The Roman Catholic Baptismal Liturgy

Since the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic church has been active in promoting liturgical renewal in its parishes throughout the world. The following liturgy for baptism was written in 1969 in response to the directives of the Second Vatican Council and in light of liturgical reforms of the period.

Facing the candidate, the celebrant asks him: [Name], what do you ask of God's Church? Candidate: Faith. Celebrant: What does faith offer you? Candidate: Eternal life. Celebrant: This is eternal life: to know the true God and the one he sent, Jesus Christ. God raised him from the dead to be the Lord of life and of all things, seen and unseen. In asking for baptism today you ask for this life. You would not do so unless you had come to know Christ and wanted to be his disciple. Have you completed your preparation for becoming a Christian? Have you listened to Christ's word and made up your mind to keep his commandments? Have you shared in our way of life and in our prayer? Candidate: I have. The celebrant turns to the godparents and asks: You are this candidate's godparent. Before God, do you consider him [her] a suitable person to be received today into full communion with the Church? Godparent: I do. Celebrant: You have spoken in this candidate's [or: Name's] favor. Will you continue to help him [her] to serve Christ by your words and example? Godparent: I will. With hands joined the celebrant concludes: Let us pray. Father of love and mercy, we thank you in the name of our brother [sister] who has experienced your guiding presence in his [her] life. Today, in the presence of your Church, he [she] is answering your call to faith: let him [her] find joy and fulfillment in his [her] new life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Response: Amen. ENTRY INTO THE CHURCH The celebrant invites the candidate in these or similar words: [Name] we welcome you into the Church to share with us at the table of God's Word. Liturgy of the Word Readings and Homily Prayer and Penitential Rite Congregation: Let us pray for our brother [sister] who is asking for Christ's sacraments, and for ourselves, sinners that we are: may we all draw nearer to Christ in faith and repentance and walk without tiring in the new life he gives us. Reader: That the Lord will kindle in all of us a spirit of true repentance, let us pray to the Lord: Response: Lord, hear our prayer. Reader: That we, who have been saved by Christ and have died to sin through baptism, may witness to his grace by our manner of life, let us pray to the Lord: Response: Lord, hear our prayer. Reader: That the Lord will give our brother [sister] sorrow for his [her] sins and trust in God's love as he [she] prepares to meet Christ, his [her] Savior, let us pray to the Lord: Response: Lord, hear our prayer. Reader: That by following Christ who takes away the sin of the world our brother [sister] will be healed of the infection of sin and freed from its power, let us pray to the Lord: Response: Lord, hear our prayer. Reader: That the Holy Spirit will wash him [her] clean from sin and lead him [her] in the way of holiness, let us pray to the Lord: Response: Lord, hear our prayer. Reader: That through his burial with Christ in baptism he [she] will die to sin and live only for God, let us pray to the Lord: Response: Lord, hear our prayer. Reader: That on the day of judgment he [she] will come before the Father bearing fruits of holiness and love, let us pray to the Lord: Response: Lord, hear our prayer. Reader: That the world for which the Father gave his beloved Son may believe in his love and turn to him, let us pray to the Lord: Response: Lord, hear our prayer. Prayer of Exorcism and Anointing of the Catechumen Celebrant: Almighty God, you sent your only Son to rescue us from the slavery of sin and to give to us the freedom of your children. We now pray for our brother [sister] who comes before you, acknowledging his [her] sinfulness. He [she] has faced temptation and been tested by the evil one. By the passion and resurrection of your Son, bring him [her] out of the power of darkness. With the grace of Christ, make him [her] strong and guide him [her] through life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Response: Amen. The celebrant continues: We anoint you with the oil of salvation in the name of Christ our Savior. May he strengthen you with his power, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Response: Amen. The candidate is anointed with the oil of catechumens on the breast or on both hands or even on other parts of the body, if this seems desirable. This anointing may be omitted. CELEBRATION OF BAPTISM

Celebrant's Instruction

Celebrant: Dear friends, Let us ask God our Father to be merciful to our brother [sister] [Name] who is asking for baptism. He has called him [her] to this hour. May he grant him [her] the riches of his light and strength to follow Christ with a courageous heart and to profess the faith of the Church. May he give him [her] the new life of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit whom we are about to ask to come down upon this water.

