Baptism

•Water “the stuff of life”•Bapto means “to dye” a garment to change its color•Baptizo means “to cause to perish”, as in drowning•Common ritual cleansings “wash”, “rinse”,” sprinkle”•Conferred only once in one’s life time•Water is potent an equivocal element and symbol

Historical development and Christian application

•Jewish Purification•The Jews practiced various absolutions for the sake of purification

•John the Baptist (Mar 1:7-8)•Jesus was baptized. Disciples baptized. After Jesus ascension, the disciples baptized both with water and the by lying on hands.

Initiation practices and separation of the sacramental practices

Mankind inherited a propensity toward evil from the fall of Adam

What does baptism do? It incorporates us into Christ and forms us into God’s

people It brings us to the community of faith

Baptism brings one into the death and resurrection of Jesus (The first two effects of Baptism) Baptism were usually performed by immersions into

water To give up an old way of being and to live in Christ

Baptism imparts a character that of being a child of God Baptism removes original sin

The sin committed by Adam and Eve Inherited sin

•Who can receive baptism?•Every person not yet baptized and only such a person is able to be baptized

•Who can baptize?•Deacons and priests

•Is there salvation for those who were not baptized?

•Seek God sincerely and strive to fulfill his will are saved even if they have not been baptized

•With respect to children who have died without baptism the liturgy of the Church invites us to trust in God’s mercy and to pray for their salvation

Didache

Teachings of the Apostles

 

Catechumerate

Prepare for baptism or Easter vigil (right before Easter)

By making a forty-day “retreat” previous to the vigil

The Sacrament of Confirmation: Grace for Fullness of Faith and Life

Confirmation is a spiritual "growing up."

The character of Confirmation makes us sharers with Christ in His role of prophet or teacher.

Roots of Confirmation: This is one of the "many other things that Jesus did" which, as St. John tells us, are not written down in the Gospels (see John 21:25).

We know that Catholic Tradition is of equal authority with Sacred Scripture as a source of divine truth.

Matter and Form: "Laying on of hands" was the earliest name for Confirmation.

CONFIRMATION gives us Strength to live in the world.

Acts 8:14-19"Now when the Apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John. On their arrival they prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit; for as yet He had not come upon any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. But when Simon [the magician] saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the Apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, 'Give me also this power, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit'."

It tells us that while Confirmation is a complement to Baptism, a completing of what was begun in Baptism, nevertheless Confirmation is a sacrament distinct from Baptism.

Necessary for them to receive the "laying on of hands."

The passage also tells us the way in which Confirmation was to be given: by the placing of the hand of the one who confirms, upon the head of the one to be confirmed, with a prayer that he may receive the Holy Spirit.

The Rite of Confirmation

1. The bishop or priest places his hand upon the head of each individual.

2. The bishop traces the sign of the cross on the person's forehead—having first dipped his thumb in the holy oil called chrism—and says, "Be sealed with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit." The newly confirmed person responds by saying, "Amen."

CELEBRATION OF THE SACRAMENTCELEBRATION OF THE SACRAMENT

Three main components of the ritual:

Laying on of hands Anointing with chrism oil on the forehead The words “Be sealed with the Holy Spirit”

3 kinds of holy oil

•Chrism is one of the three kinds of holy oil which a bishop blesses each year at his Mass on Holy Thursday.

•The other two kinds of holy oil–The oil of catechumens (used in Baptism)–The oil of the sick (used in Anointing of the Sick)

•The holy oils, all of them, are composed of pure olive oil.

• the oil represents the strengthening effect of God's grace.

• chrism has another difference: balm has been

mixed with it. Balm is a fragrant substance procured from the balsam tree.

• In the holy chrism it symbolizes the "sweet odor" of virtue; it tells of the spiritual fragrance, the attractiveness that should characterize the life of him who puts his/her Confirmation graces to work.

Significance of the holy oils used in the administration of the sacraments

Western Church REQUIREMENTS

•In the Latin-Rite (i.e., Western) Catholic Church, the sacrament is to be conferred on the faithful at about the age of discretion (generally taken to be about 7), unless the Episcopal Conference has decided on a different age, or there is danger of death or, in the judgment of the minister, a grave reason suggests otherwise (canon 891 of the Code of Canon Law). they are baptized have the use of reason,are suitably instructed and are properly disposed and able to renew the baptismal promises (letter of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments published in its 1999 bulletin, pages 537-540).

Western Church

•In the Latin Rite, the sacrament is thus customarily conferred only on persons old enough to understand it,

the ordinary minister of Confirmation is a bishop.

Only for a serious reason may the diocesan bishop delegate a priest to administer the sacrament (canon 884 of the Code of Canon Law). However, a priest may by law confer the sacrament, if he baptizes someone who is no longer an infant or admits a person already baptized to full communion, or if the person (adult or child) to be confirmed is in danger of death (canon 883).

Eastern Church

•In Eastern Catholic Churches, the usual minister of this sacrament is the parish priest, using olive oil consecrated by a bishop (i.e., chrism), and administering the sacrament immediately after Baptism.

What does Confirmation do?

1.It increases and deepens the baptismal grace.2.It unites us more firmly to Christ.3.It increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit within us.4.It gives us special strength to spread and defend the faith by word and action (CCC # 1302-1303).5.Like baptism, Confirmation is given only once, for it imparts a special indelible “spiritual mark” or “character.”

Imagery: touch on the cheek

• The "soldier of Christ" imagery (Confirmation as a "sacrament of maturity", was used as far back as 350, by St Cyril of Jerusalem. )

• The touch on the cheek that the bishop gave while saying "Pax tecum" (Peace be with you) to the person he had just confirmed was interpreted in the Roman Pontifical as a slap, a reminder to be brave in spreading and defending the faith.

Imagery omitted

•Introduction to the Rite of Confirmation, 17, which indicates that the episcopal conference may decide "to introduce a different manner for the minister to give the sign of peace after the anointing, either to each individual or to all the newly confirmed together."

Effects of Confirmation•The Catechism's section on Confirmation says that Confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

•Its effects are to: 1. Roots us more deeply in divine filiation (being children of God) 2. Unites us more firmly to Christ 3. Increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us 4. Strengthens our bond with the Church

5. Associates us more closely to her mission of bearing witness to Christ

6. Helps us and more strictly obliges us to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.

RiteRite

1.Consecration of the sacred Chrism – done by the bishop during the Chrism mass on Holy Thursday. Hence, it precedes the celebration of Confirmation.2.Renewal of baptismal promises and profession of faith by the confirmands.3.Invocation of the Holy Spirit.4.Anointing with Chrism oil on the forehead, which is done by the laying on of the hand, and through the words: “Accipe signaculum doni Spiritus Sancti” – (Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit). 5.The sign of peace – it concludes the rite of the sacrament and signifies ecclesial communion with the bishop and with all the faithful. [CCC # 1297-1301]

POINTS FOR REFLECTION:

1. "Do I actually live as though there were a visible cross branded on my forehead, marking me as 'Christ's man' or 'Christ's woman'?"

2. "In my daily life, do I really bear witness to Christ?"

3. "By my attitude towards others, by my treatment of those around me, by my actions in general do I proclaim: 'This is what it means to be a Christian; this is what it means to live by the Gospel'?"