Do we need to be reborn?

Do we need to be reborn? In his encounter with the Pharisee named Nicodemus, Jesus said: ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ (John 3:3) ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.’ (John 3:5) ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.’ (John 3:16)

Do we need to be reborn? One enters the new People of God, the Church, through faith and Baptism. ‘Baptism is birth into the new life in Christ. In accordance with the Lord’s will, it is necessary for salvation, as is the Church herself, which we enter by Baptism.’ ─Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], no. 1277 What possibilities for ‘new life’ does your Baptism offer you?

Do we need to be reborn? Through the graces of Baptism we can . . . resist the power of sin and live a new life in Christ; be truly free from the power of sin. The essential elements of the Rite of Baptism: The candidate is immersed into the water of the baptismal pool or font three times, or, in the case of an infant, is placed in the water and lifted out of it three times, or water is poured over the person’s head three times, as the minister invokes the Holy Trinity, praying, ‘I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.’

The life-giving waters of Baptism The sacred authors of Scripture used the symbolism of water to point to God’s life-giving work in the world. At the well, Jesus said to the Samaritan woman: ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again; but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’ —John 4:13–14 Baptism is the source of ‘new life in Christ from which the entire Christian life springs forth’ (CCC, no. 1254).

The life-giving waters of Baptism These Old Testament stories prefigure the Sacrament of Baptism: The first account of Creation: ‘. . . a wind from God swept over the face of the waters’ (Genesis 1:2). The wind represents the Spirit of God bringing forth creation and it prefigures the Holy Spirit bringing forth the new creation in Christ through water and the Spirit at Baptism. The Great Flood and Noah’s Ark: The Church reads this story as prefiguring the Church (the Ark) and the saving action of God in Baptism. As the flood waters led to a new beginning of goodness, the waters of Baptism conquer the power of sin and bring about newness of life in Christ. The Exodus: Crossing the waters of the Red Sea and the River Jordan prefigure our journey from slavery to sin to freedom and new life in Christ. Through the waters of Baptism, God liberates us from the slavery of Original Sin and personal sins.

Baptism in the early Church All four accounts of the Gospel speak of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. As he approached the banks of the Jordan River, Jesus asked John to baptize him. At first John refused, saying that it was Jesus who should be baptizing him. Jesus nevertheless persuaded John, and John baptized him. What stories and memories of your Baptism has your family shared with you?

Baptism in the early Church By his baptism, Jesus revealed his solidarity, or oneness, with humanity and the nature of his saving mission. The Son of God became incarnate in Jesus. He emptied himself in order to be fully one with humanity. He freely sacrificed his life on the Cross and suffered the death-bearing consequences of sin for the salvation of humanity.

Baptism in the early Church Baptism―the gift of new life in Christ Through Baptism we die with Christ and we receive the gift of new life in Christ. Through Baptism the Holy Trinity gifts us with the holiness that Adam and Eve lost by Original Sin. We receive the gift of sanctifying grace, which enables us to live with God and to act by his love.

Baptism in the early Church Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA): This is the title of the process designed to prepare adults for entrance into the Catholic Church by the reception of the Sacraments of [Christian] Initiation. ─United States Catholic Catechism for Adults (USCCA), 525 Mystagogy: This is the period of time immediately after the reception of the Sacraments of Christian Initiation. It is a time ‘for the community and the neophytes [those newly initiated into the Church] together to grow in deepening their grasp of the paschal mystery and in making it part of their lives through meditation on the Gospel, sharing in the Eucharist, and doing the works of charity. —Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults [RCIA], no. 244

We’ve only just begun The Baptism of infants and young children. . . Parents take on the responsibility of bringing up their children ‘in the practice of the faith . . . to keep God’s commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbor’ (Rite of Baptism for Children). Godparents also accept the responsibility to play a pivotal role in the faith formation of their godchild. The Church requires that a godparent: be at least sixteen years old; be a Catholic who has received the Sacraments of Initiation; practices the Catholic faith; can be a role model in living as a disciple of Jesus.

St. Charles Lwanga (1865-86) and the Uganda Martyrs St. Charles Lwanga is the patron of youth in tropical Africa. Lwanga was one of twenty-two Catholic and Anglican martyrs who died for their faith in Uganda on June 3, 1886. Charles openly instructed others in the faith of the Catholic Church against the opposition of King Mwanga. The king summoned Charles and his companions and demanded that they deny their faith and give him their allegiance. Lwanga and the others refused and proclaimed their intention to remain Christian. King Mwanga reacted violently and condemned Lwanga and his companions to death by execution.