The Sacrament of Baptism

"When many of us were baptized, say a half century or so ago, the concern was to rush to have a child baptized right away to remove original sin and allow the child to receive sanctifying grace and make him or her a temple of God. Today, we have an appreciation of this sacrament as part of something larger, initiation into the Church." (Msgr. Zenz from "The Sacrament of Baptism" video)

It is with great joy that our Catholic Community of St. Mary’s of the Assumption and the Baptism Team welcomes you to our Baptism Preparation Program and we look forward to welcoming your child into the family of God through the faith filled celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism. For Catholics, the Sacrament of Baptism is the first step in a lifelong journey of commitment and discipleship. Whether we are baptized as infants or adults, Baptism is the Church's way of celebrating and enacting the embrace of God. In asking to have your child baptized you are accepting the responsibility of training him/her in the practice of faith. It will be your duty to bring your child up to keep God’s commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbors.

Our Baptism Preparation Program offers an excellent opportunity for you, the parents to renew and/or deepen your faith, strengthen your commitment to the Church, seriously reflect on the responsibilities of Christian parenting, and come to a better understanding of the Sacrament of Baptism. The purpose of this webpage and its subpage is to provide you with the necessary information and guidelines for infant baptism and the baptism preparation process. Our hope is that this preparation program will make the celebration of your child’s baptism a more meaningful experience.

See our Baptism Preparation page for more information on preparing to celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism at St. Mary's.