forestgate@brcdt.org
0208 472 0433
BAPTISM AT ST ANTONY'S
Parents who wish to have their children baptised at St Antony’s must attend our regular Baptismal Preparation Courses. The dates of these as they occur will be given in our newsletter or you may enquire of the parish office. Please bring a copy of your own and your Godparent’s Baptismal Certificates, which should include details of their Confirmation. An application form can be downloaded from this page – see the button on the left.
Parents of infants and/or young children may enter the programme which is held in our St Francis Hall. Godparents are also welcome and encouraged to attend. More information is available from the parish office or from Fr John on forestgate@dioceseofbrentwood.org
THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
The Sacrament of Baptism is often called “The door of the Church,” because it is the first of the seven sacraments not only in time (since most Catholics receive it as infants) but in priority, since the reception of the other sacraments depends on it. It is the first of the three Sacraments of Initiation, the other two being the Sacrament of Confirmation and the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Once baptized, a person becomes a member of the Church. Traditionally, the rite (or ceremony) of baptism was held outside the doors of the main part of the church, to signify this fact.
THE NECESSITY OF BAPTISM
Christ himself ordered his disciples to preach the Gospel to all nations and to baptize those who accept the message of the Gospel. In his encounter with Nicodemus (John 3:1 -21), Christ made it clear that baptism was necessary for salvation: “Amen, Amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” For Catholics, the sacrament is not a mere formality; it is the very mark of a Christian, because it brings us into new life in Christ.