A Theology of Christian Initiation for Sacramental Preparation​

What theology from the liturgical rites would help parents preparing their children for baptism as infants and then for confirmation and first communion?

When parents present their infants for baptism and their children for the completion of Christian initiation, many parishes are challenged by the reality they experience:

Sacramental celebrations are sometimes approached more as a cultural milestone than a moment in ongoing faith formation that unites us with Christ and with each other. It can be more a process of certification than incorporation. Parents and caregivers who desire for their children to be baptised often have little ongoing involvement in the life of the parish (Plenary Council, 2022, 5:7).

Could more be done to break this cycle and create stronger bonds with Christ, the Christian community and its mission? What theology is inherent in our liturgical rites which could underpin a more fruitful engagement?

The preparation of parents for the initiation of their children is key to their fruitful involvement in the rituals. The parents of a child who is to be baptised, and those who are to undertake the office of sponsors, are to be suitably instructed on the meaning of this sacrament and the obligations attaching to it. The parish priest is to see to it that either he or others duly prepare the parents, by means of pastoral advice and indeed by prayer together (CCL 851.1). What is said here about baptism applies equally to the completion of initiation in confirmation and first communion. Sacramental preparation provides support for both parents and children to become full, conscious and active missionary disciples.

What forms the basis of this preparation? The liturgy. Lex orandi, lex credendi (what we pray is what we believe). The words and actions of the liturgical rites carry the theology of initiation, so these are the obvious starting point. Parents need a convincing theological explanation to carry them forward if they are to provide an honest Yes to the question, Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?

Baptism as Entry to Initiation

Baptism is not just something to ‘get done’; it is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit, and the door which gives access to the other sacraments (CCC 1213).

At the conclusion of the celebration of baptism for children, the infants are carried to the altar where the Lord’s Prayer is said, looking forward to the children’s first communion. It is introduced with reference to confirmation when they will receive the fullness of God’s Spirit, and to holy communion when they will share the banquet of Christ’s sacrifice, calling God their Father in the midst of the Church (RB 68). These words from the rite clearly take the three sacraments of Christian initiation as a whole and indicate that Baptism is not an isolated event.

The idea of ‘initiation’ implies that it is not just an individual matter between the person and God – it is an ecclesial event. It is about becoming a part of the Church, the Body of Christ. We see the same understanding resurface in the suggested intercessions given in the rite: By the mystery of your death and resurrection, bathe these children in light, give them the new life of baptism, welcome them into your holy Church. … Through baptism and confirmation, make them your faithful followers and witnesses to your gospel (RB 47).

On 9 May 2018, Pope Francis reinforced these themes in his teaching on baptism: Incorporated in Christ through baptism, the baptised are thus conformed to him… Through the action of the Holy Spirit, baptism purifies, sanctifies, justifies, to form in Christ, of many, one single body (1 Cor 6:11-13). The chrismal anointing signifies the royal priesthood of the baptised and their enrolment into the company of the people of God.

By enabling parents to see baptism as the beginning of their child’s initiation, we are preparing them to face the time when this will be brought to completion as the child reaches ‘catechetical age’. It seems clear that families would have a greater readiness to engage in the completion of initiation if they understood in the first place their ongoing responsibility at the time their child was baptised.

Belonging and Naming

Let us elaborate the idea of ‘belonging’. The community of faith prays Our Father because the members are sisters and brothers with Christ and with one another. The word ‘our’ expresses that, once we are baptised, we are never alone. When we complete our initiation, we partake fully within that family around the table of the Eucharist and are nourished to live together as members of the Church on mission.

Belonging is emphasised at the beginning of the rite. What name have you given your child? This opening question in the rite may seem irrelevant because the child’s name has usually been shared already. But the question establishes for the child an identity within the Christian community. A newborn receives a legal identity with registration at birth; this provides them with rights and responsibilities as a citizen. Naming those to be baptised in the Christian community is part of incorporating them as members of the Body of Christ, conferring upon them a Christian dignity. The name is repeated throughout the rite. That same baptismal name will be used whenever the child is presented for a sacrament. (As an aside, there is no such thing in the liturgical books as a ‘confirmation name’; this above all is a time to honour a person’s baptismal status in the Church.) As we pray the Litany of the Saints we call on them by name to pray for us. If the child has a saint’s name, this can well be included.

Receiving the Sign of the Cross for the first time, the child is welcomed by name: [Mary], the Church of God welcomes you with great joy. In its name, I claim you for Christ our Saviour by the sign of his cross. These words express what is soon to be ritualised with water – being incorporated into Christ and therefore into the community of the Church, the Body of Christ. In the past the power of baptism to wash away (original) sin was given the greater emphasis, with less attention given to becoming a member of the Church and belonging of Christ. In the current rite, the balance has shifted.

