Natalia's Baptism (Photos!)

Our little angel's baptism day.

Natalia was baptized at Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church on February 2^nd, 2014, on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord.  Oscar and I both liked the symbolic nature of this feast, and thought it was appropriate for us to present Natalia to the Lord on the day that we celebrate Mary and Joseph presenting the baby Jesus at the temple.  God gave us the gift of Natalia, and we wanted her baptism to reflect our returning her to the Lord, dedicating ourselves to raising her to follow Him.

We had three priests concelebrate Natalia's baptism mass.  Fr. Kevin, Fr. Frank, and a visiting priest, Fr. Pistachio.

Infant baptism is about parents' commitment to raising their child in the faith, teaching her to follow the footsteps of the Great Shepherd. As a sacrament, it is an outward sign of an inward grace.  Water that is poured over the child's head symbolizes a washing away of the old (original sin, death) and a joining with Christ to the new, divine life of God.  The paschal candle represents the light of Christ, reminiscent of John 14:16, where Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the light."  The white of the child's garment represents belonging to the community of Christ.  Anointing oil represents healing, comforting, protection, and being called by God to a special task.  In the case of anointing a newly baptized Christian, the call is to being a disciple of Christ.

Preparing Natalia in her becik, a family heirloom swaddle pillow.  Natalia's great-great-grandmother made it for her daughter's baptism.  Karolina, her mom, grandmother, an aunt and a cousin were all baptized in this becik.

We were part of the processional at the start of Mass.

Taking our seats.  Babcia & Dziadek peaking.

A candid moment on daddy's lap.

Fr. Kevin giving Natalia's baptism a personal touch.

Originally, baptism was seen as a spiritual cleansing of sorts, meant to wipe away original sin (the stain of sin we inherit from Adam and Eve) so that we may enter heaven.  At our baptismal preparation class, Father Kevin informed us that the church now sees baptism more as a welcoming into the community of Christ.  (He pointed out what we long believed – that the God we believe in is not cruel; He wouldn’t condemn an innocent baby or child to hell over not going through the ritual of baptism.) 

Anointing Natalia.

Proud and happy parents.

Handing Natalia to her Godmother, Courtney.

Watching Natalia get baptized.

Praying over Natalia.

Praying over the parents.

We couldn’t have asked for a better representation of this welcoming into community than was provided by our pastor, Father Kevin.  He had us walk up to the altar at the start of Mass with the processional, and he personalized Natalia’s baptism by mentioning that she was long awaited and prayed for by many, alluding to all of the candles that were burned on her behalf.  He kept the mood light and celebratory, fitting for welcoming a little child into the Good Shepherd’s fold.  I imagine if Jesus Himself were baptizing Natalia, the ritual would have been quite similar – joyful and uplifting.

Natalia receiving a blanket made by SFA parishoner, so she can be symbolically wrapped in the love of her church community.

Godfather Rob holding Natalia's baptismal candle, representing the light of Christ.

After Natalia was anointed with oil, baptized with water, prayed over, and gifted with a white blanket made by a parishoner volunteer, Fr. Kevin took her from her godmother, lifted her up, facing forward, and paraded her down the middle aisle and back again, announcing to the congregation their newest member.  She was greeted with hundreds of applause, and I was touched by this gesture of welcoming and inclusion.  It reminded me of the movie “The Lion King”, when the newborn lion prince, Simba, is presented to the animal kingdom as their future king.  This gesture told me that my daughter is important, that she is a vital member of our Christian community now, and that with that come both privileges and responsibilities.  In that moment, I was honored to be her mother.

Fr. Kevin surprised us by walking Natalia down the church aisle, presenting her to her church community.  She was welcomed with applause.

Natalia a la "Simba from the Lion King".

We had a small reception at the church immediately following Natalia's baptismal mass.  Fr. Frank was kind enough to rearrange some meetings and allow us to utilize the facility, even though this is not normally done.  (I know because I called the office to try to reserve a room and was told it wasn't an option.  See, there's benefits to being chummy with the friars! :) )

Oscar's mom jumped at the chance to help set up the food in time for all the guests to enjoy it.  I'm not sure what Oscar and I were thinking, not expecting there to be so much work with set up and later clean-up!  New parent exhaustion still, I guess!

Natalia's baptismal cake - delicious tres leches.

Daddy doing the honors.

Natalia on Auntie Klaudia's lap, with Babcia.

Natalia held by Babcia, with parents and Auntie Klaudia.

Natalia held by Abuela, with parents, Tia Yoli, Jade, and Tio Silder.

Is she saying "Amen"?!

Primas! (Cousins) Natalka, love the grimace!

Fussing for Tia Yoli.

I mentioned Natalia’s godparents.  For anyone unfamiliar with the practice, it is customary for Catholic parents to select one or two practicing Catholics whose job it is to support the parents in raising the child in the Christian faith. We thought long and hard about this selection.  We wanted Natalia to have the opportunity to go to adults not already committed to her via familial connections and discuss matters of faith if she ever felt the need or desire to do so.  Sometimes, we imagined she may want to talk to someone other than her parents, and we wanted her to have others whose values were similar to ours on the matter of faith, and who enjoyed discussing religion and God.

Natalia with her parents and godparents.

Natalia’s godmother, Courtney, is a long-time friend of ours. Over the nearly 11 years that we have known her, she has demonstrated her commitment to the Catholic faith by defending her often unpopular decisions to her critics.  We knew we could trust Courtney to explain the faith from a lay perspective and back it up by her own life’s example.  We also knew we would be comfortable receiving correction from her should we ever stray from the teachings of the faith when it came time to teaching Natalia how to follow the Lord.  While I have an ongoing "seeker" attitude towards our faith, waxing and waning from time to time, Courtney isn't deterred by bouts of doubt when it comes to her faith.  She trusts the teachings of the Church as representative of God's will, and we wanted someone who was unashamed of her cradle Catholic identity.

Godfather Rob getting ready for a photo op.

Natalia’s godfather, Rob, is a more recent friend of ours, whom we met at the parish where Natalia was baptized.  He is the coordinator of Franciscan Social Justice Outreach there.  We got to know him as we participated in various events and committees that he organized, including Green Faith (a church certification program focusing on the protection of the environment), Respect Life (pro-life activities including the 40 Days for Life vigils), Immigration Reform, VOICE (Volunteer Outreach in Communities Everywhere, focusing on the foreclosure crisis as one of its missions), and most recently raising awareness about Human Trafficking both globally and locally.  Rob is a Secular Franciscan, meaning he is a lay Catholic (married with kids!) who has taken vows to live a lifestyle exemplified by St. Francis of Assisi. In addition to his varied Catholic Christian and social justice endeavors, he is a recording artist, which we felt offered a unique opportunity for Natalia to have a person who thought outside the box yet remained faithful to the teachings of the Catholic church.

Oscar and I were touched to have so many people celebrate our daughter's baptism with us.  It is gatherings like these where the true meaning of community shines through. We received countless congratulatory wishes even from perfect strangers, and among the many gifts Natalia received, the best were those of time.  We are grateful to everyone who made the effort to join us and witness Natalia joining our community of faith.

"Thanks for celebrating my baptism with me!"

For some behind the scenes, photos go here.

To fast-forward to Natalia's brother Antonio's baptism, go here.