Baptism
Baptism is the foundational sacrament of Christian initiation, and a prerequisite for all other sacraments.
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. (Catholic Catechism)
In the Western or Latin Rite of the Church, baptism is usually conferred today by pouring water three times on the recipient's head, while reciting the words: "I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (cf. Matthew 28:19).
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. (Catholic Catechism)
In the Western or Latin Rite of the Church, baptism is usually conferred today by pouring water three times on the recipient's head, while reciting the words: "I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (cf. Matthew 28:19).
Pope Francis teaching - Baptism - A date to remember!
"Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
Today we begin a series of catechesis* on the Sacraments, starting with Baptism. By happy coincidence this coming Sunday is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (12 January 2014).
The concept of “sacrament” is at the heart of our Christian faith and sends us back to an event of grace in which God makes himself present and acts in our life. The Second Vatican Council says at the beginning of the Constitution on the Church: “the Church in Christ is in the nature of sacrament - a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all men” (Lumen Gentium, n. 1). This means then that the seven Sacraments take shape in the Church herself, who, like a universal sacrament, extends throughout history the salvific (leading to salvation) and life-giving action of Christ. He is the One who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, continually renews the Christian community and sends it out into the world to bring to all salvation by word and deed, through preaching and the Sacraments.
1. Baptism is the Sacrament on which our very faith is founded and which grafts us as a living member onto Christ and his Church. Together with the Eucharist and Confirmation it forms what is known as “Christian initiation”, like one great sacramental event configuring us to the Lord and turning us into a living sign of his presence and of his love.
Yet a question can stir within us: is Baptism really necessary to live as Christians and follow Jesus? Isn't it merely a ritual, a formal act of the Church in order to give a name to the little boy or girl? The question can come up. And on this point what the Apostle Paul writes is illuminating: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:3-4). Therefore, it is not a formality! It is an act that touches the depths of our existence. A baptised child and an unbaptised child are not the same. A person who is baptised and a person who is not baptised are not the same. We, by Baptism, are immersed in that inexhaustible source of life which is the death of Jesus, the greatest act of love in all of history; and thanks to this love we can live a new life, no longer at the mercy of evil, of sin and of death, but in communion with God and with our brothers and sisters.
2. Many of us do not have any memory of the celebration of this Sacrament, and it is obvious why, if we were baptised soon after birth. I have asked this question two or three times already, here, in this square: who among you knows the date of your Baptism, raise your hands. It is important to know the day on which I was immersed in that current of Jesus' salvation. And I will allow myself to give you some advice... but, more than advice, a task for today. Today, at home, go look, ask about the date of your Baptism and that way you can bear in mind that most beautiful day of Baptism. To know the date of our Baptism is to know a blessed day. The danger of not knowing it is losing awareness of what the Lord has done in us, the memory of the gift we have received. Thus, we end up considering it only as an event that took place in the past – and not by our own will but by that of our parents – and, thus, has no impact on the present. Indeed, we must reawaken the memory of our Baptism. We are called to live our Baptism every day, as the current reality of our lives. If we manage to follow Jesus and to remain in the Church, despite our limitations and with our weaknesses and with our sins, it is precisely through the Sacrament that we have become new creatures and are clothed in Christ. It is by the power of Baptism, in fact, that, freed of original sin, we are inserted into Jesus' relation to God the Father; that we are bearers of a new hope, for Baptism gives us this new hope: the hope of going on the path of salvation our whole life long. And this hope nothing and no one can extinguish, for it is a hope that does not disappoint. Remember, hope in the Lord never disappoints. Thanks to Baptism, we are capable of forgiving and of loving even those who offend us and do evil to us. By our Baptism, we recognise in the least and in the poor the face of the Lord who visits us and makes himself close. Baptism helps us to recognise in the face of the needy, the suffering, and also of our neighbour, the face of Jesus. All this is possible thanks to the power of Baptism!
