It is the first sacrament of Christian initiation. Holy Baptism is the foundation of all Christian life, the door to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua) and the door that gives access to other sacraments. Through baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God, we become members of Christ, and we are incorporated into the Church and share in her mission: “Baptism is the sacrament of rebirth by water and in word”.

In natural symbolism, water frees dirt and is essential for life. The sign of the washing with water signifies the burial of the baptized person in Christ’s death, from which he arises through the resurrection with him as a new creature to live according to the Holy Spirit.

The name we receive at baptism is to remind us that we are a child of God and a temple of the Holy Spirit, that we participate in the community of saints, so that we can return to the Father’s house by keeping God’s life in ourselves. Baptism is the most beautiful and wonderful gift of God. We call it gift, grace, immersion, anointing, enlightenment, the garment of indestructibility, the washing of regeneration, the seal and all that may be the most precious.