This past Tuesday, on Independence Day, our little “Grace” was baptized! Her uncle flew all the way across the country to baptize her for us. He also offered a Latin Mass following her baptism. It was such a beautiful day filled with blessings!
A special thank you to our dear Archbishop Sample, for giving our oldest son a dispensation from the requirement of being confirmed in order to serve as his baby sister’s godparent at baptism!
Ever since our oldest son asked me if I was pregnant (before I had even considered the possibility) and I found out that I was, I had wanted to have him as the baby’s Godfather! I have always loved being the Godmother to my youngest brother, who my mom delivered when she was my age/39. After requesting the sacrament of confirmation for the past few years, our older boys finally completed the year of required classes/preparation and retreats (driving an hour each way and scheduling make up classes when it conflicted with their hockey and golf schedules) and were to be confirmed at the end of May. With the baby due in June it was perfect timing, but my husband and our oldest son were needed in Arizona and couldn’t get back home in time. We will have a trip to make, but our boys will now be confirmed by our Archbishop in the Extraordinary Form this fall!
Thank you also to our friend Marc at AV Creations for taking all these photos of the baptism for us! I shared some more pictures here and here.
Priest: N., what do you ask of the Church of God?
Sponsor/Catechumen: Faith.
Priest: What does Faith offer you?
Sponsor/Catechumen: Life everlasting.
Priest: If then you desire to enter into life, keep the commandments. ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with thy whole mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.’
Priest: Go forth from her, unclean spirit, and give place to the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
Priest: Receive the Sign of the Cross both upon your forehead + and also upon your heart +; take to you the faith of the heavenly precepts; and so order your life as to be, from henceforth, the temple of God.
Priest: Let us pray: Mercifully hear our prayers, we beseech Thee, O Lord; and by Thy perpetual assistance keep this Thine elect, N., signed with the sign of the Lord’s cross, so that, preserving this first experience of the greatness of Thy glory, he may deserve, by keeping Thy commandments, to attain to the glory of regeneration. Through Christ our Lord.
Sponsor/Catechumen: Amen.
Priest: Let us pray: Almighty, everlasting God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, look graciously down upon this Thy servant, N., whom Thou hast graciously called unto the beginnings of the faith; drive out from him all blindness of heart; break all the toils of Satan wherewith he was held: open unto him, O Lord, the gate of Thy loving kindness, that, being impressed with the sign of Thy wisdom, he may be free from the foulness of all wicked desires, and in the sweet odor of Thy precepts may joyfully serve Thee in Thy Church, and grow in grace from day to day. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Priest: Through the same Christ our Lord.
Sponsor/Catechumen: Amen
Priest: N., Receive the salt of wisdom; let it be to thee a token of mercy unto everlasting life. May it make your way easy to eternal life.
Sponsor/Catechumen: Amen.
Priest: Peace be with you.
Sponsor/Catechumen: And with your spirit.
Priest: Let us pray: O God of our fathers, O God the Author of all truth, vouchsafe, we humbly beseech Thee, to look graciously down upon this Thy servant, N., and as he tastes this first nutriment of salt, suffer him no longer to hunger for want of heavenly food, to the end that he may be always fervent in spirit, rejoicing in hope, always serving Thy name. Lead him O Lord, we beseech Thee, to the laver of the new regeneration, that, together with Thy faithful, he may deserve to attain the everlasting rewards of Thy promises. Through Christ our Lord.
Priest: Through the same Christ our Lord.
Sponsor/Catechumen: Amen
Priest: I exorcise thee, unclean spirit, in the name of the Father + and of the Son, + and of the Holy + Ghost, that thou goest out and depart from this servant of God, N., For He commands Thee, accursed one, Who walked upon the sea, and stretched out His right hand to Peter about to sink. Therefore, accursed devil, acknowledge thy sentence, and give honor to the living and true God: give honor to Jesus Christ His Son, and to the Holy Spirit; and depart from this servant of God, N., because God and our Lord Jesus Christ hath vouchsafed to call him to His holy grace and benediction and to the font of Baptism.
Priest: And this sign of the holy Cross, which we make upon her forehead, do thou, accursed devil, never dare to violate.
Priest: Through the same Christ our Lord.
Sponsor/Catechumen: Amen
Priest: Let us pray: O Holy Lord, Father Almighty, Eternal God, Author of light and truth, I implore Thine everlasting and most just goodness upon this Thy servant N., that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to enlighten him with the light of Thy wisdom: cleanse him and sanctify him, give unto him true knowledge; that, being made worthy of the grace of Thy Baptism, he may hold firm hope, right counsel and holy doctrine.
Priest:Through Christ our Lord.
Sponsor/Catechumen: Amen.
The priest lays the end of his stole on the candidate as a symbol of his priestly authority, and admits him into the church building, which is the symbol of the Church of Christ. If the catechumen is an adult and was anointed in Part I above, he may be asked to lie prostrate before the Altar in adoration of Christ before this next step.
