Lapsed Catholic from Day One.
Having her baptized was really not my idea. I was fine with having Andie go “infidel” all the way, a privilege I never got to have. But we knew that leaving her unbaptized would mean Chinese water torture from both sets of grandmothers, who would not rest until the Catholic Church had her soul in its clutches.
So we trooped to San Nicolas de Tolentino Church near Congressional Avenue to dutifully have her head sprinkled with water. We were joined by friends and some relatives. One of my friends joked that they were looking forward to seeing her baptism - if only to see me in church. Ha ha, guys.
A Catholic baptism is an interesting rite. Take one baby, one set of parents, and one set of godparents, who are ostensibly brought before God and charged with a serious responsibility for the baby’s soul. Vows are exchanged, and said responsibilities must be discharged till death. Right?
For the majority of Filipino Catholics, no such thing occurs. One baby, one set of parents, and godparents say their vows, which they may not necessarily believe in, and may not necessarily discharge. (I mean, “glamor of evil”? Satan the Prince of Darkness? Sounds like voodoo to me.)
Godparents, far from serving as paragons of Catholic living, usually show up to give presents. (I think I miscalculated - now that I think about it, the godparents I got are cheapskates.)
Andie, the child of two lapsed Catholics, is a lapsed Catholic from day one. The youngest lapsed Catholic on record, I imagine. Do we get a prize?
You already got a hypocrisy award last sunday. :p I’ll give you a Catholic bible and unconsecrated wafers.
I won’t settle for unconsecrated! I want the real stuff that “has the accident” of bread but is actually the flesh of a 2,000-year-old dude!
If Satan’s the “Prince of Darkness”, then who’s the king? I don’t think God would take credit (though evidence says otherwise). And if Jesus is the “king of kings”, why is he just a “prince” of peace?
I’m surprised you didn’t spontaneously combust during that confounded ceremony. Did you find it hard uttering your vows?
I think my skin started smoking at the point where the deacon rubbed the chrism on Andie’s forehead.
Seriously, it’s only a ritual. I’m not against the rite, only indifferent to it.