As Jesus said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit” (John 3:5). These things are to be done everywhere (“all nations”) until “the very end of the age.” So, if for no other reason, baptism has importance because Jesus commanded it. Baptism is an act in which a Christian is immersed in water to symbolize the end of an old way of living, and a new start. In his own statement, Bishop Alfred Schlert said: “On this Inauguration Day, I offer my prayers for our new President and his Administration. • “… the newly baptized children in the Eastern Churches (who) receive First Holy Communion in the same ceremony while the newly baptized in the Western Church, the Roman or Latin Rite, receive Holy Communion around the age of 7 when they “have attained the age of reason” (ccc 1244). The third baptism identified in the New Testament is the actual sacrament of Baptism which Jesus gives his Church “after his resurrection” (ccc 1223), when he says “go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). It retains Hebrew religious ideology by symbolizing the crossing of Red Sea by the Israelites and is a form of ritual bath such as Jews take in a mikveh. Baptism for a Convert For the typical Catholic, the Sacraments of the Catholic Church are part of their upbringing. The weather on Saturday is expected to be below freezing with a brisk northwest wind – perfect conditions to go jump in a lake to benefit Marian Catholic High School. in several stages…proclamation of the Word, acceptance of the Gospel entailing conversion, profession of faith, Baptism itself, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and admission to Eucharistic communion” (ccc 1229). Baptism is the first of the three sacraments of Christian initiation. “From the time of the apostles,” the Catechism tells us, “becoming a Christian has been accomplished by a journey and initiation in several stages” (ccc 1229). The jailer was baptized at once, with all his family” (Acts 16:31-33). The long-standing liturgy of infant baptism, however, indicates the importance of an independent adult decision; without this decision the sacrament cannot be received. Baptism removes all sin, including original sin, which is the sin we inherit at birth. In some churches, the person is dabbed with water on the head; in … Cooks With Collars is a friendly competition among priests and parishes, and you can vote for your favorites by using the website to make a financial contribution to the parishes with the best videos. With those 18 words, we Catholics become members of our Church, children of God and heirs to the kingdom of heaven. Special liturgies celebrated by Bishop Schlert are offering a spiritual journey with Christ. This was a baptism with water, a baptism that prepared the way for Christ (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:7-8; Luke 3:16). The Christian belief that baptism is necessary for salvation is so unshakable that even the Protestant Martin Luther affirmed the necessity of baptism. The Church generally celebrates the Baptism of the Lord on the Sunday after … But saving faith is distinct from baptism, and it is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that saves, not baptism. 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