Baptism

Baptism is the first of the sacraments and the door to all the others. Through it, man is born to a new life, becomes a child of God, a member of Christ and of the Church. It is a new birth: by natural birth, man receives human life; by baptism, he receives divine life, a sharing in the very life of God, what is called sanctifying grace.

Christ revealed its necessity to Nicodemus, who came to question him by night: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” John 3:5

Before ascending to heaven, he made it the command addressed to the Church for all time: “Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19

What baptism works

Baptism wipes away all sin. It remits original sin, handed on to all humanity since the fall, and, in one who receives it as an adult, the whole of his personal sins. The soul comes forth entirely purified, washed of every debt before God.

It gives still more than a pardon: a new life. The baptised is reborn as a son in the Son, receives this sanctifying grace and becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit. Saint Paul describes this plunging as a death and a resurrection with Christ: “By baptism we were buried with him into death, so that, as Christ was raised from the dead, we too might walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:4

The sign and its necessity

The sacrament is brought about by a simple gesture and precise words: water poured on the forehead or immersion, together with the formula “I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Water carries the twofold sense of the sacrament: it washes and it gives life.

Baptism imprints on the soul an indelible mark, a seal that configures one to Christ for ever (Ephesians 1:13). It is received only once. Incorporated into Christ, the baptised puts on his very life: “As many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ.” Galatians 3:27

The Church holds baptism to be necessary for salvation, according to the word of the Lord. She baptises little children to open this grace to them at the very threshold of their life, confident that the gift of God always precedes the response of man.