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Thank you for wanting your baby to be baptised
and join the family of the church. We want to help you to carry out your
decision by giving you our support. God loves your baby, wants only
the best for this child. By asking for your baby’s baptism you will be
publicly thanking God for his gift to you.
The First Step
Baptism is the first step of your child’s
journey to God. Your faith is essential for the steps which your child
will take on this journey through life. You will be promising to bring up
your baby knowing God as a loving Father. You will need the parish family
to help you with this. That is why we, in St. Peter’s Parish, try to
show the link with the parish, and the rest of the Church, before, during
and after baptism.
Date and Time of Baptism
The normal sequence of preparation and
celebration is as follows:
- Preparation Meeting: Tuesday before 3rd
Sunday of month at 7.30 pm
- Ceremony of Welcome: 3rd Sunday of month
at 11.30 am
- Baptism Ceremony:
4th Sunday of month at 12.30 pm
Preparation Meeting
You will be invited to attend a preparation
meeting ten days before the Sunday chosen for the Baptism, at 7.30 pm in
the parish centre. The meeting is informal and aims to provide parents and
godparents (if they are able to attend) with a greater understanding of
the sacrament of baptism; it is also a good way to meet other parents in
the parish. We would ask both parents to attend and we would ask that if
possible children and babies are not brought to the meeting. The
preparation meeting lasts approximately one hour.
Baptism Team and ‘Faith Friend’
The preparation programme is organised and
provided by a team of six people in the parish who learned from a course
in Clonliffe College which is provided in other parishes. One member of
this team will visit the home of the child to be baptised. This person
will become your ‘faith friend’ and will welcome your child into the
parish, and will help you to prepare for the sacrament of baptism. The
Faith Friend will be there to help you as you accompany your child on its
first steps on the journey to Christ. What the ‘Faith Friend’ does is
a service of hospitality which has a very long history in the Christian
Church.
Ceremony of Welcome
A simple ceremony of welcome takes place on
the third Sunday of the month. Parents and children attend the 12.30 pm
Mass and the babies are officially welcomed in to the parish Christian
community. Babies also receive their first anointing.
God Parents
Choose your baby’s godparents with care.
They must share your faith and be at least 16 years old. They should be
living near enough to get to know your baby. They will be undertaking to
share with you the responsibility of handing on the faith to the child as
he/she will grow up. A distant cousin in Australia would not, then, be the
best choice !
Offering
It is usual for the parents to make an
offering to the church. We do not specify an amount but suggest that you
give a donation according to what you can afford.
For more information on baptism we recommend
reading 'Your Baby's Baptism' by Redemptorist Publications, available at
Veritas, Lr. Abbey Street, Dublin 1 or at the Parish Office. There
are also many good resources available at Veritas or other religious
bookshops.
Baptismal Register
After the baptism, the priest will add your child’s name to the
baptismal register. Your child will then be able to receive a baptismal
certificate at any future date. The information included will be taken
from below. Please note that all details given will be treated with
confidence.
If you would
like more information, please don't hesitate to contact us by phone or
e-mail.
St.
Peter’s, Phibsboro, Dublin 7.
Tel. 353 1
8389708/ Fax 353 1 8389950
email:info@
stpetersphibsboro.ie
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