Priest: N., enter thou into the temple of God, that thou mayest have part with Christ unto life everlasting.
Sponsor/Catechumen: Amen.
Sponsor/Catechumen: I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into Hell. On the third day, He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence shall He come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
Sponsor/Catechumen: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation: but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Priest: I exorcise thee, every unclean spirit, in the name of God the Father + Almighty, in the name of Jesus + Christ, His Son, our Lord and Judge, and in the power of the Holy + Spirit, that thou be depart from this creature of God N, which our Lord hath deigned to call unto His holy temple, that it may be made the temple of the living God, and that the Holy Spirit may dwell therein. Through the same Christ our Lord, who shall come to judge the living and the dead, and the world by fire.
Priest: Ephpheta, that is to say, Be opened, for an odour of sweetness. Be thou, devil, begone; for the judgement of God shall draw near.
Priest: Do you renounce Satan?
Sponsor/Catechumen: I do renounce him.
Priest: And all of his works?
Sponsor/Catechumen: I do renounce him.
Priest: And all his pomps?
Sponsor/Catechumen: I do renounce him.
Priest: I annoint you + with the oil of salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord, that you may have everlasting life.
Sponsor/Catechumen: Amen.
Priest: N., do you believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth?
Sponsor/Catechumen: I do believe.
Priest: Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, Who was born and Who suffered?
Sponsor/Catechumen: I do believe.
Priest: Do you believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting?
Sponsor/Catechumen: I do believe.
Priest: N., will you be baptized?
Sponsor/Catechumen: I will.
The priest pours water over the head of the candidate three times, once after each mention of the Divine Persons. The water he uses will have been consecrated during the Easter Vigil or on the Eve of the Pentecost. As he pours the water, the priest says these words (or the words of a conditional Baptism):
Priest: I baptize you in the name of the Father + and of the Son + and of the Holy + Ghost.
Priest: May the Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath regenerated thee by water and the Holy Ghost, and who hath given thee the remission of all thy sins, may He Himself + anoint thee with the Chrism of Salvation, in the same Christ Jesus our Lord, unto life eternal.
Sponsor/Catechumen: Amen.
Priest: Peace be with you.
Sponsor/Catechumen: And with your spirit.
Priest: Receive this white garment, which mayest thou carry without stain before the judgment seat of our Lord Jesus Christ, that thou mayest have life everlasting.
Priest: Receive this burning light, and keep thy Baptism so as to be without blame: keep the commandments of God, that when the Lord shall come to the nuptials, thou mayest meet Him together with all the Saints in the heavenly court, and mayest have eternal life and live for ever and ever.
Priest: N., go in peace and the Lord be with you. Amen.
This is the most thorough and beautiful baptism post ever! So much here to learn and relearn! Congratulations!
2017-07-10 23:33:11
Thank you, Tracy! It's nearly identical (other than the photos, I copy and pasted most of the text) to my post from our last baby's baptism, but that was 5 1/2 years ago and very deeply buried in the archives! 🙂
https://showerofrosesblog.com/2012/01/baptis…
2017-07-10 23:45:52
BEAUTIFUL! I love that Captain is her godfather!! Is that your mom as godmother, or is she standing in?
2017-07-11 00:48:20
Thank you for posting this! I was not raised a Catholic and this is very interesting. The pictures are beautiful!
2017-07-11 00:54:59
Yes! My mom is her godmother! I love that my mom happened to be at her birth too! We had such a hard time choosing. We don't have enough children for all the great friends/couples we'd love to have as godparents! We didn't want to offend anyone by just choosing one of my friends and not their husband, so we asked my mom and offended my dad instead! 😉 (Not really, but he had fun teasing me about it!)
2017-07-11 01:27:11
107.77.236.153
I love Latin Rite baptism! They are so beautiful. I have been following your blog, and our daughters were born on the same day, and both had a Latin baptism. Your little girl is so precious and gorgeous. Many blessings to you!
2017-07-11 02:06:56
Just love that your son is his sister's godfather, many of our children are fortunate to have the same situation. Is your Mum her godmother??
2017-07-11 04:34:56
WHat a lovely post Jessica! Just beautiful. Congratulations on the new little miracle, the baptism, everything. SO enjoying the story of your family's welcoming the sweetest little one….. Congratulations! ~Chris
2017-07-11 19:18:48
Baptismal Grace, indeed! This post just beams Baptismal beauty and grace. I love how thoroughly and chronologically you've recorded this blessed occasion. Especially precious though, is the picture 'The Anointing With Chrism'. It could be a holy card! But my far and away favorite is the priceless 'The Imposition of Salt'! That little huggable baby!!
2017-07-11 20:01:25
Your post of Grace's Baptism is a lovely keepsake for your family history…It is so special that her Uncle came to Baptize Baby Grace. You have such a loving family. Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos. Each photo is so precious. Congratulations to your oldest son and your dear Mom for being chosen as Grace's godparents! May God continue to bless your precious baby girl.
2017-07-15 18:48:32