The Sacrament of Baptism for infants is celebrated the second and fourth Sunday of each month following the 11:30 am Mass.
Couples expecting their first child or those who have never participated in a pre-baptism program must do so in accordance with diocesan requirements.
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel offers a pre-baptism program or it may be taken at any parish within our diocese.
If you would like more information regarding Baptisms at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, please call the Parish Office at (440) 585-0700 or contact us using the form below.
What is Baptism
Baptism makes us “members of one another.” Since the time of early Christianity, Baptism has been the rite of initiation into the Christian community of the Church. In Baptism, the “one Spirit” makes us members of the Body of Christ and of “one another” (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], no. 1267). Pope John Paul II describes the result of Baptism as a “mystical unity” between Christ and his disciples, and the disciples with one another, like “branches of a single vine.” I The sacraments celebrated by the Church are signs of grace that make a deeper reality present to us. One reality we encounter through the sacraments is Christ’s presence in the Church community, his Body. This recognition of Christ’s presence in the community should lead to a stronger awareness of being sent on mission to engage in love-inspired action in the world. As Pope Benedict XVI notes in Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love), the celebration of the sacraments and the ministry of love are “inseparable.” Love in action, he says, is “an indispensable expression” of the Church’s being (no. 25). This guide focuses on the Sacrament of Baptism, the rite of initiation into the Christian community. As you read, consider the meaning of your own Baptism, your membership in the community, and the mission on which you are sent. Baptism requires us to reject sin and re-assess our values, decisions, and lifestyles.
During the Rite of Baptism, we reject sin, renouncing those beliefs, values, and choices that are opposed to Christ. We also reject sinful attitudes that degrade the dignity of others (e.g., racism, sexism, etc.) and practices that prevent other members of our human family from living in dignity (e.g., abortion, policies that hurt the poor, etc.). Baptism calls us to reject death and embrace life and dignity for all. In Baptism, we profess our commitment to the Church’s beliefs, values, and vision. At Baptism, we embrace a unique vision and set of values: those of the community of the Church, whose values prioritize love for God, self, others, and all of creation. The rest of the community also joins in the profession of faith, illustrating that the community is linked across generations, space, and time. Baptism invites us to a vocation of holiness and the practice of charity. In Baptism, we receive a “vocation to holiness,” which is “intimately connected” to our membership in the “Communion of Saints,” which strives to make present the “Kingdom of God in history.” Participation in the Communion of Saints requires a commitment to communion with Christ and “a life of charity” in “this world and in the next” (Christifideles Laici, nos. 17, 19).
