I was born on a December morning in 1962 at the Woolwich Memorial Hospital in Shooters Hill, London. I was overdue. It was a normal birth and I was a normal weight. I was named after debutante Dominie Riley-Smith - who married George Courtauld in the year of my birth. My mother Mary was 23, and my father Robert, aka Bob, was 3 weeks shy of his 29th birthday. In the hospital photos my father resembles a film star, with slicked back dark hair and a silk leopard cravatte.
When I was born, it was quite usual for mothers to stay in hospital for 10 days.
I was baptised at around 5 weeks old - this was the norm for Catholics. Without baptism a child below the age of reason (around 7 years old) cannot get to Heaven. An unbaptised child under the age of reason goes to a place called Limbo, which isn't Heaven, and it isn't Hell. My baptism was at Our Lady Star of the Sea in Greenwich. I was fortunate to be baptised in the Old Rite, which is much more powerful than the new Vatican 2 rite. Catholics name their children after saints, as the saints can, and do intercede for us when we pray to them. My second name is Mary - after Our Lady, Mother of God, who IS the greatest female saint.
My Godparents were 2 Catholics.
END
Notes
Baptism is SO important that, in an emergency, anyone can baptise, providing they use the correct formula and pour water on the forehead of the person - WHILE saying the words - "I baptise you in the Name of the Father, and of The Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen"
Baptism of blood (martyrdom) and desire are also valid.
No comments:
Post a Comment