Session 2 - Faith and Baptism
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The Good News: God made to rest safely in his arms. Our entire lives as disciples of Jesus flows from that Divine Embrace (or God hug). Baptism restores us to that relationship. We were made to be set apart (Holy) for God and He uses the sacraments to continue that purpose in our lives.
Did you know?
We bless ourselves with Holy Water in remembrance of our baptism. It reminds us of our DAILY commitment to Christ. Holy Water is a sign of our Baptism and our reminder our Baptismal Promises. Your baptism might have been years ago, but it lives on EVERY SINGLE DAY and you can share in that joy NOW!
Videos
You can find videos of this session's Part A (50 minutes) and Part B (32 minutes) on our YouTube channel. Please subscribe to our channel (click red Subscribe button below header image). Thanks.
Questions & Answers
What is the difference between being baptized in a Catholic church or another church? Is it something bad to be baptized in another church?It's not bad at all to be baptized in another church (assuming you aren't Catholic). Our Non-Catholic Brothers and Sisters in Christ share in this great sacrament with us. Anyone who is baptized willingly (or in the case of infants on the desire of the parents) in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with water receives the effects of Baptism. As Catholics we believe that everyone in the whole world could benefit from being Catholic so we share our Catholic faith with unbaptized and baptized non-Catholics in the hopes that they might see the beauty of the Catholic Church. This is called Evangelization! There are some differences between being baptized in a Catholic Church and another Church but much of it comes down to our Profession of Faith (what we believe) and how we practice those beliefs. More to come about this in our coming sessions.
If we need to repent in order to be baptized, how are we baptized as babies? I know our parents and Godparents take the role of leading us and making sure we are men and woman of Christ, but as babies we don't really know what is going on?
It's true that every person who receives baptism must at some point turn to God (Prayer), admit that she or he needs a Savior (Confession of sins or Conversion), and turn away from the things that keep them from drawing close to God (Sin, attachments, fears, etc). This is called repentance. But Jesus shows us his love and the love of the Father for us in his desire that all the little children (you and me) would come to him. So instead of waiting for repentance, the Church made it possible that the Repentance and Faith of the Parents and Godparents could be offered in our place, kind of like a Bill Credit for your phone to cover the cost of the phone. At some point we must repent for ourselves, making our own Profession of Faith. No one ever made it to heaven saying, "My Dad was a holy guy." That's why we bless ourselves with Holy Water. We are making good on the promises made for us! Everytime we step into a church we make our Baptism our own.