Baptism:

The First Sacrament

 Christ’s Baptism

Jesus’ baptism
shows us the value
of “self-emptying”
And prefigures his
baptism in blood

Jesus’ baptism is a
revelation of his true
character—the Messiah
Jesus’ Baptism at the Jordan River

• Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.

• This is one of very few stories in all 4
Gospels.
• John resists doing it, saying he is unworthy.
• Jesus insists.
• Holy Spirit descends “like a dove”, Father
speaks from Heaven, “This is My Son, with
whom I am well pleased.” (Entire Trinity
present.)
 Why did John
Baptize in a River?
The Meaning of Baptism
• John’s Baptism was a symbolic
drowning (sinful self dying, new life)
 Repentance a key theme of baptism
• Baptism signifies Church membership
(see Pentecost)
• Faith in Trinity (see Mt. 28:16-20)
(major difference from Judaism)
Repentence and Humility
• We often think of conversion as a one-
time thing.
• And, since we were baptized as
infants/toddlers, we think of conversion
as a one-time thing for someone else.

• Pope John Paul II:

“We ourselves are to be converted anew
every day.”
Think of the parable of the
Pharisee and the Tax Collector

• Because of his humility, there is no limit to

how much the tax collector can improve

• Because of his arrogance, the Pharisee

will never be better than what he already is
(an arrogant, judgmental…).
 Understanding the Sacrament of
Baptism

Baptizein: “to plunge or immerse”

Being buried with Christ and emerging as a “new creature”

Washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit

Enlightenment
Who should be baptized?

One question raised by the Protestant

Reformation (the Anabaptists) is who – or
when – we should baptize?

What do you think? Is baptism better as a

sacrament exclusively for adults, or for
infants?
 What are the advantages of
each?
• Adult Baptism • Infant Baptism
 What are the advantages of
each?
• Adult Baptism • Infant Baptism

• Ownership of • Membership from the

decision/freedom beginning, welcomed in
• Repentence • Grow up as an active
member of the Church
Although every specific incident
of baptism in the NT is of an
adult, it does state that families
were baptized, which implies
infant/child baptism goes back to
the 1st century.
R.C.I.A.
Rite of
Christian
Initiation for
Adults
(a program for those who are adults and
have not yet been Baptized, Confirmed,
and/or received the Eucharist – normally,
received at the Easter Vigil)
 Anabaptists:
Some Protestant groups from the Reformation rejected
infant baptism?
What is the benefit of each?

Infant Baptism Adult Baptism

• Membership from start • Freedom, ownership of
• Growing up in the faith, decision, sense of
faith community repentence
 Pompa Diaboli
The anti-culture and its apparent promises
of satisfaction and joy

Baptism requires a “NO” to sin, evil, and

Satan—“the father of lies”
Through Baptism we are (1)freed from sin
and (2)reborn as children of God; (3)we
become members of Christ, are
(4)incorporated into the Church, and
(5)made sharers in her mission.
 Baptism Prefigured
in the Old Testament

WATER IS A SOURCE
OF LIFE

“At the very dawn of

creation [God’s] spirit
breathed on the waters,
making them the
wellspring of all holiness”
Baptism prefigured in the O.T.
• Noah and the Flood – water brings
death, but also a chance to start over
• The Exodus – crossing the Red Sea:
Hebrews are saved, Egyptians perish
chasing them
Christian Initiation in
the Church

“Repent and be
baptized”

Catechumenate:
study, instruction
Precatechumenate
Catechumenate
Purification,
Enlightenment, or
Illumination
Mystagogia
 Celebrating the
Sacrament of Baptism

Every nonbaptized person—adult or infant—can be

baptized

Baptism takes away Original Sin—the fallen state into

which people are born
 The Necessity
of Baptism

Baptism is necessary for

Salvation (John 3:5)

God has bound Salvation

to the Sacrament of
Baptism . . . He himself is
not bound by his
sacraments
Does everyone need to be baptized?
• Can people go to heaven without being
baptized?
• Before you rush to say, “OF COURSE!”, Jesus
said to Nicodemus, “Very truly, I tell you, no one
can enter the kingdom of God without being
born of water and Spirit.”