3. A last point, which is important. I ask you a question: can a person baptise him or herself? No one can be self-baptised! No one. We can ask for it, desire it, but we always need someone else to confer this Sacrament in the name of the Lord. Because Baptism is a gift which is bestowed in a context of care and brotherly sharing. Ever throughout history, one baptises another, another and another... it is chain. A chain of Grace. I can't baptise myself: I must ask another for Baptism. It is an act of brotherhood, an act of filiation to the Church. In the celebration of Baptism we can see the most genuine features of the Church, who like a mother continues to give birth to new children in Christ, in the fecundity of the Holy Spirit.
Let us as ask the Lord from our hearts to be able to experience ever more in everyday life this grace that we have received at Baptism. That by encountering us, our brothers may encounter true children of God, true brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, true members of the Church. And do not forget your homework today: find out, ask for the date of your Baptism. As I know my birthday, I should know my Baptism day, because it is a feast day."
Pope Francis, Rome, 8 Jan 2014.
Pope Francis also baptised 32 infants on January 12 2014 (Feast of the Baptism of the Lord) - he finished with these remarks to the parents...
“Today, carry this thought home with you. We must be transmitters of the faith. Think of this, think always of how to hand on the faith to (your) children,” he told the families who were gathered for Mass in the Sistine Chapel. These children are links in a chain,” he said of the 32 infants brought for baptism. “You parents have a baby son or daughter to be baptised, but in several years, it will be they that have a baby to baptise, or a grandchild and so, the chain of faith!” …
"This chain of faith began with Christ, whose baptism the Church celebrates today. Although “Jesus did not need to be baptised,” because he was without sin, “with his body, with his divinity, he blessed all waters,” explained the Pope. And then, before going up to heaven, Jesus told us to go out to all the world and baptise. And from that day until today, this is an uninterrupted chain: they were baptising children, and then the children (baptised) their children, and their children and today this chain carries on.” …
“Above all, I want to tell you this: you are the persons who hand on the faith, the transmitters; you have the duty to pass on the faith to these babies. It is the most beautiful inheritance that you can give them: the faith!” he exclaimed.
* Catechesis is an education in the faith of children, young people and adults which includes especially the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted, generally speaking, in an organic and systematic way, with a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life.
Today we begin a series of catechesis* on the Sacraments, starting with Baptism. By happy coincidence this coming Sunday is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (12 January 2014).
The concept of “sacrament” is at the heart of our Christian faith and sends us back to an event of grace in which God makes himself present and acts in our life. The Second Vatican Council says at the beginning of the Constitution on the Church: “the Church in Christ is in the nature of sacrament - a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all men” (Lumen Gentium, n. 1). This means then that the seven Sacraments take shape in the Church herself, who, like a universal sacrament, extends throughout history the salvific (leading to salvation) and life-giving action of Christ. He is the One who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, continually renews the Christian community and sends it out into the world to bring to all salvation by word and deed, through preaching and the Sacraments.
1. Baptism is the Sacrament on which our very faith is founded and which grafts us as a living member onto Christ and his Church. Together with the Eucharist and Confirmation it forms what is known as “Christian initiation”, like one great sacramental event configuring us to the Lord and turning us into a living sign of his presence and of his love.
Yet a question can stir within us: is Baptism really necessary to live as Christians and follow Jesus? Isn't it merely a ritual, a formal act of the Church in order to give a name to the little boy or girl? The question can come up. And on this point what the Apostle Paul writes is illuminating: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:3-4). Therefore, it is not a formality! It is an act that touches the depths of our existence. A baptised child and an unbaptised child are not the same. A person who is baptised and a person who is not baptised are not the same. We, by Baptism, are immersed in that inexhaustible source of life which is the death of Jesus, the greatest act of love in all of history; and thanks to this love we can live a new life, no longer at the mercy of evil, of sin and of death, but in communion with God and with our brothers and sisters.
