By Liesl
I was holding Robert, my youngest baby cousin, for the first time when my aunt and uncle asked me to be his godmother.
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| Close from a young age! |
Of course I said yes!
Robert responded by spitting up all over my shirt.
Apparently he agreed with his parents' choice... I had been chosen.
That
was almost 9 years ago, and at the time, I didn't realize what an
important role I was taking on. It wasn't until a few years later, when I
started to grow deeper into my Catholic faith, that I realized what a big deal it is to be someone's godmother.
Think about it for a minute.
During the Rite of Baptism, the priest (or deacon) asks the godparents:
Are you ready to help the parents of this child in their duty as Christian parents?
We respond (hopefully) with "We do."
The priest later says:
Dear parents and godparents: You have come here to present this child for baptism. By water and the Holy Spirit he (she) is to receive the gift of new life from God, who is love.
On your part, you must make it your constant care to bring him (her) up in the practice of the faith. See that the divine life which God gives him (her) is kept safe from the poison of sin, to grow always stronger in his (her) heart.
If your faith makes you ready to accept this responsibility, renew now the vows of your own baptism. Reject sin; profess your faith in Christ Jesus. This is the faith of the Church. This is the faith in which this child is about to be baptized.
... and later after the lighting of the Baptismal candle:
Parents and godparents, this light is entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly. This child of yours has been enlightened by Christ. He (she) is to walk always as a child of the light. May he (she) keep the flame of faith alive in his (her) heart. When the Lord comes, may he (she) go out to meet him with all the saints in the heavenly kingdom.
Help the parents. Constant care. Responsibility. Entrusted to you.
The faith and soul of a little child of God is entrusted to you!
Thankfully,
as Robert has grown, I've learned more about what it really means to be
a godparent. Here are some of the top things I've discovered:
Make your own spiritual life a priority
Your
number one job as a godparent is to be a role model in the faith for
your godchild, and you can't do that unless you make your faith life a
top priority. This means you have to walk the walk and talk the talk. If
you are going to be encouraging your godchild to attend Mass, you
better be attending Mass too. If you're going to help teach your
godchild to pray the rosary, he better see you with a rosary in your
hand from time to time. Especially when your godchild is young, him
seeing you living the faith leaves a huge impression that will last the
rest of his life.
Live your faith life fruitfully
The Rite of Baptism also includes a prayer to "Make the lives of his (her) parents and godparents examples of faith to inspire this child."
While making your own spiritual life a priority is good, you have to be sure that you are living that faith life fruitfully.
If your godchild sees you going to Mass, but hating it, then that
doesn’t leave a very good impression on his young and impressionable
heart. It's important that your godchild sees you living a life of faith
because you want to, not because you have to. Remember that the fruits
you bear from your faith life no longer benefit only your soul, but also
the soul of the child you promised to help raise in the faith.
Be present both physically and spiritually
Spending
time with your godchild helps build trust so that if there ever comes a
day when he needs advice or has questions about the faith, he feels
comfortable coming to talk to you. I was lucky enough during college to
spend a summer living down the street from my godson. I wouldn't trade
that summer for anything, because even though he was young, the time we
spent together helped build our relationship.
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| Robert's First Communion |
Sadly,
after college, I moved hundreds of miles away from my godson. While
it's more difficult to be physically present, I make a point to be there
for him for the "big" life events. I even made a special trip to be
there with him for his First Communion, and he was so excited to have me
there.
Since
I can't be physically present as often as I would like, I make special
effort to be spiritually present as well. One way that I do this is to
send my godson little "I love you" notes and gifts in the mail from time
to time - prayer cards, saint medals, etc. He knows then that I am
thinking about him, even though I am far away.
And on that note...
Give good gifts
I
know... I went from giving spiritual advice to talking about presents,
but stay with me here! Gifts can say a lot, especially to a child, and
they can also be a great way to introduce your godchild to different
aspects of the faith at a very young age.
For
me, I've made a point to make sure that every gift I give Robert
includes something Catholic... but I also work hard to find good Catholic
gifts. Nothing is more boring to an 8 year old boy than an old lady
prayer manual, for example, so it's important to find things that your
godchild will be excited about. For his First Communion, I bought him a comic book Bible.
When he opened it up, he exclaimed with his hands in the air, "A COMIC
BOOK BIBLE?!?! FINALLY A BETTER BIBLE HAS BEEN MADE!!!!"
As
he grows older, he will outgrow clothes and toys, but hopefully he will
never grow out of the excitement he has for being Catholic.
Pray for your godchild...
Pray
for his daily life. Pray for any struggles or fears he shares with you,
even if they seem trivial. Pray for your relationship with your
godchild. Pray for his future vocation. Pray for his faith to continue
to grow, and for him to grow in love for Christ and the Eucharist.
Prayers go a long way!
...and ask your godchild to pray for you.
Jesus
said, “Let the little children come to me…” I honestly believe that
nothing is as strong as the prayers of a child. How could Jesus and Mary
ignore the heartfelt pleas of a young heart?! So ask your godchild to
pray for you and your intentions. I recently asked my godson to pray for
a special intention for me every night before he goes to bed, and I
trust that someday I will see so many fruits thanks to him joining my
prayer army. Even more, asking your godchild to pray for you also
encourages him to make prayer a part of his daily routine, which
will subtly help him grow to have an active prayer life.
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| Teaching him how to drive at the ripe old age of 7! |
Not
only have I learned that being a godparent is a big deal, but I've
found even more that being a godparent is hilariously fun, rewarding,
helpful at fostering my own faith growth, and a great learning
experience for passing on the faith to our youth.
Are you blessed to be a godparent? What are some of the greatest things you've learned along the way?
Liesl is a 20-something Catholic who blogs at The Spiritual Workout
and is one of the Bright Maidens. She has B.S. and M.S. degrees in
Chemistry, and her day job includes a combination of chemistry, law, and
writing for the federal government. In her free time, she enjoys baking
chocolate things, being a thrift-aholic, stalking the saints, singing
about being 16 going on 17, and making people laugh.
Thank you for hosting me!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this! I'm a new godparent just recently so am glad for the suggestions. Our kids' godparents have been lovely about most of these, and I'm touched by their attention. Raising kids is hard--we all need all the support we can get!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on being a godparent :) It's a very fun and rewarding experience!
DeleteThis post is parent approved. You are a great godmother.
ReplyDelete:)
Delete