BAPTISM

 

What is Baptism?

 

Baptism is the way out of the kingdom of death into life, the gateway to the Church, and the beginning of a lasting communion with God.  It unites us with Jesus Christ, incorporates us into his redemptive death on the Cross, thereby freeing us from the power of Original Sin and all personal sins, and causes us to rise with him to a life without end. Since Baptism is a covenant with God, the individual must say “Yes” to it. In the baptism of children, the parents confess the Faith on behalf of the children.

 

 

Who can be baptised, and what is required of a candidate?

 

Any person who is not yet baptised can be baptised. The only prerequisite for Baptism is faith, which must be professed publicly at the Baptism. A person who turns to Christianity is not just changing a world view. He travels a path of learning (the Cathechumenate), in which he becomes a new man through personal conversion, but especially through the gift of Baptism. He is now a living member of the Body of Christ.

 

The outward visible sign of baptism is water, symbol of cleansing and refreshing, but a reminder also of the crossing of the Red Sea from one shore to another. The inward and spiritual gift given us by God in baptism is union with Christ in his death and resurrection. Through baptism we are able to receive God's grace in the other sacraments.

 

What happens in Baptism?

 

In Baptism we become members of the Body of Christ, sisters and brothers of our Redeemer, and children of God. We are freed from sin, snatched from death, and destined from then on for a life in the joy of the redeemed. Being baptised means that my personal life story is submerged in the stream of God’s love.

 

 

Why should Christians choose the names of saints at Baptism?

 

There are no better examples than the saints and no better helpers. If my namesake is a saint, I have a friend with God.