Baptism Theology
 
 

I. What is Baptism?

To baptize (Greek baptizein) means to "plunge" or "immerse"; the "plunge" into the water symbolizes the catechumen's burial into Christ's death, from which he rises up by resurrection with him, as "a new creature."

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized 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)
II. Why Does the Church Baptize?

Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament. (CCC 1257)*

Jesus…said…"Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother's womb and be born again, can he?" Jesus answered, "Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. (Jn 3:3-5)

Jesus’ direct command:

"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)

 The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; …[and yet in consideration of those who, by no fault of their own, do not understand the necessity of baptism, we are reminded that] God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments (CCC 1257)



III. Original Sin – All Effected

St. Athanasius once wrote:

"For since the first man Adam altered, and through sin death came into the world, therefore it became the second Adam to be unalterable".

What was altered? Our free-willed relationship with God and subsequently with others.

 So God Freely Has Given Us a Remedy The Lord acts first and in our Free Will we are asked to respond in a human physical act like Jesus himself did in the Jordan.

We are all related to God at our creation but not by any act of our will, rather this is solely by God’s will.

The Seven Sacraments are seven uniquely intimate ways in which we can freely respond and there-by relate to God through our own free will.


The Rite

During the rite you will, once again, freely make your baptismal promises.

You will reject Satan in the Rite during the Profession of Faith:

Do you reject Satan? And all his works? And all his empty promises?

Adam said "no" to these questions and subsequently had no progeny who could say "yes."

The Church recognizes that no one can say a consistent "yes" throughout life 

If we say, "We are without sin," we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 Jn 1:8)

 Even when we do say "yes," it is only through grace received. Baptism plugs us into Jesus’ "yes." Infants are unable to say anything, neither yes or no, since they are incapable of reasoning at this point and, yet, they need Christ’s yes just as much as you and I.

So your "yes" is more than just a word. It must be a movement of the heart.

 Infant Baptism The practice of infant Baptism is an immemorial tradition of the Church. There is explicit testimony to this practice from the second century on. (CCC 1252)


St. Paul and the Jailer of Philippi

"When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew (his) sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted out in a loud voice, "Do no harm to yourself; we are all here." He asked for a light and rushed in and, trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved." So they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house. He took them in at that hour of the night and bathed their wounds; then he and all his family were baptized at once." (Acts. 16:27-33)
 
 

IV. Sign and the reality – Incarnational Faith

God uses our own elements and rituals to relate to us in our own being which is body and spirit. And most importantly to give us a way to respond to Him in both body and spirit.

Ash Wednesday – guilt acknowledgement and dependence on God

Sacraments however are a sign pointing to a deeper reality according to the faith of the Church.

Sacraments involve a physical/spiritual relationship with God. (We are Body and Spirit Beings – an Incarnate Act)
 
 

 Symbols of Baptism The Baptismal water is consecrated by a prayer of epiclesis (either at this moment or at the Easter Vigil). The Church asks God that through his Son the power of the Holy Spirit may be sent upon the water, so that those who will be baptized in it may be "born of water and the Spirit." (CCC 1231)
 
  The Church has seen in Noah's ark a prefiguring of salvation by Baptism, for by it "a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water":

The waters of the great flood
you made a sign of the waters of Baptism,
that make an end of sin and a new beginning of goodness. (CCC 1219)

 But above all, the crossing of the Red Sea, literally the liberation of Israel from the slavery of Egypt, announces the liberation wrought by Baptism:

You freed the children of Abraham from the slavery of Pharaoh,
bringing them dry-shod through the waters of the Red Sea,
to be an image of the people set free in Baptism. (CCC 1221)

 Finally, Baptism is prefigured in the crossing of the Jordan River by which the People of God received the gift of the land promised to Abraham's descendants, an image of eternal life. The promise of this blessed inheritance is fulfilled in the New Covenant. (CCC 1222)  
  Immersion or Pouring?
 
  The Anointing with Sacred Chrism, perfumed oil consecrated by the bishop, signifies the gift of the Holy Spirit to the newly baptized, who has become a Christian, that is, one "anointed" by the Holy Spirit, incorporated into Christ who is anointed priest, prophet, and king. (CCC 1241)

Clothing in the White Garment, "In the ancient Church, when baptism involved actually entering into a pool and being immersed in the water, one disrobed before entering the water. After baptism, the new Christian was dressed in a white gown. Thus the old clothes came to symbolize the sinful life one was leaving behind, while the baptismal garment was an expression of new life in Christ." (Hamma, Together at Baptism p.65)

The Baptismal Candle, "This lighted candle symbolizes the flame of faith your child has received, as well as the call we all have to share the light of Christ with others." (Hamma, Together at Baptism p.67)
 
 

V. The Effects of Baptism

 Members of one Body – Incarnational Faith God became one with us by taking on our flesh so that we might become one with him in his Spirit and through him we become one with all others united to him through the sacraments.

Baptism makes us members of the Body of Christ: "Therefore . . . we are members one of another."

Transcends all the natural or human limits of blood relationships nations, cultures, races, and sexes

 Baptism incorporates us into the Church. (This is why we baptize at the Sunday Mass with the whole community)
(Parish registration and involvement)
(Family prayer and witness to the Faith)
 
 
 
 
VI. Mission of Parent/Steward and Godparent

To fulfill the true meaning of the sacrament, children must later be formed in the faith in which they have been baptized. Christian formation, which is their due, seeks to lead them gradually to learn God’s plan in Christ, so that they may ultimately accept for themselves the faith in which they have been baptized. (The Rites)

 The Signing of the Cross: