10:2), which frees us from the rule of sin and death. with the salvific events of the Passion and of Easter, but it also reveals him to be a new and greater Moses. When we are saved, we are “baptized” by the Spirit into the Body of Christ, which is the church. “baptism” to refer to his death (18). Second, this feast helps us consider the meaning of baptism itself in the Catholic Church, and the meaning of sacraments in general. Christian baptism not only forgives sins, but infuses the life of God into the soul, making us God’s children. First, it is helpful to understand the unique nature of the Catholic understanding of the sacrament of baptism as opposed to the understanding of baptism by other Christian denominations. Catholics believe we are born into "original sin," we inherit it. Why we celebrate Christ's baptism close to the Epiphany. In baptism, we are made one. Baptism is equated with dying with Christ ( Romans 6:8 ), and so the symbolism of being buried is a public declaration of our dying with Christ as well as our identification with him. . In the … of course, of our own baptism. In the Easter Vigil liturgy of the Roman Rite, the paschal candle is plunged into the waters of the baptismal font, much as Moses stretched his staff over the waters of the Red Sea, which God parted (Ex. It turns the person into a newly adopted son of God and a member of Christ. That is why Catholics baptise babies "in the name of … Prefigurations of Baptism in the Old Covenant. So, we have some key differences in the Catholic doctrine of baptism compared to Scripture. John Chrysostom writes: “Going down into the water and emerging again are the image of the descent into hell and the Resurrection” (19). . We breath with the Lord Jesus and with every other baptized person. Jesus’ descent into this watery tomb, into this inferno that envelops him from every side, is thus an anticipation of his act of descending into the underworld . The easiest and perhaps best answer would simply be that this was the constant Tradition or teaching of the early Church, right from the time of the Apostles. If we want everyone we know and love to get to heaven, if we want them to see Jesus, they must become saints as well—no exceptions. It turns the baptized into a newly adopted son or daughter of God and a member of the Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “By Baptism all sins are forgiven, Original Sin and all personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin.” (CCC-1263) We know that sin is anything that creates division between us and God. The Church teaches that baptism not only lets us participate in Jesus’ victory over sin and death, but calls us to our own personal holiness and apostolate (sharing our faith). This also explains why, in his own discourses, Jesus uses the word We can remember the importance of baptizing infants specifically by remembering the importance of the sacrament as we understand it: baptism is not a mere symbol of gaining a new life in Christ, but rather is the actual conferral of grace by which mankind is able to be a part of the Body of Christ. Why was Jesus baptized? What is the purpose of baptism and who can celebrate the sacrament of Baptism? The baptism of Jesus is on his part the acceptance and inauguration of his mission as God's suffering Servant. 1:12) . That was what happened when God decided to create man through the creation of our first parents, Adam and Eve. Catholics understand that Baptism is more than a symbol – instituted by Christ, it is a means by which God confers upon us his grace. Why do we still need to be baptized? In Matthew 3:13-17, Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptized. There’s a whole chapter in the book on Jesus’ baptism, but here are a few of his key thoughts. He is, as it were, the true Jonah who said to the crew of the ship, ”Take me and throw me into the sea” (Jon. This can lead us into reflecting on the theological virtues of faith, hope and love as well: in faith we recognize the immensity of the sacrament of baptism, in hope we await the fullness of God’s grace, and in love we are struck by both the innocence of the newborn child and the magnitude of the Redemption. All rights reserved. The baptism is an acceptance of death for the sins of humanity, and the voice that calls out “This is my beloved Son” over the baptismal waters is an anticipatory reference to the Resurrection. This is greatly different from the understanding of the sacrament of baptism that is held by many other Christians, which simply put is that baptism does not actually confer any of the grace it symbolizes, but rather is a manifestation of a person’s acceptance of Christ as their Savior. 