B.

THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM

In order to commit themselves to the person

and ideology of Christ and His Church, the
students may be able to;
1. Discuss the meaning of the Sacrament of
Baptism
2. Explain their responsibilities as baptized
persons.
3. Express affirmation on the need to belong to
the family of God.

What is Baptism?

1. Meaning of the Sacrament of Baptism

The Greek word baptizein means to "immerse, plunge, or dip." Baptism is the basis of the
whole Christian life, as we are born of the water and the Spirit. Baptism is necessary for
salvation (John 3:5), and conveys a permanent sign that the new Christian is a child of God.
Jesus himself was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist (Mark 1:9-11). The martyr
St. Ignatius of Antioch, in his Letter to the Ephesians written about 100 AD, stated that Jesus
"Christ was baptized, that by himself submitting he might purify the water." Baptism is
prefigured in the Old Testament through the saving of Noah and his family during the Flood
(Genesis 7:12-23, 1 Peter 3:20-21), and Moses crossing of the Red Sea during the Exodus,
leaving captivity for the Promised Land (Exodus 14:1-22).

This sacrament is also called “the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
for it signifies and actually brings about the birth of water and the Spirit without which “no
one can enter the Kingdom of God.”
i. Baptism is God’s most beautiful and magnificent signs… It is called:

1. gift - because it is conferred on those who bring nothing of their own

2. grace - since it is given even to the guilty;

3. anointing for it is priestly and royal as are those

who are anointed;

3. enlightenment because it radiates light;

5. garment of immortality or clothing since

it veils our shame;

6. bath of rebirth because it washes; and

7. seal as it is our guard and the sign of God’s
 Lordship. (CCC #1216)

Baptism is the first sacrament we received. It marks the beginning of our Christian life.
Without baptism, one cannot receive any of the other sacraments. Through it, we entered into
a relationship with God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – and with the Church.

2. Recipient of Baptism

Who can be baptized, and what is required of a candidate?

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, every person not yet baptized and only such
a person is able to be baptized. The only prerequisite for Baptism is faith, which must be
professed publicly at the Baptism. A person who turns to Christianity is not just changing a
world view. He travels a path of learning (Catechumenate), in which he becomes a new man
through personal conversion, but especially through the gift of Baptism. He is now living
member of the Body of Christ.
Infant Baptism is an immemorial tradition of the Church (Acts 16:15, 33; 18:8; I Cor. 1:16). The
Catholic Church teaches that “Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by original sin,
children also have a need of the new birth in Baptism to be freed from the power of darkness
and brought into the realm of the freedom of the children of God, to which all men are called.
The sheer gratuitousness of the grace of salvation is particularly manifest in infant Baptism. The
Church and the parents would deny a child the priceless grace of becoming a child of God were
they not confer Baptism shortly after birth. Christian parents will recognize that this practice
also accords with their role as nurturers of the life that God has entrusted to them”.

3. Rite of Baptism

How is Baptism administered?

MATTER: Water
Water is rich in symbolism, because of its cleansing power and its limpid purity. It has
from ancient times been a symbol of interior purification. Because it sustains life, quenches
thirst, and refreshes the tired body, and because it seems with living things and makes the
earth bear fruit, it is a symbol of life itself and fertility.

Water is also used to symbolized God’s blessing over His people associated with the
covenant – the blessing of restoration (from their exile in Babylon) and of new life.
In the Old Testament, the image of “water” meant a lot of things. From the dawn of
creation, we read of the “Spirit breathing over the water.” (Genesis 1:2). We learn of Noah and
the great flood. We recall the people of Israel as they crossed the waters of the Red Sea, into
light and freedom. Ezekiel, too, talks of the new life that the water and the Spirit shall bring.
 WATER WASHED AND BRINGS LIFE : “I will take you
away from among the nations, gather you from all
the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own
land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse
you from your impurities, and from all your idols. I
will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place
a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your
stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. (Ezekiel
36: 24-26)
In the New Testament, such richness of the
symbolism of water is expressed in Jesus’ baptism by
John in the Jordan (cf Mk. 1:9-11; Mt. 3:13-17; Lk. 3:
21-22). Jesus, who has united himself with sinful
humanity, asked to be baptized by John to signal the
passage of God’s people from sin to reconciliation
with God through baptism by water. This was to happen with the beginning of Jesus’ public
ministry climaxed in his redemptive passion, death and resurrection. Note the presence of
the Holy Spirit (in the appearance of a dove) at that specific moment.
The blood and water that came out of the pierced side of
Jesus at the moment of his death (cf. Jn. 19:34-35) has been
interpreted by early Christian writers as expressive of the life-
giving effect if Christ’s death. It has been regarded as the
climax of a number of references to Baptism and the
Eucharist.

FORM: The form of Baptism, like its matter, was

established by Christ. It consists in the words:

“N…N., I baptize in the name of the Father, and of the

Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
This form, like the matter indicates the spiritual effects,
which are wrought by the Sacrament. With the washing away
of sin and its punishments, and the elevation to a new life,
the soul enters into a special relationship with each of the three Divine persons.

It is consecrated to the: It becomes:

Father - who has created it; -the child of the Father,
Son - who has redeemed it; and -a member of Christ’s mystical body
Holy Spirit - who sanctifies it. -the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Validity of the Administration of the Sacrament of Baptism

a. The matter and the form must meet certain conditions.

