Catholic Baptism Preparation Program for Parents and Godparents
This paper presents a structured three-session baptism preparation program designed for parents and godparents of children to be baptized in the Catholic Church. Drawing on sacramental theology, Scripture, and the writings of Thomas Aquinas, the program covers the origins, fruits, and demands of baptism; the duties of parents as primary faith educators; and the active role of godparents as spiritual guardians. The paper also provides a detailed session plan for Session 1, including theological content, a learning environment description, guided reflection activities, and opening and closing prayers. Adult learning principles (andragogy) inform the instructional approach throughout.
- Program Overview and Adult Learning Principles: Program logistics, collaborators, and andragogy framework
- Session Goals and Outcomes: Goals and outcomes for all three sessions
- Session 1 Theology: The Sacrament of Baptism: Sacramental character and tripartite structure of baptism
- Scripture and the Mandate to Baptize: Matthew 28 exegesis and water symbolism in John
- Detailed Session 1 Plan: Welcome, prayer, catechesis, and integration activities
- Closing Prayer and Evaluation: St. Michael prayer and catechist feedback process
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What makes this paper effective
- The program integrates theological depth — including extended quotations from Aquinas's Summa Theologica — with practical session planning, making it both academically grounded and immediately applicable.
- Scripture references are not merely cited but exegeted, with attention to original Greek and Hebrew terms, demonstrating careful engagement with primary sources.
- The paper applies adult learning theory (andragogy) explicitly, showing awareness that the audience's prior experience shapes how instruction should be delivered.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates integrated source use: it weaves Aquinas, Scripture, and secondary scholarship into a coherent argument rather than simply listing citations. Each theological claim is supported by a specific article from the Summa Theologica, which models the citation-to-argument pattern expected in graduate theological writing.
Structure breakdown
The paper moves from macro to micro: it opens with program-level goals and logistics, then zooms into individual session goals and outcomes, and finally provides a fully scripted session plan for Session 1. This layered structure mirrors standard curriculum design formats — overall program rationale, unit objectives, and lesson plan — making the document useful both as an academic exercise and as a practical ministry resource.
Program Overview and Adult Learning Principles
This document outlines a baptism preparation program intended for parents and godparents of a child to be baptized in the Catholic Church. The program consists of three sessions of one hour each, held on Saturday afternoons following Mass at Felton Hall, Old St. Mary's, Cincinnati, OH. Printed materials — including prayer cards and an information booklet on baptism — will be made available to all participants.
The adult learning principles applied throughout this program are based on andragogy — the theory of adult learning — which specifies that adults learn differently from children. Adults engage in self-directed learning, are self-motivated, and bring with them experience and tacit knowledge that children do not yet possess.1 Recognizing and respecting these characteristics is essential when designing instruction for adult participants. Sessions are structured to draw on participants' existing experience with faith and sacramental life, inviting reflection rather than passive reception of information.
Session Goals and Outcomes
Session 1 aims to teach the purpose and meaning of baptism from the Catholic perspective. It focuses on the definition of the sacrament of baptism with references to Holy Scripture, the joy of baptism because it removes the stain of Original Sin, and the indelible character of baptism that marks a soul entering the Body of Christ. The three main points are: (1) the origins of baptism, (2) the fruits of baptism, and (3) the demands of baptism. By the end of this session, participants will understand that baptism is a sacrament for our healing,2 that it brings the baptized into the life of Christ by removing the stain of Original Sin, and that it initiates the baptized into the Church, which is the Body of Christ.
Session 2 aims to teach the role and duties of the parents of the baptized child. Parents are to be the primary educators and role models of the baptized child; they must raise the child in the Faith and serve as examples of Christian fidelity and virtue. 1 Timothy 4:12 states: "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." The Lausanne Occasional Paper (2004) similarly notes that "God works in and through young people. If we are to do what we see the Father doing, the church must make it a priority to draw youth into His Kingdom and train them up as disciples."3 By the end of this session, each parent will understand his or her role and duty towards the baptized child.
Session 3 aims to teach the role and duties of godparents. The godparent must pray continuously for the child and serve as a model of Christian virtue. It is good for the godparent to commit to making some sacrifice for the child.4 By the end of this session, each godparent will understand that his or her role is not passive or merely symbolic, but active and essential: the godparent is responsible for educating the child in the Faith if, for some reason, the parent is unable to do so.