3:14, John 3:30). Baptism is thus the necessary precursor to all other sacraments. Since Catholics believe that all mankind has been stained with original sin through the sin of Adam and Eve, it is necessary to remove this original sin through the grace of baptism even in the case of those who have not been able to commit actual sin. This is especially true because in Christian usage the word had a highly particular meaning distinct from the term’s ordinary, everyday usage. This also explains why, in his own discourses, Jesus uses the word. We don't think children should be without the grace of Jesus. Benedict notes: On the one hand, immersion into the waters is a symbol of death, which recalls the death symbolism of the annihilating, destructive power of the ocean flood. This is also why we need to share our faith! Who are the saints? Christian baptism is of course greater than John’s baptism, even as Jesus himself is far greater than John (Matt. On the one side, the innocence of a newborn child shows to us the goodness that is still present in the world despite the fall of Adam and Eve. The basic truth about baptism is that You and I are We. In the Easter Vigil liturgy of the Roman Rite, the paschal candle is plunged into the waters of the baptismal font, much as Moses stretched his staff over the waters of the Red Sea, which God parted (Ex. The world tends to value the letters at the end of people’s names—M.D., M.B.A., Ph.D. All four evangelists report Jesus’ baptism (Mt 3:13-17; Mk 1:9-11; Lk 3:21-22; Jn 1:31-34) which means that it is extremely important. Let us mindfully renew those baptismal promises so that we may love God and our neighbor, be a faithful witness to Christ and prepare ourselves to share in the glory of His resurrection. Therefore, when someone is publicly baptized, he is proclaiming his allegiance to … © 2013-2021 The Mystical Humanity of Christ. And the origin of this sacrament is Jesus’ own baptism. He is, as it were, the true Jonah who said to the crew of the ship, ”Take me and throw me into the sea” (Jon. Pope Benedict XVI (writing as Joseph Ratzinger), in his Jesus of Nazareth, offers some illuminating insights on all this. The Bible says, “without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Heb. . He allows himself to be numbered among sinners; he is already "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world". And the origin of this sacrament is Jesus’ own baptism. But, since the time of Abraham right to the present, Jews have circumcised infants and brought them into the Covenant on the eighth day after birth, based on the faith of the parents, just as we … . He inaugurated his public activity by stepping into the place of sinners. His baptism was a fulfillment of righteousness, but not of His own; in the baptism in the Jordan, Christ fulfilled the righteousness of everyone who would ever be born. Do the godparents of our child need to be married to each other? The Fundamentalist contention that baptizoalways means immersion is an oversimplification. But Catholics care most of all about the letters we hope one day will come. Father Margevicius noted that Church Fathers, including St. Ignatius of Antioch, said that it’s not so much that Jesus goes in the water for himself to be sanctified, but to sanctify the water so that it can become the source of holiness for us. It would thus not be fitting to hold a baptism for a baby since they are incapable of making this choice which is the reason for baptism in their understanding. Rather, he sanctified the waters by his descent into them. 12:14, NIV). The Church recognizes the validity of Baptism in other Christian Churches as long as the rite involved the pouring of or immersion in water, a Trinitarian formula, and the intention to baptize. Throughout the months of December and January, the Catholic Church celebrates several feasts commemorating certain events in the life of Christ. This feast causes us to ruminate on numerous things. . Opposition to infant baptism is not a new phenomenon. His inaugural gesture is an anticipation of the Cross. Baptism incorporates a person into the Church, which is the body of Christ. Jesus’ baptism not only is deeply intertwined with the salvific events of the Passion and of Easter, but it also reveals him to be a new and greater Moses. Looking at the events (of Christ’s baptism) in light of the Cross and Resurrection, the Christian people realized what happened: Jesus loaded the burden of all mankind’s guilt upon his shoulders; he bore it down into the depths of the Jordan. Since Catholics believe that all mankind has been stained with original sin through the sin of Adam and Eve, it is necessary to remove this original sin through the grace of baptism even in the case of those who have not been able to commit actual sin. Baptism is the gateway to the other sacraments, and so it prepares the child for later reception of confirmation and the