The importance of having godparents at a baptism comes from “the understanding that what is happening here is a real rebirth, that a child has been brought into the world by parents and by God,” said Father Ben Little, pastor of St. John the Baptist in Savage.
Jesus asked that “we celebrate a new birth, a water in the Holy Spirit,” Father Little said. “So, there’s the reality of natural parenthood bringing a child into the world, but then with the sacramental reality of baptism, it makes sense that then there’s this sort of spiritual reflection of parenthood, and that role is taken up by godparents,” he said.
Father Little recently joined “Practicing Catholic” radio show producer Kayla Mayer to discuss the role of godparents. He said one important consideration in choosing a godparent is whether the person can be “a continual presence in the life of this child, pointing them to Jesus … reminding them of their responsibility to witness my own joyful living of my Catholic faith.”
He himself is a godfather. As a priest, he said, it is “a really unique responsibility,” and not always easy “to keep up the intentionality and the closeness of relationships with godchildren,” which he said is one thing to consider “and pray over.”
But as a priest, Father Little recently was able to give one of his godsons his first holy Communion. “And for that to be possible, kind of picking up on that idea of marking those important milestones in a godchild’s walk with the Lord in discipleship is a great privilege,” he said.
Father Little keeps his godchildren’s names close and prays for them daily. And as a priest, he remembers them in Mass at the altar, which he tries to do especially on the anniversaries of their baptism. And he suggests godparents mark the anniversaries of their godchildren’s baptism — their spiritual birthday — in addition to the day of their birth.
To learn more about the role of godparents and guidance for choosing them, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. Oct. 13 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. Oct. 14 and 2 p.m. Oct. 15. To hear more from Father Little, listen to his podcast, “Friends of the Bridegroom,” via a link from the parish website StJohns-Savage.org.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes an interview with Adam Fitzpatrick, mission outreach coordinator for the Center for Mission in the archdiocese, who describes the new apostolic exhortation from Pope Francis and what it means for our local Church; and Peter and Theresa Martin, founders of the Wojtyla Community, who discuss “how one marriage can change the world.”
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.