• But what about people who never heard about

God/Jesus? Or people who are atheists, but
have lived very virtuous lives?
The Church struggled with this
question,
And came to recognize 3 types of Baptism…
• Baptism of water – the
sacrament of Baptism
received in the Church
• (In an emergency, anyone
can perform this – with
water + “I baptize you in
the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit.”)
Then they wondered about people who
accepted the faith and were martyred
before their Baptism…

• Baptism of blood/fire –
unbaptized martyrs
someone is in the process of
learning about the faith, but not
yet baptized, and is martyred.
Then some asked about people who
had never accepted Christ, maybe
because they lived in far away
lands, or were raised in another
faith tradition, and still lived good
lives…
• Baptism of desire – those who
SEEK GOODNESS and TRUTH are
actually seeking God (God being
goodness and truth)
• Infants are entrusted to the mercy
of God
Rite and Symbols
of the Sacraments
Baptism has a
connection to the
Easter Vigil, and to
the Eucharist

Baptism is the
sacrament of faith.
But faith needs the
community of
believers. It is only
within the faith of
the Church that
each of the faithful
can believe.
 Rite and Symbols of the
Sacrament

• Sign of the Cross • Anointing with Sacred

• Word of God Chrism
• Exorcisms and • Receiving or clothing in
Profession of Faith a white garment
• Blessing of the Water • Receiving a lit candle
• Essential rite of Baptism
 The Grace of Baptism
The Forgiveness of Sins
• Sin is an abuse of the freedom
that God gives us.
• Concupiscence—the inclination
to sin
• Baptism grants the life of
Christ’s grace and turns us back
to God
• Protoevangelium—the first
announcement of the Messiah
and Redeemer
 The Grace of Baptism
Becoming a “New Incorporated into the
Creature” Church
• Our fundamental identity is • Baptism makes us members
changed of the Church
• Baptized people receive • Right to receive the other
sanctifying grace—the grace of sacraments
justification • Right to be nourished with
• Enables us to believe in God the Word of God
• Gives us the power to live • Right to take part in and
and act under the Holy Spirit be sustained “by the other
• Allows us to grow in spiritual helps of the
Church”
goodness
• We share in the priesthood of
Christ
 The Grace of Baptism
Unity with Other
The Seal of Eternal Life
Christians
• Baptism strengthens the • Baptism seals Christians
opportunity for unity with an indelible spiritual
among all Christians mark or character that
• The Church recognizes cannot be erased (not
most Christian baptism repeated)
as valid • Readies Christians for
• “We believe in one worship
baptism for the • Requires us to
forgiveness of sins” participate in the liturgy
and to live a holy life and
love others
 Loving God More Deeply

“The goal of a virtuous life is to become like God.”

The moral virtues—prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance

—have their roots in the theological virtues, the foundation of
the Christian moral life.
 Faith

Virtue by which we
believe in God, all
that he has said, and
all that the Church
teaches

Only professing one’s

faith is not enough

“For just as a body

without a spirit is
dead, so also faith
without works is
dead.”
 Hope

The virtue by which we

desire happiness and
the Kingdom of God
and in which we place
our trust in Christ and
his promises

“If I saw the gates of

hell open and I stood
on the brink of the
abyss, I should not
despair, I should not
lose hope of mercy,
but I should trust in
Thee, my God.”
 Charity
(aka love)
Jesus called the New
Commandment

The Christian life, begun

at Baptism, is rooted
completely in our love
for God and neighbor

Love is the greatest of

all virtues

Baptism “clothes” us
with Christ
 More on Living the
Sacrament of Baptism

The graces of Baptism remain

stagnant unless we put them to
use, so the Church has many
reminders:

Holy water fonts from which

we make the Sign of the Cross
Reading the creation account
at the Easter Vigil
Blessing the baptismal water
at Baptism
Renewal of our baptismal
promises at the Easter Vigil
We’ve only just begun
The Baptism of infants and young children. . .