2. Many of us do not have any memory of the celebration of this Sacrament, and it is obvious why, if we were baptised soon after birth. I have asked this question two or three times already, here, in this square: who among you knows the date of your Baptism, raise your hands. It is important to know the day on which I was immersed in that current of Jesus' salvation. And I will allow myself to give you some advice... but, more than advice, a task for today. Today, at home, go look, ask about the date of your Baptism and that way you can bear in mind that most beautiful day of Baptism. To know the date of our Baptism is to know a blessed day. The danger of not knowing it is losing awareness of what the Lord has done in us, the memory of the gift we have received. Thus, we end up considering it only as an event that took place in the past – and not by our own will but by that of our parents – and, thus, has no impact on the present. Indeed, we must reawaken the memory of our Baptism. We are called to live our Baptism every day, as the current reality of our lives. If we manage to follow Jesus and to remain in the Church, despite our limitations and with our weaknesses and with our sins, it is precisely through the Sacrament that we have become new creatures and are clothed in Christ. It is by the power of Baptism, in fact, that, freed of original sin, we are inserted into Jesus' relation to God the Father; that we are bearers of a new hope, for Baptism gives us this new hope: the hope of going on the path of salvation our whole life long. And this hope nothing and no one can extinguish, for it is a hope that does not disappoint. Remember, hope in the Lord never disappoints. Thanks to Baptism, we are capable of forgiving and of loving even those who offend us and do evil to us. By our Baptism, we recognise in the least and in the poor the face of the Lord who visits us and makes himself close. Baptism helps us to recognise in the face of the needy, the suffering, and also of our neighbour, the face of Jesus. All this is possible thanks to the power of Baptism!
3. A last point, which is important. I ask you a question: can a person baptise him or herself? No one can be self-baptised! No one. We can ask for it, desire it, but we always need someone else to confer this Sacrament in the name of the Lord. Because Baptism is a gift which is bestowed in a context of care and brotherly sharing. Ever throughout history, one baptises another, another and another... it is chain. A chain of Grace. I can't baptise myself: I must ask another for Baptism. It is an act of brotherhood, an act of filiation to the Church. In the celebration of Baptism we can see the most genuine features of the Church, who like a mother continues to give birth to new children in Christ, in the fecundity of the Holy Spirit.
Let us as ask the Lord from our hearts to be able to experience ever more in everyday life this grace that we have received at Baptism. That by encountering us, our brothers may encounter true children of God, true brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, true members of the Church. And do not forget your homework today: find out, ask for the date of your Baptism. As I know my birthday, I should know my Baptism day, because it is a feast day."
Pope Francis, Rome, 8 Jan 2014.
Pope Francis also baptised 32 infants on January 12 2014 (Feast of the Baptism of the Lord) - he finished with these remarks to the parents...
“Today, carry this thought home with you. We must be transmitters of the faith. Think of this, think always of how to hand on the faith to (your) children,” he told the families who were gathered for Mass in the Sistine Chapel. These children are links in a chain,” he said of the 32 infants brought for baptism. “You parents have a baby son or daughter to be baptised, but in several years, it will be they that have a baby to baptise, or a grandchild and so, the chain of faith!” …
"This chain of faith began with Christ, whose baptism the Church celebrates today. Although “Jesus did not need to be baptised,” because he was without sin, “with his body, with his divinity, he blessed all waters,” explained the Pope. And then, before going up to heaven, Jesus told us to go out to all the world and baptise. And from that day until today, this is an uninterrupted chain: they were baptising children, and then the children (baptised) their children, and their children and today this chain carries on.” …
“Above all, I want to tell you this: you are the persons who hand on the faith, the transmitters; you have the duty to pass on the faith to these babies. It is the most beautiful inheritance that you can give them: the faith!” he exclaimed.
* Catechesis is an education in the faith of children, young people and adults which includes especially the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted, generally speaking, in an organic and systematic way, with a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life.
