How should parents dress up their children who are to be baptized? Definitely not in superhero costumes.
Parents should garb their children in white and not in costumes, said Fr. Reginald Malicdem, rector of the Manila Cathedral, recalling instances where babies who were to be baptized wore costumes like Superman, Batman, Spiderman or that of a dinosaur.
"The baptismal garment is white because this is a sign of our Christian dignity," he said in his homily during a Mass on Sunday, February 28.
"The white garment of baptism is a symbol that we are all children of God. Let that stick to our minds and hearts. Our dignity is that 'I am a child of God,'" Malicdem added.
He said the faithful should not stain the white garment of their Christian dignity by degrading or humiliating themselves.
"You are a child of God so live as a child of God. And as we maintain the purity of our Christian dignity, please do not stain the dignity of others," said Malicdem.
"It's very sad that in our society now there are many factors that stain our Christian dignity. We do not respect human dignity at all times. Life has become so cheap...let us recover our dignity as children of God," he added.
Malicdem, meantime, thanked the faithful "for heeding our invitation to wear white this Sunday.”
"We asked you to wear white today because as we continue our reflection on baptism as part of our celebration of the 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines, our particular focus this Sunday is the white garment of baptism," added Malicdem.