Parents take on the responsibility of bringing up their children ‘in the

practice of the faith . . . to keep God’s commandments as Christ taught
us, by loving God and our neighbor’ (Rite of Baptism for Children).

Godparents also accept the responsibility to play a pivotal role in the

faith formation of their godchild.

The Church requires that a godparent:

• be at least sixteen years old;
• be a Catholic who has received the Sacraments of Initiation;
• practices the Catholic faith;
• can be a role model in living as a disciple of Jesus.
 Who do you claim to be?

The Question of Identity

The image we have of ourselves impacts
• our actions, words, attitudes and vision of life;
• how we treat ourselves and others.

The fact that you have been baptized should

shape your deepest sense of self-identity.

Baptism seals, or marks, a person with the

indelible identity of a Christian.
How might you make your Christian identity
more evident to others?
 Who do you claim to be?
Baptism unites us to Jesus Christ, who is Priest, Prophet and
King.
Jesus Christ is the great High Priest and Mediator between God
and humankind.
Jesus is the final and greatest Prophet whom God sent to reveal
what is and what is not of God’s reign.
Jesus is the promised King or ruler, who leads God’s people to do
God’s will on earth now, as it is done in Heaven.

Jesus’ life and teaching and his Death and Resurrection show
us the way to live with justice, compassion and peace by living
the Great Commandment as he lived it.
Rights and responsibilities of the baptized
The baptized have the right and responsibility to. . .

Holiness of Life: includes the responsibility to lead a holy life and to

worship and share in the spiritual riches of the Church; includes the right
to a Christian education.

Build up the Church, the Body of Christ: includes the responsibility to

care for and promote the growth of the Church; includes the right to speak
up on matters concerning the integrity and vitality of the Church.

Proclaim the Gospel: includes the responsibility to spread the divine

message of Salvation, promote social justice and help the poor from their
own resources.
 Rights and responsibilities of the baptized

Our greatest baptismal right and responsibility is

‘to love’ as Jesus did. Jesus said:
‘Just as I have loved you,
you also should love one another.’(John 13:34).

Jesus taught us the Great Commandment:

‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all
your soul and with all your mind . . . and you shall love your neighbor
as yourself.’ (Matthew 22: 36, 39)

All the laws of the Church are written to guide us in living

‘the way’ Jesus
commanded us to live; in other words, living the Great
Commandment.
Adopted children of God the Father!
God calls families to be images of the Divine Family,
the Holy Trinity.

Created in God’s image, families are to share life and love, both within
the family and outside the family, as God does.

In Baptism God embraces us with his love.

In 1 John 3:1 we read:

‘See what love the Father has given us, that we
should be called children of God; and that is what
we are.’

In Baptism, God embraces us as his

‘beloved’ children.
 Remembering our Baptism
Remembering our Baptism is vital to our growing
as children of God and disciples of Jesus.
There are several rituals during the Mass that help us
remember and renew our Baptism:
• The celebrant invites everyone to make the Sign of
the Cross.
• The lighted candles remind us that we have been
‘enlightened by Christ’.
• Burning incense helps us lift up our mind and heart to
God in prayer.
• Sprinkling the assembly with baptismal water, or
holy water, helps us recall our rebirth at Baptism.
 Remembering our Baptism
Sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church that bear a
resemblance to the Sacraments.
Sacramentals ‘prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to
cooperate with it’ (CCC, no. 1670).
Sacramentals can be actions accompanied by prayer, such as
blessing ourselves by making the Sign of the Cross and sprinkling
with holy water.
Sacramentals can also be objects that have been consecrated or
blessed, for example, altars, chalices and sacred oils, the Lectionary
and the Book of the Gospels, holy water, candles, crucifixes,
statues, scapulars, medals, representations of the Stations of the
Cross and rosary beads.