Session 6: When did my journey begin?
Baptism, Your Initiation into God’s Family
A
sacrament is a “sacred sign” that Christ gave to the Church to deliver grace to us, share
his divine life with us, and make us holy. A sacrament includes matter, a physical part, and
form, the accompanying words or prayers that make it effective. The physical sign points to a
spiritual presence of grace and its effects. For example, the water of Baptism really washes us
clean from sin and really pours God’s supernatural life into our souls.
(Chosen Student Workbook, pg 73)
Grace is God’s gift of his life to us. Without
grace, we are spiritually dead and unable to
share in the eternal life of heaven. Grace
makes it possible to live in the heroic, holy
way that God callus us to live; to believe, hope
and love in ways that would otherwise not be
available to us. Though we cannot “see” or
“feel” grace, we can observe its effects in the
lives of holy people, and it is often associated
with our own sense of being “really alive.”
The word grace comes from the Latin for
“gift.” Because grace is a gift, we do not deserve it. God generously bestows his grace on
us for our benefit. Anyone who has given a
gift only to have it rejected knows that gifts
must be received. Grace is not magic; it does
not automatically make us holy, but needs to
be accepted and cooperated with in order to
become effective.
(Catholic Faith Handbook, pg 73)
“Let us confidently
approach the
throne of grace to
receive mercy and
to find grace for
timely help.”
Hebrews 4:16
If someone had never heard of grace, how would
you describe it in your own words?
What does it mean that Jesus came to seek and to
save the lost? Can you think of a time you experienced this in your own life or heard about it in
someone else’s?
The Lord was
baptized, not to be
cleansed himself but to
cleanse the waters,
so that those waters,
cleansed by the flesh
of Christ which knew
no sin, might have the
power of Baptism.
St. Ambrose of Milan
You never dry
off from your
Baptism.
Dr. Jerry Baumbach
Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole
Christian life, the gateway to life in the
Spirit, 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.
Our Lord voluntarily submitted himself
to the baptism of St. John, intended for
sinners, in order to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus’ gesture is a manifestation of
his self-emptying. The Spirit who had
hovered over the waters of the first
creation descended then on the Christ as
a prelude of the new creation, and the
Father revealed Jesus as his beloved
Son.
What does Baptism do for us?
Matthew 28:19 says, “Go, therefore make disciples
of all nations; baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
What does this teach us about Baptism?
Session 6: When did my journey begin?
Baptism, Your Initiation into God’s Family
I
n Baptism, we become “partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) and are made children of
God. Baptism initiates a person into the Church – the body of Christ. Baptism unites us to
Jesus, infuses sanctifying grace (divine life), and removes Original and personal sins. Because
Baptism is the ordinary means for our salvation, and because it is more about God’s choice of us
than our choice of him, Catholic parents are strongly urged to have their children baptized as
infants.
The spiritual life is a journey, and we who were baptized as infants were “carried” by our
parents for the first part of this journey. As we grow, we continue walking with God on our own,
living out the truths we have learned from our parents and faith community.
(Chosen Student Workbook, pg 82)
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 to confer Baptism shortly after birth.
The faith required for Baptism is not a perfect and mature faith, but a beginning that is
called to develop.
For all the baptized, children or adults, faith must grow after Baptism. For this reason the
Church celebrates each year at the Easter Vigil the renewal of baptismal promises. Preparation for Baptism leads only to the threshold of new life. Baptism is the source of that
new life in Christ from which the entire Christian life springs forth.

What is the difference between thinking of yourself as
an heir – that is, as a son or daughter of God – versus as
a “subject” or “member” of a kingdom?

What can you do this week to live more fully and
publicly as a child of God?
B
aptism is the first of the seven sacraments.
Its symbols of water and washing remind us of a
kind of “birth.” Through Baptism, God adopts us
as his children, sharing his life with us by the
gift of sanctifying grace so that we can live
supernaturally, now and forever, in heaven with
him.
The share in God’s life that we receive in
Baptism frees us from Original Sin, the absence
of grace in us at birth that was a result of our
first parents’ disobedience. Baptism is God’s
“remedy” for both Original and personal sin. The
Trinitarian formula for Baptism, which
emphasizes the three divine Persons of the
Trinity reminds us that this sacrament makes us
members of God’s family. God is a family, a
communion of Person’s living in relation to each
other, and our destiny in his family is the reason
why our life in relation to others is so important.
Original Sin was the sin of Adam and Eve’s
disobedience of God’s command not to eat of the
fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil
in the Garden of Eden. Original Sin also refers to
the way in which we are born without the
original justice and holiness that Adam and Eve
lost through their sin. For us descendants of
Adam and Eve, it is not a personal sin, but
rather a sin of human nature that is transmitted
to all the descendants of Adam by propagation.
As a result of Jesus’ saving work, God gives us a
share in his life through Baptism, where
Original Sin is “forgiven” or “washed away” and
God’s life is “poured in” to us.
(Chosen Student Workbook, pg 83-84)
Symbols of Baptism
WATER
Water is a symbol of both life and death. Its use in
baptism is central to the sacrament representing
taking on a new life in Christ.
CROSS
A cross is traced on the forehead to symbolize
who the person belongs to and the grace and
redemption of the cross.
CANDLE
The baptismal candle is a symbol of the light of
Christ which is coming into the child’s life. The
Paschal [Easter] Candle is always lit and present
near the altar during mass and baptism
ceremonies. The Paschal Candle represents the
light of Christ. The candle given to the newly
baptized signifies that Christ has enlightened them
and that the baptized person is now “the light of
the world” through him.
WHITE GARMENT
White is a symbol of transition and change; purity
and cleansing. The white garment symbolizes that
the person baptized has “put on Christ,” has risen
with Christ.
OIL
Oil is a symbol used in many sacraments
representing power and strength which comes
from the Lord. The oil 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.
Session 6: When did my journey begin?
Baptism, Your Initiation into God’s Family
Questions asked of parents and godparents at Baptism:
Do you reject Satan?
And all his works?
And all his empty promises?
Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died,
and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?
Challenge of the Week
What have you inherited? Think of something you or someone in your family inherited. It could be
an object, a photo, or property. Write about it below, and explain why it is considered valuable and
what steps you would take to be sure it is passed on to future generations.
Buy or create a bottle for storing holy water in your home, and then stop in at your parish to fill
it. Write about what you did with the bottle in the space below.
Priest, prophet, king! A priest intercedes and offers spiritual sacrifice. A prophet shares the word of
God with people. A king is given power so he might serve and at the same time has a dignity he needs
to uphold. Think of a specific way to live one of those roles this week and do it. Write about your
experience below.
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Reflection
You never dry off from your Baptism. What does that mean to you?
How can you continue to live out your baptism?
You are a beloved child of God. Have you ever thought about what that means?
The Church does not dispense the sacrament of
baptism in order to acquire for herself an increase in
membership but in order to consecrate a human
being to God and to communicate to that person
the divine gift of birth from God.
Hans Urs von Balthasar

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1210-1284

YouCat Pages 105-108, 116-120