Baptism: The door to the Church and Heaven

Apr 07, 2021 Leader Church Doctrine 0

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Baptism is the first of the seven sacraments. It is the beginning of the Sacramental life of a Christian who wants to be united with Christ. It is the door to other sacraments; the first of the sacrament of initiation, where one is initiated to the faith. As sacraments are “…the visible signs of the invisible grace, instituted by Christ and administered by the Church,’ baptizing the catechumen (the candidate for Baptism) with water with the pronouncement: I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, giving a name, anointing with the Holy Oil are the visible signs. The invisible grace is that the newly baptized becomes the child of God and a member of the Church.

Baptism is the primary sacrament or the ritual administered by the Church right from the time of the apostles. New Testament mentions several events of baptism administered by the apostles and the Disciples of Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (# 1275-6) explains the sacrament of Baptism as the first of the Sacrament of initiation, “Christian initiation is accomplished by three sacraments together: Baptism which is the beginning of new life; Confirmation which is its strengthening; and the Eucharist which nourishes the disciple with Christ’s Body and Blood for his transformation in Christ. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20).

On Baptism and Membership of the Christian community (Church), St. Paul has this to say: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (Col 3:12-14). St. Paul also would term this as life in the Spirit.

This is the hallmark of the Christians, both the Jews and the gentiles who accepted Christ as their Lord and Saviour and got baptized. “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”

The fruit of Baptism, or baptismal grace, is a rich reality that includes, forgiveness of the original sin and all personal sins, birth into the new life by which man becomes an adoptive son of the Father, a member of Christ and a temple of the Holy Spirit. By this very fact, the person baptized is incorporated into the Church, the Body of Christ and made a sharer in the priesthood of Christ.

Baptism imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual sign, the character, which consecrates the baptized person for Christian life and worship. Because of its permanent character, it cannot be repeated. (CCC # 1279 – 1280). Often, the question of infant baptism and on its necessity arises. For this, the Church explains that, “Baptism has been administered to children, for it is a grace and a gift of God that does not presuppose any human merit; children are baptized in the faith of the Church. Entry into Christian life gives access to true freedom.”

The sacrament of Baptism, therefore, invites us to live according to the promise we have made, that is, live a life of holiness, share in the life of Christ and the Church. An ordained minister (Deacon, Priest or Bishop) is the ordinary minister of Baptism. However, in case of emergency, any baptized person may give the sacrament keeping the rites and rituals.

Fr. Lazar Arasu SDB

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