Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: “Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word”. – CCC 1213
The first of the seven sacraments is the “door” which gives access to the other sacraments. Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of forgiveness of sins because it unites us with Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our justification. Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist constitute the “sacraments of initiation” by which a believer receives the remission of original and personal sin, begins a new life in Christ and the Holy Spirit, and is incorporated into the Church, the Body of Christ.
As good parents you care for the physical and emotional needs of your child, and as Christian parents you will care for the spiritual needs of your son or daughter by presenting your child for Baptism. Baptism is the foundational sacrament of Christian life and for membership in God’s Church. Jesus Christ, while on the cross, gave us Baptism from the very waters that poured from His pierced heart, and in this sacrament we see how much God truly loves us. The Sacrament of Baptism has profound and eternal effects.
When a person is Baptized they are:
- Made in new creation, an adopted son or daughter of God, who has become partaker of the divine nature. – CCC 1265
- A member of the Body of Christ, the Church. – CCC 1267
- Freed from the power of darkness and is brought into the realm of the freedom of the children of God. – CCC 1250
- Able to believe in God, to hope in Him, an to love Him through the theological virtues;
Given the power to love and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit though the gifts of the Holy Spirit; helped to grow in the goodness through the moral virtues. – CCC 1266
