Quote:
Originally posted by MTSUGURL
Can someone explain a Catholic christening to me?
My nephew was christened in a Catholic church, and his mother was nonpracticing and his father thinks he's Catholic... (He goes to Mass on Easter and Christmas, but he grew up Baptist and was baptized in a Baptist church.) I've never understood what his being christened means. What would it mean for him to be confirmed?
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Rudey
Isn't christening the same thing as baptizing? They both involve water right?
-Rudey
|
adduncan or Beryana can probably explain this much better than me, but I'll take a stab at it. Being baptized (we don't really call it christened, at least around here) is basically when the parents and godparents affirm that they will raise this child Catholic and it enters into the Catholic faith. At this point, the decision is being made for little Jose. Later in his life, he'll go through other sacraments: Reconciliation (Confession) and First Eucharist (first communion). After that, generally around age 17, Jose makes the choice to be confirmed for himself, at which point he's considered an adult in the Church. It's sort of like being bat/bar mitzvahed only much less work. Lots of people are baptized Catholic but never get confirmed.