Session 1 Theology: The Sacrament of Baptism
Baptism is the first among the sacraments because it is the sacrament by which the spiritual life is granted. Through baptism, one is made a member of Christ and of the Church. The effect of baptism is the remission of sin — both original and actual — including all punishment due to sin.5 The sacramental character is an indelible spiritual mark imprinted by baptism, confirmation, and holy orders. In ancient Roman religion and law, sacramentum was an oath or vow that rendered the one who swore it given over to the gods. The sacramental character of baptism represents the giving of oneself to God: first in the Faith; then later through the sacrament of confirmation as a soldier of Christ; and, if one's vocation so calls, through holy orders as a minister of His Church.
Because the sacrament is a hidden thing — a mark upon the soul — it relates to the Greek musterion (hidden thing, secret, mystery). It is not like a Roman oath or bond made in a court of law. It is, instead, a mysterious, hidden grace; and the sacrament is an outward sign of an inward grace.
In teaching Session 1, the following points will be explained in sequence:
1. The tripartite structure of a sacrament. The sacramentum tantum is the exterior sign (form and matter); the res et sacramentum is the intermediate effect and causative sign; the res tantum is the final effected grace. In baptism, the sacramentum tantum consists of washing with water and the Trinitarian formula — "I baptize you in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." The res et sacramentum is incorporation into Christ (the character of the sacrament). The grace effected is birth into the life of Christ.
2. The necessity of sacramental character. All of the sacraments "are ordained for a twofold purpose; namely, for a remedy against sins; and for the perfecting of the soul in things pertaining to the Divine worship according to the rite of the Christian life."6 The character of the three sacraments serves as a spiritual seal. As Thomas Aquinas explains: "a character is properly a kind of seal, whereby something is marked, as being ordained to some particular end: thus a coin is marked for use in exchange of goods, and soldiers are marked with a character as being deputed to military service. Now the faithful are deputed to a twofold end. First and principally to the enjoyment of glory. And for this purpose they are marked with the seal of grace according to Ezekiel 9:4: 'Mark Thou upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and mourn'; and Apocalypse 7:3: 'Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads.'"7
3. The character as participation in Christ's Priesthood. Aquinas further explains that "each of the faithful is deputed to receive, or to bestow on others, things pertaining to the worship of God. And this, properly speaking, is the purpose of the sacramental character. Now the whole rite of the Christian religion is derived from Christ's priesthood. Consequently, it is clear that the sacramental character is specially the character of Christ, to Whose character the faithful are likened by reason of the sacramental characters, which are nothing else than certain participations of Christ's Priesthood, flowing from Christ Himself."8 In baptism, the character distinguishes the soul as being born into Christ through matter and form. It is not merely a sentimental exercise; it is a real spiritual act that changes the soul and must shape the life of the person. Baptism is the most significant event in a person's life, and it is not to be taken lightly by the parents, who bear great responsibility in raising the child as a Christian.
4. The relationship between sacramental grace and character. As Aquinas explains: "Both grace and character are in the soul, but in different ways. For grace is in the soul, as a form having complete existence therein: whereas a character is in the soul, as an instrumental power. Now a complete form is in its subject according to the condition of the subject. And since the soul as long as it is a wayfarer is changeable in respect of the free-will, it results that grace is in the soul in a changeable manner. But an instrumental power follows rather the condition of the principal agent: and consequently a character exists in the soul in an indelible manner, not from any perfection of its own, but from the perfection of Christ's Priesthood, from which the character flows like an instrumental power."9
5. The presence of the Holy Spirit at baptism. The Holy Spirit is present at baptism just as the Holy Spirit was present at the baptism of Christ (Matthew 3:16). The baptized person is brought into the love between the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit. Baptism is part of the divine injunction given to the Apostles by God: "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19–20). It is important for parents and godparents to understand that God Himself is entering into the soul of the child at this moment, and that proper reverence and devotion are therefore called for.
Bibliography
Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica.
Bunge, M. J. "Christianity's Commitments to Nurturing and Protecting Children: Biblical Foundations: Children are neighbors worthy of love and respect." Child Abuse & Neglect 38, no. 4 (2014): 576–584.
Cooke, Bernard. Sacraments and Sacramentality. CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 1999.
Daly-Denton, Margaret. John, An Earth Bible Commentary: Supposing Him to Be the Gardener. New York, NY: T & T Clark, 2017.
Fanning, William. "Baptism." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. Accessed September 8, 2021.
Forrest III, Stephen Paul, and Tim O. Peterson. "It's called andragogy." Academy of Management Learning & Education 5, no. 1 (2006): 113–122.
Lausanne Occasional Paper 52: The 12/25 Challenge Reaching the Youth Generation. 2004 Forum on World Evangelization, Pattaya, Thailand.
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