Baptism

One baptism

"I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Eph 4:1-6).

There is only one sacrament of Baptism. It consists of some kind of washing with water, from full immersion to something as simple as moistening one's finger and wiping a small part of the candidate's skin; while washing the person, the minister says, "I baptize you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:29).

The ordinary ministers of baptism are deacons, priests, and bishops, but, in an emergency, any human being may baptize another, regardless of their age, holiness, religious affiliation, or sex, so long as they understand what Baptism is and intend to Baptize. In other words, people cannot be baptized by accident; the minister must have a sacramental intention.

Every person who is baptized in this way is baptized with one and the same sacrament of Baptism. Liturgically and socially, there may be many differences between a Catholic and a non-Catholic baptism, but theologically, all who are baptized are baptized into (immersed in) Jesus by the work of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Many effects

In Baptism, we are:

• cleansed from Original Sin and personal sin;
• born again;
• separated from the world, the flesh, and the devil;
• given citizenship in the Kingdom of God;
• christened (anointed) with the Holy Spirit;
• vowed to God;
• divinized: we are filled with God's own life, which is also known as "sanctifying grace."

Baptism of the Holy Spirit

The Baptism of Jesus is the model of the sacrament of Baptism.

Just as Jesus was anointed (Greek: christened) with the Holy Spirit in His baptism, so are we. Baptism causes us to be "born [again] of water and Spirit" (Jn 3:5).

The sacrament of Baptism causes us to have new life (zoē; instead of just bios. We become children of God, which means that we have a new Father and a whole new set of family relationships with the Trinity and with each other.