Second-grader at St. Patrick School came home one day asking his parents to be baptized; this Easter, he'll get his wish
CARLETON — Nicole Nicholls was surprised when her 8-year-old son, Charlie, came home from school one day with a simple request.
“Mom, I want to be blessed like all my other classmates,” the second-grader at St. Patrick School in Carleton said.
Charlie was asking to be baptized.
“Charlie kind of brought it up out of the blue,” Nicholls told Detroit Catholic. “He came home from school and was like, ‘You know what, Mom? I want to be blessed like my classmates.’ I said, ‘Well, what do you mean by blessed?’ He then said, ‘I want to be blessed into the Catholic faith and be baptized.'”
Charlie had been attending St. Patrick since pre-kindergarten. The school celebrates Mass every Friday, and Charlie’s classmates are preparing for their first Communions.
“Charlie’s cousin goes to school there, and my sister-in-law suggested we look at St. Patrick’s as an option for Charlie after we look at other school systems in the area, looking for the right fit,” Nicholls said. “It’s a smaller school with small class sizes. We really like the community aspect of St. Pat’s and how everyone sticks together. They make sure the students are taken care of and are on the right path.”
Nicole, a Catholic, and Keith, a Lutheran, wanted their children, Charlie and Reagan, to decide for themselves to be baptized as a way for them to take personal ownership of their faith.
The couple met with Crysti Esper, OCIA director of the Three Rivers Family of Parishes, which includes Divine Grace Parish in Carleton, the parish attached to St. Patrick School, to describe Charlie’s desire to be baptized.
“When I first met Charlie, I was amazed by his enthusiasm for being baptized and in being part of the Church,” Esper said. “It really had nothing to do with wanting to catch up with their peers. He just wanted to be baptized.”
The two would meet one-on-one for an hour before Sunday Mass for nine months, talking about God, Jesus, the sacraments and what it means to be a Christian.
“I asked him, ‘Do you understand the word 'baptism?' explaining to him how he wasn’t baptized yet. He said, ‘I want to be part of the Church, I want to know Jesus,’” Esper recalled. “I asked, ‘How much do you know about Jesus?’ And he pointed to the crucifix we have on the wall of our classroom and goes, ‘I know Jesus suffered for me.’
“I was blown away by that,” Esper continued. “He kept going on: ‘I know in order to see my grandma again, I’m going to have to be baptized.’ So he understands heaven and he understands eternal life. When he had his Rite of Acceptance during Mass, we gave him a microphone, and it was so cute hearing him say he wanted to be baptized and wanted to know Jesus.”
Esper’s day job is working at the Monroe County Intermediate School District with students who have different learning needs, so working with Charlie and his unique learning style wasn’t intimidating.
Charlie is the only catechumen at Divine Grace Parish this year, so Esper and Charlie would work through the material provided by Liguori Press at his own pace and in a manner that fits his learning style.
The two would often tour Divine Grace Parish, with Esper explaining various aspects of the church and the different parts of the Mass and Charlie pointing out the smallest details of the parish’s stained-glass windows and the meaning behind the symbolism.
“He’s very curious about everything, and it’s nice to have that kind of curiosity, whether it comes from an adult or a child," Esper said. "A lot of times, people are (only) thinking, ‘What do I have to do to become Catholic?’ but Charlie has this very sincere approach of just wanting to know more about Jesus.”
The Nicholls family usually sits in the first pew at Divine Grace, giving Charlie the closest view of the priest celebrating Mass. Charlie often repeats what the priest says word for word during Mass.
“Crysti has done such a great job working with Charlie and explaining everything,” Nicholls said. “I do think the church has brought us a little bit closer as a family.”
When they spend time together in the church, Charlie will express his faith in his own unique way, Esper said.
“There are times where we would just go into the church and spend a few minutes in adoration, and it just kind of settles him,” Esper said. “He understands that Jesus is present in the tabernacle. Every time the sacristy lamp is lit, he tells me, ‘You know, Jesus is in there.’ He knows the bread consecrated at Mass is the Real Presence, and he understands that when people take Communion, they are receiving Jesus.”
Charlie’s parents say it is a “beyond proud moment” that Charlie decided for himself that he wanted to be baptized.
“When we bring up the faith and heaven, Charlie is engaged,” Nicole Nicholls said. “I know sometimes he struggles to say what he’s thinking or articulate clearly, but since he started working with Crysti, he will just say these remarkable insights."
Esper said Charlie's coming into the Church has been a tremendous gift for all the people of Divine Grace Parish.
“Like everybody, Charlie is created in the image of God, and for him to come into our community, he brings just a fresh face that people of all ages, of all learning abilities, can come to understand who Jesus is and what it means to follow him,” Esper said. “He has a place in this community, and as he grows older, he’ll discover what gifts the Holy Spirit has for him. But I know he understands the mission that we’re all supposed to be doing, and I know he’ll be a great contributor in building up the kingdom of God.”
