‘What do you ask of God’s church for your child?’: Preaching the Rite of Baptism

For Christina Mines, director of evangelization and catechesis for the Diocese of Hamilton in Ontario, the moment that moved her most at her children’s baptisms wasn’t where most might expect: the pouring of water, the anointing with sacred oils, the lighting of a candle. “It was when our pastor approached us in the first few moments of being in the church and asked my husband and I, ‘What do you ask for your child?’” she tells “Preach” host Ricardo da Silva, S.J. “This is the moment where we get to present our children to the church as God’s own beloved child—just like Christ was at his baptism: ‘This is my child, with whom I am well pleased.’ And it is the responsibility of the church, in that moment, to embrace and welcome and delight in that child in the same way.” That simple yet profound question opens up a world of pastoral possibilities. In this episode of Preach, Christina and Ricardo explore the opportunities and challenges of preaching for Baptism: from engaging millennial parents and practicing radical hospitality, to inviting families into the full life of the parish and into an experience of God’s love that is inclusive and without judgment. Ricardo shares how Christina’s experience connects to the Gospel often proclaimed at baptisms. “Sometimes I walk up to the child and say, ‘This is my daughter, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased,’” he says, echoing the words spoken from above when John baptizes Jesus in the Jordan. He then reminds the congregation that those same words are spoken over each and every one of us at our Baptism, and asks: “How does that change the way you approach the sacrament—your life—to know that you are loved, that you are cherished, that you are beloved, that you are chosen?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices