Baptism
· From earliest times, baptised people have been called saints or holy people because God lives in them.
· People become members of God’s family, through Baptism. Like all families, God’s family shares a common life – the life of God.
· God’s family gathers, has leaders and rules, and shares stories. Baptism is the first sacrament to be received. Only a baptised person can receive the other sacraments.
· Jesus revealed that God wants people to allow God to live within them, so as to relate as closely as possible with them. For this reason, God wants people to be baptised or to accept Baptism. People must be baptised in the name of the Trinity to enter fully into the life of God.
· Even though original sin was removed at Baptism, temptations still arise because baptised people continue to have a tendency toward sin. This explains why even the most holy of people are capable of some sin in this life.
· He also told his disciples to continue the practice of using water for Baptism. These elements are still used as signs in the sacraments, however they are not merely signs of grace. In fact, they produce the spiritual effects of what they signify.
· For celebration so the sacrament of Baptism to symbolise the light of Christ that enlightens the newly baptised. In Jesus’ time, Jewish people sought baptism because they wanted to purify their lives of sin and wrongdoing.
· Jesus led his followers to understand that he would institute a new baptism through which he and God the Father would share the Holy Spirit with them. This new baptism is now a sacrament.
· Baptism is the rite whereby the person...
