00:15How are you, dear brothers and sisters? Well, as I was saying, certainly in the original church, in the church that
00:23it was beginning,
00:25The godfather had a very high responsibility because he was the only one qualified, since everyone else was a pagan.
00:32So, he had to train the Christian. Nowadays, this training really takes place at home.
00:39In the past, godfathers spent a lot of time with their children; now, parents spend all their time with their children.
00:43That is why parents now take on this responsibility of educating their children in the faith.
00:50But, as the church has also requested, let us godparents walk together, let us walk with our godchildren and our
00:58buddies
00:58to ensure the proper development of children.
01:02Taking all this into account, the new evangelization proposed by Saint John Paul II,
01:10Second, it emphasizes that both parents and godparents should truly take their active role in the evangelization of
01:19the children.
01:20Asset.
01:24The Catechism of the Church tells us in number 1253 that baptism is the sacrament of faith,
01:31But faith needs the community of believers.
01:37Only in the faith of the church can each of the faithful believe.
01:43The faith required for baptism is not a perfect and mature faith,
01:50but a beginning that is destined to develop.
01:54The catechumen or the godfather is asked,
01:59What do you ask of God's church?
02:03And either one answers, faith.
02:07With this response, a commitment is being made to educate children and godchildren in the faith.
02:14or to continue their formation if they are a catechumen.
02:17And this is the reason why, within the marriage rite,
02:22The priest asked them publicly and formally,
02:27Are you willing to educate the children God gives you?
02:31according to the law of Christ and his church?
02:34And the answer is so important that it can be grounds for preventing marriage in the church.
02:41Since, as has been made clear, parents will be responsible for their children's education,
02:48in every sense, and especially in terms of faith.
02:53We can therefore say that the parents and godparents
02:56They take on the role of the godfather from the early days in the church.
03:01For all the above reasons, for many centuries now,
03:05to support parents in this important task,
03:08Parents are asked to choose a godparent, as in ancient times.
03:14There can be two, one for each child.
03:17who will have the same responsibility that godparents had in ancient times.
03:22That is, to accompany the child throughout his Christian journey,
03:28until, as Saint Paul says,
03:30attain the stature of the perfect man, who is Jesus Christ.
03:34This is certainly a big commitment on the part of the parents and godparents,
03:39But it is the only way a Christian can live happily.
03:45filled with God, dedicated to the service of his brothers.
03:49We have seen in previous videos how this has deteriorated,
03:54But it's perhaps because the parents and godparents,
03:57and some other external factors as well,
04:00But mainly I think it's because parents and godparents don't receive proper evangelization
04:06And then they don't know all this, so how do they communicate it?
04:10Every Christian has, or should have, only one godfather in their life
04:15that would lead him along the path of the gospel,
04:19a godfather to introduce him to the life of grace through baptism,
04:24a godfather to introduce him to the celebration of divine worship
04:28and teaches him to partake of the Lord's table,
04:32a godfather who ultimately inspires him to be a witness to God's love in the world
04:37through the sacrament of confirmation,
04:40where he will receive the sacrament through the Holy Spirit.
04:46In this way, confirmation makes him a public Christian.
04:51so that he may publicly testify to his faith in Christ
04:57and also in God our Lord.
05:01Unfortunately, we have seen it today,
05:04Parents don't look for a godfather or godmother for their child,
05:09but, well, if you are authentic with yourselves,
05:14Well, they're actually looking for a godfather, a godmother,
05:18which creates a superficial relationship with the godson.
05:23In other words, we're really just friends, not godparents.
05:27It is a serious obligation for parents.
05:30to find a godfather or godmother who is a true Christian,
05:35so that they can be an example for their godson.
05:40It's sad to see how many of the godparents
05:43They are simply the child's best friends or relatives,
05:48which are often not the best examples of Christian life for a child.
05:53Many times they don't even go to mass.
05:55They don't know what it means to live in grace.
05:59Many of them would be the perfect model
06:01of what the child should never become.
06:07It's the truth.
06:09Chosen solely out of friendship,
06:11without thinking about what this represents,
06:14what each of the godparents represents in the child's life.
06:18And on the godparents' side,
06:21It is acceptable to baptize a person
06:23without realizing it
06:24that the implications of this commitment
06:27They don't end in this world,
06:30but will accompany them even into eternity
06:34through the spiritual kinship that is created
06:37between them and their godchildren.
06:41Before I knew all this,
06:44He would accept being a godfather to anyone.
06:46Not today.
06:47Today I understand what my commitment is.
06:49And that's a lot.
06:51And I only have four godchildren,
06:54nothing else.
06:57And even these four,
06:59Well, sometimes I find it difficult to do everything.
07:02because there are many commitments.
07:05For this reason,
07:07This is a lesson
07:08which should not be done lightly,
07:11but as fruit
07:13from deep meditation and selection.
07:16The Godfather Today
07:18It must, as in ancient times,
07:21to watch over the sanctity of their godchildren.
07:24This will obviously involve
07:26to accompany him in his evangelization process,
07:28pray with him,
07:30but also pray with him.
07:32He must keep confirming the progress of faith
07:36and guiding life
07:38that it be deeply evangelical
07:41in his godson.
07:42That's why,
07:44the catechism of the church,
07:46in issue number 1311,
07:49even invites
07:50that you don't have many godfathers.
07:54The godfather at the baptism,
07:56as in ancient times,
07:57It should be
07:58the one who accompanies him
08:00in the other sacraments
08:01of Christian initiation,
08:02Eucharist and Confirmation.
08:05This is what he gives back
08:06the original meaning of the godfather
08:09and makes it truly useful.
08:11It literally says the following.
08:14For confirmation,
08:17as for baptism,
08:19It is advisable that the candidates
08:21seek spiritual help
08:22of a godfather or godmother.
08:25It should be the same
08:27that for baptism,
08:29in order to emphasize unity
08:32between the two sacraments.
08:35That's why,
08:36because we seek to have
08:38one godfather
08:40for all our sacraments
08:42which we call
08:43of Christian initiation.
08:45Good,
08:45Let's leave our reflection here.
08:47We'll continue in a moment.
08:49to see the importance
08:50from the godfather
08:51within the sacrament of baptism.
08:53Until then.
09:07Thank you!
