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I believe that it depends on your faith and what you believe. Who are we to judge or to say that it is a requirement or not. I believe to each his own. My faith signifies Baptism as a sacrament. Something special to share with God who gave me the opportunity of life. I believe that among all the sacraments of the Catholic faith are very important and have been followed from time dated back centuries. Being Catholic and celebrating birth, purity, and blessings, what can it hurt. I am a liberal when it comes to faith. If you chose a religion and it works for you then what can it hurt.

Baptism, Holy Communion, reconciliation, marriage, last rights to rest in peace are all a part of my religion and I truly believe in it. Baptism is most important at birth, but you have to raise your child to believe in the faith and follow through. Guidance it the key. I believe that it is the beginning of something very special between you and God. God will guide you in the right direction. However if you chose to wait till your child is older you can do that too but I just feel that it is such a beautiful sight when parents do it when the child is newborn because the child is more still and will just let it happen. If it is an older child they get cranky, tired, whiny and it can be a big task to fulfill.

One thing that I do believe is whether a newborn is baptized or not will go to heaven. As for most children. I believe it is when you become an adult, able to make decisions (good or bad) is when Baptism becomes a requirement. The reason is because I truly believe in forgiveness and reconciliation. I also believe that if they do not ask for forgiveness and they do not take steps to become a better individual then God will decide at the time of death where you stand in his eyes. It's only for God to judge. As an adult you can decide for yourself if it is a requirement. It is a commitment that you make in God's eyes and should be taken very serious.

So that being said, whether or not it is a requirement really is up to you as the parent and up to the man upstairs. I am not sure that other's will agree with me, but I think that there are people out there that are open to both sides of the coin.

I was baptized when I was 6 weeks old and though I don't remember it, I have my faith that brings me back to that moment. I did not complete the rest of my sacraments till I was an adult, but I am so glad I did it. I am now able to teach my son as he moves Thur this transition of being a full Catholic. He was baptized when he was 9 months old followed by making his holy communion at age 7 and will complete his reconciliation when he is 16 years old. He is looking forward to it, and why not, it's for him and God.

Learn more about this author, Karen Ramos.
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