hours from now CB will experience a catholic ritual called "baptism". according to tradition, this ritual welcomes the infant to christiandom and supposedly washes away his original sin. before the ritual, the parents are supposed to look for people who are fitting to be the second parents of the infant. most of the time, these "parents" are chosen among friends and acquaintances whom the parents feel will look after the child when they pass on.

but how does one actually go about this? how assured can one be that these people will look after the child's well-being. being a born catholic, i too experienced this, but i knew very little of my godparents. all i could remember was going to them during christmas and any other occassion to ask for money or gifts.

as CB's godparents, we chose friends whom we felt comfortable and thought that they would consider CB an important part of their life. interestingly, a R had his son baptized and got the same people as godparents but they didn't show up because of another commitment.

if these supposedly "second parents" would not give importance to the child's christening by being present, how can they be counted on more pressing matters regarding the child?