FORMATION AND SACRAMENTAL PREPARATION
Thinking about Godparents
Having made the decision to bring your child to the Church for the Sacrament of Baptism, you are now faced with another decision, the choice of your child's godparents.
In recent years, and in many instances, the role of the godparent has been distorted and the choice of people to fill this role has been made for reasons other than those which should dictate the choice. Only too often, we approach someone to be a godparent to satisfy a social relationship, to say "thank you" for past favors, because they expect to be asked, or for material benefits which may be forthcoming for the child. At the risk of hurting someone's feelings we should make our choice of godparent with the following in mind:
Inviting someone to be a godparent implies the following:
- A request by the parents for the assistance of the Christian community in general and the individual godparents in particular in raising their child in the Catholic faith;
- An admission by the parents of their awareness that they need this assistance;
- An affirmation of the faith of the individuals invited to be godparents and a challenge to them to witness their faith;
- A statement by the parents that they want their child to be positively influenced by the faith and lives of the people they have invited;
- A reminder to the entire community that it has a shared responsibility to support each of its members.
We suggest the following guidelines in making your choice of people to invite to be godparents:
- The person(s) chosen must be mature enough to carry out the responsibility of godparents.
- The person must be one of strong living faith, which they practice regularly by attending Sunday Eucharist. They are not required to be a "paragon of virtue" but rather an ordinary good Catholic person who gives witness to his/her own commitment to Gospel values.
- The person must be willing to profess his or her faith with the parents immediately prior to the actual pouring of baptismal water and should have no reservations about doing so.
- The person must have received all three sacraments of initiation, namely, Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist.
- The person must be willing, in whatever way she/he can, to actively cooperate with the parents in helping to bring the child up as a Christian.
For obvious reasons, only a member of the Catholic Church (or Eastern Orthodox community) may be a godparent. However, a member of a non-Catholic Christian Community may serve as a Christian Witness. The godparent must profess the faith in which the child is to be raised and members of non-Catholic churches, although good Christians, cannot be expected to rear another in the Roman Catholic faith. The child must have at least one Roman Catholic godparent.
Unlike the old rite of baptism, which required the godparents to answer for the child in renunciation of Satan and profession of faith in Christ, the rite currently in use reflects the reality of the situation more accurately in asking the parents and godparents to renew their own rejection of evil and acceptance of Jesus that they may offer these to nurture the faith in/of the growing child from the seeds planted at Baptism.
In reflection upon the responsibilities of godparent hood, it comes apparent that what is asked of the godparent is really the mission of each of us as Christians to nurture the faith and reach out to others in love throughout our lives.