Sacraments of Initiation

Baptism & ConfirmationBaptism & Confirmation

Outline• Covenants• Baptism

– Baptism in the OT– Christ’s Baptism– Baptism in the Church– The Necessity of Baptism– What does Baptism do

• Confirmation– Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit– Seal of the Holy Spirit– Effects of Confirmation– Confirmation in the Bible

It’s all About Family

• Contracts vs Covenants– Contracts are an exchange of goods, covenants

are an exchange of persons

• Covenants bring people into familial relationship

• God enters relationship with His people through covenants.

Salvation History & Covenants

• Who How Many The Sign• Adam & Eve A couple Marital Embrace• NoahA Family The Rainbow• Abraham A Tribe Circumcision• Moses A Nation The Law• David A KingdomThe Throne• Jesus The World Baptism

BAPTISMto baptize (Greek baptizein) means to "plunge" or "immerse";

Prefigurations of Baptism in the Old Covenant

• Genesis 1:2The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.

• Gen 8:10-11 He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; and the dove came back to him in the evening, and lo, in her mouth a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.

Prefigurations of Baptism in the Old Covenant

• 1 Cor 10:1-7I want you to know, brethren, that our fathers were all

under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same supernatural food and all drank the same supernatural drink. For they drank from the supernatural Rock which followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless with most of them God was not pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things are warnings for us, not to desire evil as they did– Cloud and Sea = Water and Holy Spirit– Supernatural food (Manna) = The true Bread come down from

Heaven, the body of Christ– Supernatural drink (water from the Rock who is Christ) = Blood of

Christ

Christ's Baptism• 1223 All the Old Covenant prefigurations find their fulfillment in Christ

Jesus. He begins his public life after having himself baptized by St. John the Baptist in the Jordan.

• Why did Christ need to be baptized?

• 1224 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.– Recall the Spirit of God hovering over the waters at creation. God is showing

us the New Creation in His Son.– Although he had no need to repent Christ is showing His solidarity with

sinners.– By His baptism in the waters he sanctifies water and makes an instrument that

communicates His divine grace.– This was Christ’s anointing to begin his priestly, kingly, and prophetic mission.

Christ’s Baptism• John 3:5

Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ….

• John3:22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judea;

there he remained with them and baptized.

• Mark 16:15-16And he said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.“

–The first thing he did when he started His ministry was to baptize and the last thing He did before He ascended into Heaven was to command His apostles to baptize

Baptism in the Church• St. Peter

– 1226 From the very day of Pentecost the Church has celebrated and administered holy Baptism. Indeed St. Peter declares to the crowd astounded by his preaching: • Acts 2:38

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.“…41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

– Pentecost is the birth of the Church and the first action on the very first day was 3000 baptisms

– 1 Peter 3:20-21 20 who formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the

days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

Baptism in the Church• St. Paul

– Romans 6:3-5Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus

were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.• Baptism is the initial way in which we participate in Christ’s cross• We must then live the rest of our lives denying our selves and “carrying our cross daily”

– Colossians 2:11–1211 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful

nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised ... • St. Paul compares circumcision to baptism: One is the entrance into the family of God in the

Old Covenant and the other is the way in which we become members of God’s fmaily in the New Covenant.

Baptism in the Church• The Baptism of adults

– 1247 Since the beginning of the Church, adult Baptism is the common practice where the proclamation of the Gospel is still new.

• The Baptism of infants– 1250 Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by original sin, children also have

need of the new birth …The sheer gratuitousness of the grace of salvation is particularly manifest in infant Baptism. …

– Acts 16:33At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then

immediately he and all his family were baptized. – 1 Corinthians 1:16

(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.)

– Hippolytus"Baptize first the children, and if they can speak for themselves let them do

so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them" (The Apostolic Tradition 21:16 [A.D. 215]).

The Necessity of Baptism• 1257 The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation. He also

commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them. – Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have

had the possibility of asking for this sacrament. The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are "reborn of water and the Spirit."

– God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.

• Baptism by Blood– 1258 The Church has always held the firm conviction that those who suffer death

for the sake of the faith without having received Baptism are baptized by their death for and with Christ.

• Baptism of Desire– 1259 For catechumens who die before their Baptism, their explicit desire to

receive it, together with repentance for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation that they were not able to receive through the sacrament.

The Necessity of Baptism• Those who do not know of the necessity of baptism

– 1260 "Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery.” Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity.

• Children who die without baptism– 1261 As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to

the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus' tenderness toward children which caused him to say: "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them," allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church's call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism.

What does Baptism Do?• Forgiveness

– Acts 2:38And Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of

Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.“– 1263 By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all

punishment for sin.

• "A new creature"– 1265 Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte "a new creature,"

an adopted son of God, who has become a "partaker of the divine nature,” member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit.

– 1266 The Most Holy Trinity gives the baptized sanctifying grace, the grace of justification...– Our nature cannot inherit that which is above it (supernatural) unless God condescends to us

to give us a share in his divine life• 2 Peter 1:3

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature.

What Does Baptism Do?

• Makes us a Family with God and Each Other– 1267...Baptism incorporates us into the Church. From the baptismal fonts is

born the one People of God of the New Covenant, which transcends all the natural or human limits of nations, cultures, races, and sexes:

– 1 Corinthians 12:13For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-

Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

• The sacramental bond of the unity of Christians– 1271 Baptism constitutes the foundation of communion among all

Christians, including those who are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church: ...

CONFIRMATION

...."the confirmed person receives the power to profess faith in Christ publicly and as it were officially .“

- St. Thomas Aquinas

Seven Gifts of the Spirit• 1285 .....For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are

more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.“– Wisdom– Understanding– Counsel (Right Judgment)– Fortitude (Courage)– Knowledge– Piety (Reverence)– Fear of the Lord (Wonder & Awe)

The Seal of the Holy Spirit• 1295 By this anointing the confirmed receives the "mark," the seal of the Holy

Spirit. A seal is a symbol of a person, a sign of personal authority, or ownership of an object. – Hence soldiers were marked with their leader's seal and slaves with their master's. A seal

authenticates a juridical act or document and occasionally makes it secret.

• 1296 Christ himself declared that he was marked with his Father's seal. Christians are also marked with a seal: "It is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has commissioned us; he has put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” This seal of the Holy Spirit marks our – total belonging to Christ, our – enrollment in his service for ever, – as well as the promise of divine protection in the great eschatological trial.

• Ephesians 1:13In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your

salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

The Effects of Confirmation• 1302 It is evident from its celebration that the effect of the sacrament

of Confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost.

• 1303 From this fact, Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace:– it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry,

"Abba! Father!";– it unites us more firmly to Christ;– it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;– it renders our bond with the Church more perfect;– it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend

the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross

Confirmation in the Bible• Acts 8:15-17

who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit; for it had not yet fallen on 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.

• Acts 19:5-6On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And

when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

• Hebrews 6:2with instruction about ablutions, the laying on of hands, the resurrection

of the dead, and eternal judgment.

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