Then the celebrant turns to the font and blesses the water: Celebrant: Father, you give us grace through sacramental signs which tells us of the wonders of your unseen power. In baptism we use your gift of water which you have made a rich symbol of the grace you give us in this sacrament. At the very dawn of creation your Spirit breathed on the waters, making them the wellspring of all holiness. The waters of the great flood you made a sign of the waters of baptism that make an end of sin and a new beginning of goodness. Through the waters of the Red Sea you led Israel out of slavery to be an image of God's holy people set free from sin by baptism. In the waters of the Jordan your Son was baptized by John and anointed with the Spirit. Your Son willed that water and blood should flow from his side as he hung upon the cross. After his resurrection he told his disciples: "?Go out and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.?" Father, look now with love upon your Church and unseal for it the fountain of baptism. By the power of the Spirit give to the water of this font the grace of your Son. You created man in your own likeness: cleanse him from sin in a new birth to innocence by water and the Spirit. The celebrant touches the water with his right hand and continues: We ask you, Father, with your Son to send the Holy Spirit upon the water of this font. May all who are buried with Christ in the death of baptism rise also with him to newness of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Response: Amen. RENUNCIATION After the font is consecrated, the celebrant questions the candidate:

Formula A:

Celebrant: Do you reject Satan and all his works and all his empty promises? Candidate: I do. Formula B: Celebrant: Do you reject Satan? Candidate: I do. Celebrant: And all his works? Candidate: I do. Celebrant: And all his empty promises? Candidate: I do. Formula C: Celebrant: Do you reject sin so as to live in the freedom of God's children? Candidate: I do. Celebrant: Do you reject the glamour of evil and refuse to be mastered by sin? Candidate: I do. Celebrant: Do you reject Satan, father of sin and prince of darkness? Candidate: I do. Commentary The most striking feature of this liturgy in light of recent liturgical reform is the fundamental unity it suggests between baptism and confirmation. The Roman Catholic church has always maintained that the sacramental acts of baptism and confirmation are distinct. Baptism is an act in which the candidate is given identity in Christ, as a partaker in Christ's death and resurrection and a recipient of Christ's benefits, including forgiveness. Confirmation is a fulfillment of baptism in which the candidate is bound to the church and given in new measure the gift of the Holy Spirit. But the practice of the church has varied significantly concerning the liturgical relationship between the two. In the Middle Ages, the two rites were separated. Confirmation was not administered until after the individual Christian, who perhaps had been baptized at a young age, declared their commitment to Christ and the church. Recent emphasis, however, has restored the fundamental unity of all the Roman rites of initiation, as was practiced in the early church. A baptized Christian need not wait to be confirmed. As one Vatican document summarizes: "?An adult is not to be baptized, unless he receives confirmation immediately afterward, provided no serious obstacles exist. The connection signifies the unity of the paschal mystery, the close relationship between the mission of the Son and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, and the joint celebration of the sacraments by which the Son and the Spirit come with the Father upon those who are baptized.?" Also significant about this liturgy are the opening questions to the candidate. As a text for adult initiation, this service emphasizes the importance of a candidate's own desire for the sacrament. The candidate is asked, "?What do you ask of God's church??" This emphasis resembles the medieval concern for personal responsibility prior to confirmation, with the difference that this interrogation now precedes baptism. The sacraments of initiation are not to be administered lightly by the church. Evidence of faith and commitment to Christ are necessary prerequisites for the completion of this final step of the conversion process. These questions are also accompanied by basic instruction as to the nature of baptism. In admirably simple and straightforward prose, the meaning of baptism is suggested: "?In asking for baptism today you ask for this life.?" Such descriptions concerning the meaning of baptism are important in reminding the entire worshiping community of the nature and meaning of baptism. All liturgical actions, gestures, and symbols can appropriately be accompanied by similarly direct descriptions of their meaning. The role of the godparent is also significant in this and other initiation rites. The godparent is a person who verifies the readiness of the candidate, assists with the symbols of the white garment and candle, and promises to serve as a spiritual mentor to the candidate. This person becomes a direct manifestation of Christ's body, the church, in the life of the candidate. This relationship between the godparent and the church is an important symbol for a rite that marks a candidate's entrance into the church. Suggestions for Appropriation Appropriate New Testament readings from the liturgy of the Word include Matthew 28:18–20; Ephesians 4:4–6; Galatians 3:27–28; 1 Peter 2:9; Romans 6:3–4; Acts 2:38; and Colossians 2:12. Appropriate Old Testament readings include those accounts of the events mentioned in the prayer at the blessing of the water, including the account of the Creation, the Flood, and the crossing of the Red Sea. Worship planners may wish to consult Who Calls You By Name: Music for Christian Initiation (volumes 1 and 2) by David Haas (GIA Publications) and other similar sources for liturgical music appropriate for the baptismal service. At the profession of faith, some parishes may wish to have the candidates speak the words of the creed. The celebrant would ask, "?What do you believe concerning God, the Father.?" The candidate would respond, "?I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.?" This pattern would continue for each of the creed's three sections.