How To Perform A Baptism & A Conditional Baptism
What follows is not the only valid way to perform a baptism, but it is the generally recommended way. The person baptizing should pour the water three times on the person’s head (as explained below) and use a good amount of water, so that it really flows on the person’s head.
THE FORM
He or she should pour the water three times (as explained above). The person being baptized should incline his or her head, so that it’s easy for the person to pour the water on the head three times (as mentioned above).
The Roman Ritual also says that each time the person pours it, he should pour it in the form of a cross.
CONDITIONAL FORM OF BAPTISM
When a person is receiving a conditional baptism (because he or she isn’t sure if the first ‘baptism’ was valid), the conditional form of baptism should be used by the person who is performing the conditional baptism. The conditional form is the same as the regular from. However, it is prefaced by these words:
A general confession is made after a conditional baptism in case the first attempted baptism in that person’s life was valid. The confession should be made to a catholic priest ordained in the traditional Roman Rite of ordination or in the Eastern Rite, and it should include any mortal sins that were committed after the first potentially valid baptism. The New Rite of Ordination, promulgated by Antipope Paul VI in 1968, is not valid. That is the rite typically used in the ‘dioceses’ of the Vatican II Sect since 1968. Hence, any mortal sins confessed to ‘priests’ ordained in that rite need to be re-confessed, when a person is convinced and ready.
WHO CAN PERFORM A BAPTISM?
Since there are almost no true Catholic priests today, you can have a Catholic friend perform a conditional baptism. You can also administer baptism to your own children. Baptism can also be performed by a non-Catholic who would do it properly, if there is no other option.
Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, “Exultate Deo,” 1439: “In case of necessity, however, not only a priest or a deacon, but even a layman or woman, yes even a pagan and a heretic can baptize, so long as he preserves the form of the Church and has the intention of doing what the Church does.” (Denz. 696)