Since we were having friends and family over afterwards, it was preceded by a flurry of shopping and cleaning and snapping at the big kids (seriously, how hard is it to pick up your stinkin' room?!). I lost my cool more than once over the disastrous state of the house and the kids reluctance to help. I bought a trunkful of food, and saw an entire trayful of sandwiches inexplicably slide right out of the van door when I opened it and onto the driveway. I may have taught the kids some new vocabulary - SSHH, bless him, just picked up a grass-encrusted sandwich and took a bite, and went out to buy replacement sandwiches.
And as we prepared for the baptism of our fifth child, I thought about preparing for our wedding. We were adamant - sometimes to the chagrin of our families, I think - that we wanted the focus of our wedding day to be the Mass, and not the party. We spent more hours choosing the readings than the menu and flowers. Because marriage, like baptism, is first and foremost a sacrament.
I have a friend who was raised in a Catholic family but no longer practices her faith. She was asked to be the godmother to her cousin's son. Her cousin is also no longer a practicing Catholic. And you know what I really admire? She said no. She said that it would be dishonest for her to stand up and say that she would support this child in learning the faith, and that it was dishonest of the parents to do the same thing. She told her cousin that the promises made by parents and godparents at a baptism mean something, and are to be taken absolutely seriously, and that she would not support them if they planned to use the baptism just as an opportunity to dress up the baby and take pictures. I thanked her for saying that, because even though it's not a faith she practices, she was respecting the need to take the sacrament seriously. It's not a family tradition or a pretty ceremony or photo opportunity or way to pacify insistent grandparents. It's not cute or sweet. It's a sacrament - it is self- and life-altering for the people involved. To treat a sacrament as less than that is demeaning to those who wholly believe it.
The baptisms of our children have all been joyful events, of course, but they've also been just a little bit frightening as well. Those promises made to God at a baptism are enormous, and raising a faith-filled child is a task only accomplished through patience and persistence and tears and grace. It feels like a Sisyphean task more often than not. We are so absolutely blessed to be surrounded by loving, prayerful friends and family, many of whom came yesterday to worship and celebrate with us. We are humbled by their example of God's love. And we continue to be lifted and supported by their prayers and friendship as we take on the work of keeping those promises we made yesterday.
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