Baptism

Baptism »The foundation of Christian life

Go therefore, teach all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe everything I commanded you (Mt 28: 19-20).

PThe Fifty Days of the Easter Liturgical Period is suitable for contemplating the Christian life, which, by its nature, is a life originating from Christ himself. For we are Christians to the extent that we let Jesus Christ live in us. So where do we begin to revive this consciousness, if not from the beginning, from the sacrament that experienced Christian life in us? It is baptism. The Passover of Christ, with its charge of newness, reaches us through baptism to transform us into his image: the baptized belong to Jesus Christ, he is the Lord of their existence. Baptism is the “foundation of all Christian life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church – KKC, 1213). It is the first of the sacraments, for it is the gateway that allows Christ the Lord to dwell in our person and allows us to delve into his mystery.

Gthe Greek verb “baptize” means “dip, despise” (cf. KKC, 1214). A bath in water is a rite inherent in different religions to express the transition from one state to another, a sign of purification for a new beginning. However, Christians must not miss the fact that if the body is immersed in water, the soul is immersed in Christ to receive forgiveness of sin and to shine in God’s light (cf. Tertulian, On the Resurrection of the Dead, VIII, 3: CCL 2, 931; PL) 2, 806). Thanks to the Holy Spirit, baptism brings us into the death and resurrection of the Lord, sinking in the baptismal font of the old sin-dominated man who separates from God and allowing the birth of a new man transformed into Jesus. In it, all of Adam’s children are called to a new life.

TheGrowth is a rebirth. I’m sure we all remember the date of our birth. That’s for sure. But I ask myself a little doubt, and I ask you, do each of you remember the date of your baptism? Some say “yes” – that’s good. However, it is a bit uncertain “yes” because maybe many of you do not remember it. But if we celebrate our day of birth, how can we not celebrate – or at least remember – the day of rebirth? I’ll give you a homework today. Those of you who do not remember the date of baptism, ask your moms, aunts or uncles, grandchildren, “Do you know the date of baptism?” And we must never forget it. On that day it is necessary to give thanks to the Lord, because it is just the day when Jesus came into me, when the Holy Spirit came into me. Did you understand your homework well? We all need to know the date of our baptism. It’s another birthday – the birthday of our rebirth.

P amätajme the last words of the Risen One addressed to the Apostles, the exact mandate: ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit “(Mt 28:19). Through the baptismal bath, one who believes in Christ is immersed in the very life of the Holy Trinity. Indeed, the baptismal water is not anything, but it is the water over which the Holy Ghost invokes “the life” (Credo). Consider what Jesus said to Nicodemus to explain to him the birth for God’s life: Jesus replied, «If one is not born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. What is born of the body is the body, and what is born of the Spirit is the Spirit »(John 3,5-6). Therefore, baptism is also called “rebirth”: we believe that God has saved us “out of His mercy, the bath of rebirth and renewal in the Holy Spirit” (John 3,5-6).

TO growth is therefore an effective sign of rebirth to walk in the newness of life. It reminds St. Paul of the Christians of Rome and says as follows: «Do you not know that all who were baptized in Christ Jesus were baptized in his death? We were baptized with him in baptism with Christ, so that, as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life »(Rom 6: 3-4). Baptizing us into Christ, baptism makes us members of his Body: we are not isolated. We are not baptized – we are members of the Body of Christ, which is the Church, and participate in its mission in the world (cf. CCC 1213). The vitality that springs from the baptismal spring is illustrated by the following words of Jesus: «I am the vine; you are the branches. He that abides in me and me in him bears much fruit »(John 15: 5). The same life, the life of the Holy Spirit, flows from Christ to the baptized, bringing them together in one Body (cf.

To the growth of Christ, He allows us to live in us and allows us to live united with Him to work together in the Church, each according to our state, to transform the world. The Baptism Bath, taken only once, illuminates our entire life, leading our steps to the Heavenly Jerusalem. There is a time “before baptism” and “after baptism”. The sacrament presupposes a path of faith, which we call the catechumenate, of course, when an adult asks for baptism. However, children have been baptized in their parents’ faith since ancient times. (cf. Child Baptism Rite, Introduction, 2).

AI would like to say one thing to you about this. Some think, “Why baptize a child who doesn’t understand it? Hopefully, when he grows up and gains understanding, it will ask for baptism ”. – But this means not having faith in the Holy Spirit because when we are baptizing the child, the Holy Spirit enters the child, and the Holy Spirit has given the child a childhood growth from a young age, which will then blossom. We must always give this opportunity to all, to all children, to have within them the Holy Spirit who will guide them throughout their lives. Remember to baptize the children.

Never if it does not deserve baptism, it is always a selfless gift to all, adults and newborns. However, as with a grain of full life, this gift is rooted and bears fruit in an environment fed by faith. The baptismal promises that we renew each year in the Easter Vigil must be revived every day in order to “christify” us (he likened Christ, made Christ): we do not have to worry about this expression – baptism “Christians us”. He who has received baptism and “Christians himself” is like Christ, transforms himself into Christ and makes him to5