The welcome into the Church presumes that at least some members of the wider parish community will be present at the celebration so that the words ‘the Church welcomes you’ are tangibly experienced. This will be a great support for those who are struggling to know that they are no longer alone on their child’s journey of faith. The Christian community should be interested in the sacramental initiation of its young members and stand ready to help them. How often do we see the parish community driving off after Sunday Mass while the car park fills again with families and friends coming for baptism? This seems to be a counter-sign to the words spoken in the liturgy. This becomes even more apparent at confirmation and first communion Masses when parishioners deliberately choose another Mass time so that they avoid the crowds and are not there too long. And then, these same people wonder why the newly-initiated do not come back.

It is true that the sacramental team is drawn from and represents the parish, but is it sufficient to have this group take the place of the parish? There is a double witnessing – of the parents knowing they are becoming part of this wonderful Body of Christ, and of the members of the parish who experience their own call to be the living Body of Christ and draw new members into it.

This is why the introduction to The Rite of Baptism for Children encourages the celebration of infant baptism at Sunday Mass. On Sunday, baptism may be celebrated even during Mass, so that the entire community may be present and the necessary relationship between baptism and Eucharist may be clearly seen (RB 9). The liturgical book does recognise the pastoral dilemma, however, because it adds that this should not be done too often. This is an area of pastoral exploration – how do we create a community dimension for the rite without total minimalism.

The Paschal Mystery

The liturgy also speaks of ways in which the paschal character is recognised, by celebrating it either during the Easter Vigil or on Sunday ‘when the Church commemorates the Lord’s resurrection’. How often is this reason explained to parents? The lighting of the Paschal candle during the ceremony does make this link. This candle was dipped into the water of the font at the Easter vigil, breaking open the waters of new life in Christ’s death and resurrection. Light from this candle is entrusted to the family of the newly baptised to be kept burning brightly since the child has been enlightened by Christ and is to walk always as a child of the light. The Easter fire, which burned in the dark as a sign that light overcomes darkness, that life is stronger than death, this light is handed on to the newly baptised. Thus they will be ready to meet the risen Lord when he comes with all the saints at the end of their earthly journey.

The engagement with the Paschal Mystery is enshrined in the proclamation of the Scripture readings and supported by silent reflection, a homily and the intercessions; this pattern which appears in almost every ritual of the Church is included in the baptism of infants. The Liturgy of the Word of God is foundational in the liturgy because it is directed toward stirring up the faith of the parents, godparents and congregation (RB 17), since it is they who will accompany the child as they grow into a warm and living love for the scriptures (SC 24).

The anointing with the oil of chrism names what has just happened in the water. The child is aligned with Christ (literally, ‘the Anointed One). Freed from sin, given a new birth by water and welcomed into God’s holy people, the anointing conforms the new Christian to Christ and makes them share in his mission to witness to the Kingdom of God. When this oil of chrism is consecrated by the bishop at Easter, he prays that it will be a sign and source of God’s blessing: By [Christ’s] suffering, dying and rising to life, he saved the human race. He sent your Spirit to fill the Church with every gift needed to complete your saving work… Through the sign of holy Chrism, you dispense your life and love to all. By uniting them with the Spirit, you strengthen all who have been reborn in baptism. Through that anointing, you transform them into the likeness of Christ your Son and give them a share in his royal, priestly and prophetic work.

This powerful prayer of consecration is held within the oil and the words which constitute the anointing of the newly baptised. The oil is used again in the sacrament of confirmation when the gift of the Holy Spirit is sealed. The child has become a new creation, clothed in Christ and is named again as they receive the white garment as an outward sign of this new dignity.

The Christian Life

The sacraments of Christian initiation – baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist – lay the foundations of every Christian life…… The faithful are born anew by baptism, strengthened by the sacrament of confirmation, and receive in the Eucharist the food of eternal life (CCC 1212). If parents, and parishioners as well, were deeply formed in their understanding of the integral flow of the sacraments of initiation, it would help them realise how they are related to Christ and help them know what following Christ demands of them in their life as Christians.

Parents may then be able to hear these words of Pope Francis on 18 May 2018 when he encouraged them to be on mission to their own children:

This is indeed the Christian vocation: ‘Walk always as children of the light and keep the flame of faith alive in your hearts’… It is the duty of the parents, together with the godparents, to take care to nurture the flame of baptismal grace in their little ones, helping them persevere in the faith. Children have the right to Christian formation, which ‘seeks to lead them gradually to learn God’s plan in Christ, so that they may ultimately accept for themselves the faith in which they have been baptised’ (RB 3).

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This article was originally published in Liturgy News ​Vol 53(3) September 2023. Reprinted with permission.