Catholicism Going on the Defensive?
Surrounded by the elated parents, godparents, friends, and relatives, the priest in charge of the baptismal ceremony simply cannot hide his dismay throughout the whole fiasco. Standing awkwardly to the side while the adults continue to take their turns having their pictures taken while cuddling the baby to be baptized, he calmly hid his annoyance at the continued delay to the ceremony that should have started almost have an hour ago. the author, even as a devote atheist doubting the very meaning of organized religion, felt embarrassed by the lack of respect in a supposedly sacred occasion.
Slowly, the commotion died down, and the priest finally and belatedly began the ceremony. Interestingly enough, instead of jumping directly to the main course and get the whole thing over with, he started with a brief lecture on the meaning of the ceremony. "You know, the most important day of the Christian calendar is Easter Sunday, when we experience the rebirth of ourselves into the Christian world, rather than say Christmas," he remarked genuinely, albeit laced with a decent tinge of cynicism that he undoubtedly hoped would make the materialistic adults standing in front of him grimace a bit.
"The birth into the Christian world, in other words, the baptism, is much more important than the actual birthday," he continued his moralistic lecture to the crowd of maybe two dozen in attendance. And finally for the killer: "I am glad the family named the child after a Biblical figure at least, rather than some contemporary celebrity." Just to cap the whole rant, the priest decided to make the whole audience stand up and answer after him. "Do you denounce Stan the Prince of Darkness?" "Do you accept Jesus as your Savior?" "Yes," so the crowd gave the almost procedural halfhearted answer.
It really cannot get any harsher than that when the priest decide to use a baptismal ceremony as his personal platform for social commentary, denouncing the lack of religiosity among the contemporary Filipino youth even as they step into supposedly responsible roles of first-time parents. Given a cold-treat from the moment he stepped into the baptismal room, the priest had to be somehow convinced that this crop of young adults, themselves devoid of any form of visible piety in their daily lives, cannot possibly educate a next generation with the right Catholic values.
As the author witnessed the lonely priest walking out of the baptismal room with a crowd going back to their laughter and commotions of picture-taking with the now-baptized baby, he felt a strange sense of resonance with the priest's words and strong sympathy for the uphill and possibly losing battle that he is trying to fight with what can only be assumed as a significant number of people whose children's baptisms he presided over. It is as if many Filipino values, including that of sheer communal spirit, seem to hitch themselves upon a Catholic institution but in essence, run directly contrary to it.
And indeed, as he probably fears, the aftermath of the ceremony also has nothing remotely sacred in nature. A six-course meal of beef, pork, chicken, and shrimp at a nearby restaurant awaited the participants of the ceremony and many others who did not even bothered to show their faces at the church. Under the sign of "Welcome to the Christian world!" was a speaker that blasted your regular repertoire of English hip-hop, many of which with lyrics not appropriate for this occasion, or any occasion with small kids in attendance.
Amid all the merrymaking, the author has come to conclude, after his first experience at participating in a baptismal, that the ceremony itself, for better or worse, is not for the baby but for the adults. Beyond the symbolic, the baby will not be changed by having water poured over him. But it is different for the parents and the godparents. From the moment forward, they are supposed to have the church's blessing in carrying out their religious, not just civic, duties as the bearers of responsibility for growth and well-being of the baptized subject. It is a ceremony of welcoming for them into a new social role.
But by their behavior, are they really ready? Both the priest and the author have their healthy levels of doubts. Of course, we do have cause for optimism as well to go along with the concerns. After all, bringing a baby into the world (both physical and religious) is hopefully, an informed decision made through consensus of multiple parties (parents, grandparents in particular) and the responsibilities are inescapable (unlike, for instance, a job). Given such reality, the parents should, gradually if needed be, come to understand and agree with the wisdom of the dismayed priest.
Slowly, the commotion died down, and the priest finally and belatedly began the ceremony. Interestingly enough, instead of jumping directly to the main course and get the whole thing over with, he started with a brief lecture on the meaning of the ceremony. "You know, the most important day of the Christian calendar is Easter Sunday, when we experience the rebirth of ourselves into the Christian world, rather than say Christmas," he remarked genuinely, albeit laced with a decent tinge of cynicism that he undoubtedly hoped would make the materialistic adults standing in front of him grimace a bit.
"The birth into the Christian world, in other words, the baptism, is much more important than the actual birthday," he continued his moralistic lecture to the crowd of maybe two dozen in attendance. And finally for the killer: "I am glad the family named the child after a Biblical figure at least, rather than some contemporary celebrity." Just to cap the whole rant, the priest decided to make the whole audience stand up and answer after him. "Do you denounce Stan the Prince of Darkness?" "Do you accept Jesus as your Savior?" "Yes," so the crowd gave the almost procedural halfhearted answer.
It really cannot get any harsher than that when the priest decide to use a baptismal ceremony as his personal platform for social commentary, denouncing the lack of religiosity among the contemporary Filipino youth even as they step into supposedly responsible roles of first-time parents. Given a cold-treat from the moment he stepped into the baptismal room, the priest had to be somehow convinced that this crop of young adults, themselves devoid of any form of visible piety in their daily lives, cannot possibly educate a next generation with the right Catholic values.
As the author witnessed the lonely priest walking out of the baptismal room with a crowd going back to their laughter and commotions of picture-taking with the now-baptized baby, he felt a strange sense of resonance with the priest's words and strong sympathy for the uphill and possibly losing battle that he is trying to fight with what can only be assumed as a significant number of people whose children's baptisms he presided over. It is as if many Filipino values, including that of sheer communal spirit, seem to hitch themselves upon a Catholic institution but in essence, run directly contrary to it.
And indeed, as he probably fears, the aftermath of the ceremony also has nothing remotely sacred in nature. A six-course meal of beef, pork, chicken, and shrimp at a nearby restaurant awaited the participants of the ceremony and many others who did not even bothered to show their faces at the church. Under the sign of "Welcome to the Christian world!" was a speaker that blasted your regular repertoire of English hip-hop, many of which with lyrics not appropriate for this occasion, or any occasion with small kids in attendance.
Amid all the merrymaking, the author has come to conclude, after his first experience at participating in a baptismal, that the ceremony itself, for better or worse, is not for the baby but for the adults. Beyond the symbolic, the baby will not be changed by having water poured over him. But it is different for the parents and the godparents. From the moment forward, they are supposed to have the church's blessing in carrying out their religious, not just civic, duties as the bearers of responsibility for growth and well-being of the baptized subject. It is a ceremony of welcoming for them into a new social role.
But by their behavior, are they really ready? Both the priest and the author have their healthy levels of doubts. Of course, we do have cause for optimism as well to go along with the concerns. After all, bringing a baby into the world (both physical and religious) is hopefully, an informed decision made through consensus of multiple parties (parents, grandparents in particular) and the responsibilities are inescapable (unlike, for instance, a job). Given such reality, the parents should, gradually if needed be, come to understand and agree with the wisdom of the dismayed priest.
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