The celebrant greets all present, and especially the parents and godparents, reminding them briefly of the joy with which the parents welcomed the child as a gift from God, the source of life, who now wishes to bestow life on this little one. 

First the celebrant questions the parents:
Celebrant:  What name do you give your child?

Celebrant:  What do you ask of Gods church for N..?
Parents:      Baptism.

Celebrant:  You have asked to have your child baptised.  In doing so you are accepting the responsibility of training him (her) in the practise of the faith.  It will be your duty to bring him (her) up to keep God’s commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbour.  Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?
Parents:     We do.

Then the Celebrant turns to the godparents and addresses them in these or similar words:
Celebrant:  Are you ready to help the parents of this child in their duty as Christian parents?
Godparents:   We are.

Celebrant:  N., the Christian community welcomes you with great joy.  In its name I claim you for Christ our Saviour by the sign of the cross.  I now trace the cross on your forehead, and invite your parents (and godparents) to do the same. 

The celebrant traces the Sign of the Cross on the forehead of the one being baptized. This recalls Christ’s saving death and the redemption it brought. Baptism is a Sacrament of salvation.

Proclaiming the Word of God in the midst of the community sheds divine light on the celebration and is meant to build the faith of all the participants. One of the traditional names for Baptism is “Illumination.” The Holy Spirit fills the heart and mind with the light of revealed truth and enables the response of faith.

Following the Readings, the presider may give a short explination of Baptism.

The guiding those gathered in prayer for the one to be baptized, their parents and God parents and all the baptized. 

Baptism liberates us from sin. An exorcism prayer is recited over the one being baptized, preparing the person to renounce sin and be released from evil. The celebrant anoints the person to be baptized with the Oil of Catechumens (an oil that has been blessed by the bishop for the candidates for Baptism) or imposes hands on the person. In this way, the person is being called to renounce sin and to leave behind the domination of the power of evil.

This anointing is under the chin.

Baptismal water is blessed at the Easter Vigil. Outside the Easter Season, the water used for Baptism can also be blessed at each celebration of the Sacrament. The blessing prayer asks the Father “that through his Son the power of the Holy Spirit may be sent upon the water, so that those who will be baptized may be ‘born of water and the Spirit’” (CCC, no. 1238).

Those being baptized are asked to reject sin and Satan, and to profess their faith in the Triune God.

In the case of infants, parents, godparents, and the entire community present for the liturgy do this on behalf of those who cannot yet speak for themselves.

The minister will say:
Dear parents and godparents: You have come here to present this child for baptism.  By water and the Holy Spirit he (she) is to receive the gift of new life from God, who is love.  On your part, you must make it your constant care to bring him (her) up in the faith. See that the divine life which God gives him (her) is kept safe from poison of sin, to grow always stronger in his (her) heart.  If your faith makes you ready to accept this responsibility, renew now the vows of your baptism.  Reject sin; profess your faith in Christ Jesus.  This is the faith of the Church.  This is the faith in which this child is about to be baptised.

The celebrant questions the parents and godparents.
Celebrant:    Do you reject Satan?
Parents & Godparents:  I do.

Celebrant:    And all his works?
Parents & Godparents:  I do.

Celebrant:    And all his empty promises?
Parents & Godparents:  I do.

Next the celebrant asks for the threefold profession of faith from the parents and godparents, and all gathered.
Celebrant:    Do you believe in the God the Father, almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
All:  I do.

Celebrant:    Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?
All:  I do.

Celebrant:   Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?
All:  I do.

Celebrant:   This is our faith.  This is the faith of the Church, we are proud to profess it, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
All:  Amen.

The bishop, priest, or deacon either pours water three times on the person’s head or immerses the candidate in water three times.

In the Latin Church, he accompanies the act with the words, “[Name], I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

The celebrant matches each pouring or immersion with the invocation of each of the Divine Persons. The ritual of immersion or washing helps us understand that our sins are buried and washed away as we die with Jesus, and we are filled with divine light and life as we rise from immersion in the water or are cleansed by the pouring.

With regard to infants, in the Latin Church, the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist are received at a later time after Baptism. 

The celebrant anoints the newly baptized with the sacred Chrism (a perfumed oil signifying the gift of the Holy Spirit) on the crown of the head, so that united with God’s people the person may remain forever a member of Christ, who is Priest, Prophet, and King. 

God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin, given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and welcomed you into his holy people. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as members of his body, sharing everlasting life.

 

Following the Anointing with Chrism, the minister of Baptism presents the newly baptized with a white garment and a candle.

The white garment shows that the newly baptized have put on Christ and have risen with him. To be clothed in the baptismal white garment is to be clothed in Christ’s protective love. Included in this ceremony is the admonition to keep the garment unstained by sin. The Book of Revelation describes the significance of the white robe: “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7:14).

The candle is lit from the Paschal Candle, which represents the Risen Christ. The lighted candle reminds the newly baptized of the light of Christ they have received. It also reminds us that all those baptized in Christ are to be lights for the world.

These two symbols used at Baptism appear again in the Latin Church’s funeral liturgy in the forms of the white pall covering the casket and the lighted Paschal Candle, which ordinarily stands near the casket. This is to remind us that the salvation and new life promised at Baptism can now be experienced fully by the one who has gone to God.