On a random day you get called to the hospital. A very young (single) mother has just given birth a stillborn baby. She's crying her eyes out and asking whether her baby can be baptised and have a funeral. What would you do?
I’ve always thought that it was like a fresh croissant: freezing it destroys the texture and flavour of it. He doesn’t need me to record anything. He can say it again anytime he pleases. I will never trade his voice for the recollection of it. I aim to stay tuned, to stay tuned all the time. And I’m left thinking: Give us this hour our daily croissant?
2 comments:
Baptize the baby and give him/her a funeral. I fail to see how this is a dilemma. Do Anglicans not baptise dead babies?
Of course, a great deal more must be done to ensure that this young single mother is receiving the company that she will need during this time in her life, but I don't want to go to far afield.
Oh, and maybe somewhere along the way (although likely not right at this present moment), it would probably be a good idea to explain that all dead babies 'go to heaven' and don't need to be baptised to be 'saved.'
You're absolutely right of course. I, for one, did not know you could baptise a dead person, but it makes total sense.
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