Eucharist, among other sacraments. A fair question. One week following our celebration of the Epiphany of the Lord, we celebrate His baptism. The purpose of Christ’s birth, death and resurrection is to unite all things in Him and to redeem His people by taking on the burden of the sins of all mankind. As Catholics, by way of reminder, we situate our reflection on the sacrament of baptism not only in a personal but also in a communal level, that is, the Church. Why did Christ, then, place such great importance on His own baptism even though there was no sin to wash away? When you boil it all down, this is the essence of how we fulfill our baptismal mandate to become saints. The Catholic Church, it noted, believes that the minister of a baptism is not acting on behalf of only himself or the local community, but … In the Catholic Church, infants are baptized to welcome them into the Catholic faith and to free them from the original sin they were born with. Monday’s Feast of the Baptism of the Lord marked the official end of the Christmas season. Sacraments 101: Baptism (why we baptize) By The Editors November 15, 2011. This created a means of escape for God’s people from the stampeding armies of Egypt and its Pharaoh, which are types of sin and Satan. The answer involves the foundation of Catholicism, namely the reason that Christ became man, died and then rose from the dead. The answer to these questions may require some thorough explanation. As we witness the baptism of a baby, we are also led to think of the child’s beautiful innocence as well as the saving power of God. The answer points towards several tenets of the Catholic faith, such as the existence of original sin, the fact that all mankind has been redeemed by the Incarnation and Christ’s subsequent death and resurrection, the meaning of a sacrament and the working of God’s grace in our lives on earth. Rather, Pope Benedict XVI (writing as Joseph Ratzinger), in his, First, in antiquity water conjured up two distinct images, Looking at the events (of Christ’s baptism) in light of the Cross and Resurrection, the Christian people realized what happened: Jesus loaded the burden of all mankind’s guilt upon his shoulders; he bore it down into the depths of the Jordan. And we can begin by affirming that indeed we have been created in God’s image and likeness. After all, he is the sinless, divine Son of God, and the baptism that John the Baptist administered was “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). BAPTISM IN THE ECONOMY OF SALVATION. . Acts 2:38,39 Peter in his first sermon makes it very clear that the promises of baptism are for adults and their children. The same principle can be seen with other special Christian terms, such as “Trinity,” that were originally ordinary Greek words with no special religious significance. The Catholic Church's Clear Teaching About Infant Baptism. Baptism, according to Mary Collins, OSB, is always about relationships. 3:14, John 3:30). One begins to wonder about the purpose of baptizing someone who cannot answer for himself or herself, especially since it is readily apparent that babies are incapable of choosing to act sinfully, and so do not need to be cleansed of sin in the same way that adults who have chosen to sin do. The baptism of the Lord also reminds us, of course, of our own baptism. The Eastern traditions of iconography pick up on many of these themes, as the current pope emeritus elucidates: The icon of Jesus’ baptism depicts the water as a liquid tomb having the form of a dark cavern, which is in turn the iconographic sign of Hades, the underworld, or hell. The baptism is an acceptance of death for the sins of humanity, and the voice that calls out “This is my beloved Son” over the baptismal waters is an anticipatory reference to the Resurrection. We can understand, then, why it is that the Church insists that babies be baptized as soon as possible after birth—as soon as the infant can safely be carried to church. The Catholic Church has been baptizing babies ever since Christ commanded His apostles to baptize all people in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (see Mt 28:18-20). Christian baptism is of course greater than John’s baptism, even as Jesus himself is far greater than John (Matt. It seems odd that Jesus would be baptized. 14:21-31). Even the physical act of baptism, especially baptism by immersion, represents death and new life: the descent into the waters is a form of death and burial; the rising to a new life is an icon of resurrection. In their churches, baptism is ultimately just an outward sign of a choice that a person has made, namely that they have made the decision to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior and live according to His laws. 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