Do you know...the meaning of a godparent nowadays?

This past weekend, I joined the ranks of many and became the godmother.  I cannot tell you how much I love this little boy of mine. He is so precious!  I cannot stop thinking of him and keep thinking to myself, seriously how I sinner on my own be help another soul to heaven.  While standing watching this little baby became a child of God, my heart leaped with joy and I was so excited to suddenly help his parents pray and teach him about the love of God.

So I started thinking, where did all this come from, the tradition of godparents.  So I did myself a little research.

In the early Christian church, BAPTISM was only intended for adults. Their "godparents" were witnesses and vouched for the person's commitment, as expressed by the Latin legal term sponsor. As early as the end of the second century, baptism for infants appeared in Christian communities; the practice was believed to chase away the evil spirits present in every newborn baby. At the end of the fourth century, Saint Augustine enforced the rule of child baptism. At the time, parents were their own children's godparents. Between the sixth and eighth centuries, as child baptism became more widespread in Europe, the idea spread that for a child to have a spiritual rebirth, it needed to have new parents. Godparenting by parents was abandoned and even forbidden by the Mayence Council of 819, a law that endures to this day. A spiritual relationship, quite distinct from a blood relationship, is therefore created. The Church gives a it very specific religious goal: to ensure the Christian education of the child. (http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Fa-Gr/Godparents.html)

....the principal responsibility of a godparent is to give witness to the Catholic faith by his words and actions. When it concerns a child, he must be ready to accept the responsibility of being a part of the godchild's life for the remaining of his/her life. A godparent must have his eyes fixed on the Lord, believing that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. [Jn. 14:6] Not only must he believe it, he must be prepared to share his belief with his godchild. (http://www.catholicdoors.com/courses/godpar.htm)

For more information about the Catholic understanding, click on this link. 

If you are a godparent out there, give him/her a little call and say hello. Offer up something in your day for him/her and give God thanks for LIFE! Gosh, I just love my little godson!