The water used is any kind of natural water:
 Water of streams, lakes, seas, tap water distilled water, rain, dew
For ordinary Baptism, baptismal water (mixed with a little oil and chrism and
blessed) is used.
Any liquid, which is ordinary, regarded as water, such as juices, milk and other
beverages, is not valid matter.

b. The form cannot be revised or distorted, but must be said exactly as it stands.

The matter and form must be applied together, the form being pronounced while the
water is poured, and by the same person.

Various Ways of Applying the Matter

Immersion – means the individual is submerged completely for a few seconds in a pool
of water.
Sprinkling or aspersion
Pouring the water on the forehead or some other part of the person’s body.

The first form was widely used in early times; while the third is the only form used
nowadays.
Ministers of the Sacrament of baptism

Ordinary minister of Baptism: Bishop or priest, especially the parish priest

Extraordinary minister of solemn Baptism: deacon who has been delegated by the
priest or bishop.
In cases of emergency, if there is no priest: any person, Catholic or non-Catholic, child
or adult, male or female, can validly baptize, provided that he follows the essential rite
of the Church and has the intention to do as the Church does.

Infants in danger of death may be baptized without the permission of their parents or
guardians. Children from the age of reason and up, as well as adults, cannot be baptized
unless they consent to it, or unless it is reasonable certain that they want to be
baptized.
The Church decrees, under normal circumstances, that the baptized person should have
godparents or sponsors – at least one of either sex. They must be over fourteen years
of age, and good Catholics who will take an interest in the spiritual development of their
godchild, and see to his welfare in case his parents die. Sponsors contract a spiritual
relationship with their godchild, which forbids marriage between them.
The name of the saint is given to the child that he/she might have a special protector in
heaven, whom he can look up to and imitate.
4. Effects of baptism
What happens in Baptism?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1262 describes the effect of Baptism thus:

Forgiveness of sins
Through Baptism all sins are forgiven, original and personal sins, as well as all
punishment for sins. As Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…Acts 2:38. Yet certain
temporal consequences of sin remain in the baptized, such as suffering, illness, death,
and such frailties inherent in life as weaknesses of character, and so on, as well as an
inclination to sin that tradition calls “concupiscene”.

Gives the Divine life of sanctifying grace

Through Baptism we are reborn as adopted sons and daughters Of God, partaker
of Divine nature, members of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy
Spirit. The Sanctifying grace of Baptism enables us to believe in God, to hope in him and
love him through the theological virtues and empowers us to live and act under the
prompting of the Holy Spirit by allowing us to grow in goodness through the moral
virtues.
Col 2:6-7 “Since you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, live in union with him.
Keep your roots deep in him, build your lives in him and become strong in your faith, as
you were taught, and be filled with thanksgiving”. Eph. 4:4-6 “There is one body and one
Spirit, just as there is one hope to which God has called you. There is one Lord, one
faith, one baptism, there is one God and Father of all mankind, who is Lord of all, works
through all, and is in all”.
Vat. II Ch. I, Art. 12 Dogmatic Constitution on the Church = The holy people of
God shares also in Christ’s prophetic office. It spreads abroad a living witness to Him
especially by means of a life of faith and charity and by offering to God a sacrifice of
praise, the tribute of lips which give honor to his name (cf. Heb. 13:15).
The body of the faithful as a whole, anointed as they are by the Holy One (cf. Jn
2:20,27), cannot err in matters of belief. Thanks to a supernatural sense of the faith
which characterizes the People as a whole, it manifests this unerring quality when “from
the bishops down to the last member of the laity,” it shows universal agreement in
matters of faith and morals.

Incorporates us into the Church, the Body of Christ.

From the Baptismal fonts is born the one People of God of the New Covenant, which
transcends all the natural or human limits of nations, cultures, races and sexes. 1
Cor. 12:13 “ For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body”. The baptized
have become “living stones” to be “built into a spiritual house, to be a holy
priesthood”. Having become a member of the Church, the person baptized belongs
no longer to himself, but to him who died and rose for us (1 Cor. 6:19; 2 Cor. 5:15).
 From now on, he is called to be subject to others, to serve them in the communion
of the Church, and to obey and submit to the Church’s leaders, holding them in
respect and affection.

It constitutes the sacramental bond of unity of Christians

For men who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in some,
though imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church. Justified by faith in
baptism, They are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called
Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers by the children of the
Catholic Church (Unitatis Redintegratio 22 § 2).

It seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark of his belonging to Christ. No
sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents baptism from bearing the fruits of
salvation ( Rom. 8:29).

5. Responsibilities as baptized Catholic

As a baptized Catholic, I am a:
a. child of God and a temple of the Blessed Trinity
b. a member of the Catholic Church and have a mission “Go and preach…”
c. co-offerer with Christ.

Therefore, I must follow Jesus Christ, and obey my mother, the Catholic Church; I must live as a
sincere and good Catholic.

Is Baptism in fact the only way to salvation?

Persons, because of circumstances, die without receiving the sacrament of Baptism are saved
either by:
a. Baptism of blood - It consists in dying for the faith which one believes in and desires
to embrace, but cannot because of certain circumstances. The charity and faith
implied in such a heroic act opens heaven to one who submits to it.
b. Baptism of desire – It consists in being truly sorry for one’s sins and in desiring,
explicitly or implicitly, to receive the Sacrament. A pagan who may not know about
Baptism, but who sincerely desires to do all that is necessary to be saved, and who
lives according to his conscience, is said to have an implicit desire for Baptism.