesus had no need to do so, nevertheless He accepted to be baptized by John the Baptist, his cousin. Also, at the very end of his life, Jesus told his Apostles to go and teach all nations and to baptize all those who desired it in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28) – this distinguishes Christian baptism from baptism as practised within the Jewish tradition. From its very beginning, the Catholic Church has respected Jesus’ command. Therefore on the day of his or her baptism, your child becomes an adopted child of God; that is, a brother or sister of Jesus Christ, because both have the same heavenly Father.