My Son Michael's Baptism Ceremony June 4, 2017
Wow... How time flies....
I was looking back my albums (90K photos and 5K videos) of my 2 boys... Omg... I had been crazily documenting everything about them. One of the memorable memories would be their baptism ceremonies.
We were staying at our old house at Pal Park then and we went to St Michael's church. That's where we got the inspirations of the names for our children (We were thinking of the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael) but we only ended up with 2 children, Michael & Gabriel.
The baptism ceremony was set for June 4, 2017 during the Sunday missal. As my first child and first baptism; I prepared a lot for it. Wanted my boy to look his best (And of course, his first suit as well) and I went online in search of all the accessories and clothing related to baptism. I found a beautiful and cute white suit, beanie, socks, silk shoes, scarf, etc. There were so many cute things you can find online!!!
Michael's Baptism Ceremony
- Date: June 4, 2017
- Church: Parish of St Michael Roman Catholic Church
- Pastor: Rev. MinHyun Cho
Michael was going to be 5 months old then. We started dressing him up and he seemed excited; like knowing that something special was going to happen that day.
All of us also decided to wear white that day, to match his outfit and also for uniformity. I guessed it will look good in pictures and videos.
It was a special arrangement where the baptism ceremony will be held in the middle of the Sunday missal. And Michael was the only one getting the baptism. Maybe he got too excited in the morning, when we arrived at the church, he had fallen asleep and was sleeping during the early part of the mass, even with all the singing and praying. I'm not complaining well at least he was not crying. There were times where he wasn't comfortable with the sound & volume in the church and we had to get out to pacify him.
The ceremony was so beautiful. We had all the parishioners joining and witnessing the baptism of our son together, to share in the joy together. It was lovely. The baptism was done with pouring water over the forehead of my son, it wasn't the full body dipping that I've seen from some other churches. In the video, when the father was blessing Michael with the oil, he had spread a lot of oil on his head, which I thought was cute. Haha...
Since it was my first child's baptism, I've read up a bit to understand about the ceremony and the meaning behind it.
A Catholic Baptism is built upon an array of core theological beliefs that make the christening ceremony of utmost importance to both the infant and the parents involved. There is an order of events that fulfill the full baptism ceremony:
- Reception of the Child - The priest greets the parents and child, hears the name of the child, and makes the sign of the cross on the child's head.
- Celebration of God's Word - The priest offers readings and prayers for the child and his or her parents and anoints the child with oil.
- Celebration of the Sacrament - The priest blesses the water, asks the parents to renounce sin, and baptizes the child with water. This is not a full immersion into water, but a sprinkling of water across the child's forehead.
- Explanatory Rites - The priest anoints the child with oil from his crown, the child is dressed in a christening gown or other white garment, and a family member or godparent will light a candle to symbolize enlightenment.
- Conclusion of the Rite - The priest says the Lord's Prayer and blesses the child.
I was thankful that my Dad & Mom were with me in the States. My husband's parents were not, and we didn't have other relatives nearby, they are all residing across different states or different countries. Hence it would be nice as I edited and put up the videos and my blogs, so that my loved ones whom were unable to attend and join in person, they could still watch the videos and listen to the stories of my sons growing up.
I'll end with a lovely quote from the bible:
"Let the little children come unto me for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these" Luke 18:16
For anyone whom is interested to understand more about baptism and guidelines for baptism in a Catholic Church, you can find out more via this link.
Love
TQ
♡ TheTravelQuintessential ♡
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