One of the critical steps in the life of a believer is Baptism. Baptism symbolizes and represents our recognition of Jesus Christ and affirming our belief in his life, death and resurrection. Through Baptism, God presents us with a promise of salvation and we, in turn, make a covenant before God.
With Baptism, we begin our journey to Christ and our salvation. Baptism attests to our lifelong commitment to Jesus and his ministry. Baptism incorporates all of us into a unity with Christ and the entire community of believers. As Pope Francis describes in Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments, “Baptism is the ‘door’ of faith and of Christian life” (Francis 137). It helps us to begin our Christian life. It is the first and one of the most important …show more content…
The remission of our sins acts like a “second baptism” and strengthens and renews our first baptism. As we confess our sins and weaknesses, we renew the covenant we made with God; the promise to always follow and worship him. Even our faith is linked to our Baptism. Our faith itself can be regarded as a sacrament and its transmission initially begins with our Baptism. As Baptism is described as a symbol, many people might assess this sacrament as a mere manner in which we symbolize our faith rather than an instrumental part in our faith life. As Pope Francis reminds us, Paul remarked that, “we have been buried with him [Jesus] by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Francis 249).
“Baptism means participating in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ” (World Council of Churches). Jesus himself was baptized in the Jordan River along with sinners. Jesus’ baptism was the first step to his journey on becoming the “Suffering Servant” which he showed us throughout his life in his death and resurrection. By Baptism, “Christians are immersed in the liberating death of Christ where their sins are buried . . . and crucified with Christ, and where the power of sin is broken” (World Council of …show more content…
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) points out that “ men who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in some . . . communion with the Catholic Church. Justified by faith in Baptism, [they] are incorporated into Christ; . . . and with good reason are accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church.” In addition to being a support for our brothers and sisters, God calls us to live our Baptism fully. Living our Baptism to the most of our abilities means “not accustoming ourselves to the situations of degradation and misery that we encounter” (Francis 470). That means not being passively concerned and accepting of the behavior and the sadness around us in the world today. It means not settling on simply being “sad” for our suffering neighbors and our persecuted brothers. It means not becoming accustomed to the unending violence that occurs on a daily basis. Our Baptism connects with all of Christ’s followers, and as we promised to Jesus, we have to always lend a helping hand to those in
With Baptism, we begin our journey to Christ and our salvation. Baptism attests to our lifelong commitment to Jesus and his ministry. Baptism incorporates all of us into a unity with Christ and the entire community of believers. As Pope Francis describes in Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments, “Baptism is the ‘door’ of faith and of Christian life” (Francis 137). It helps us to begin our Christian life. It is the first and one of the most important …show more content…
The remission of our sins acts like a “second baptism” and strengthens and renews our first baptism. As we confess our sins and weaknesses, we renew the covenant we made with God; the promise to always follow and worship him. Even our faith is linked to our Baptism. Our faith itself can be regarded as a sacrament and its transmission initially begins with our Baptism. As Baptism is described as a symbol, many people might assess this sacrament as a mere manner in which we symbolize our faith rather than an instrumental part in our faith life. As Pope Francis reminds us, Paul remarked that, “we have been buried with him [Jesus] by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Francis 249).
“Baptism means participating in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ” (World Council of Churches). Jesus himself was baptized in the Jordan River along with sinners. Jesus’ baptism was the first step to his journey on becoming the “Suffering Servant” which he showed us throughout his life in his death and resurrection. By Baptism, “Christians are immersed in the liberating death of Christ where their sins are buried . . . and crucified with Christ, and where the power of sin is broken” (World Council of …show more content…
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) points out that “ men who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in some . . . communion with the Catholic Church. Justified by faith in Baptism, [they] are incorporated into Christ; . . . and with good reason are accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church.” In addition to being a support for our brothers and sisters, God calls us to live our Baptism fully. Living our Baptism to the most of our abilities means “not accustoming ourselves to the situations of degradation and misery that we encounter” (Francis 470). That means not being passively concerned and accepting of the behavior and the sadness around us in the world today. It means not settling on simply being “sad” for our suffering neighbors and our persecuted brothers. It means not becoming accustomed to the unending violence that occurs on a daily basis. Our Baptism connects with all of Christ’s followers, and as we promised to Jesus, we have to always lend a helping hand to those in