Holy Baptism
The Rite of Baptism is the first of the Seven Sacraments of the Church. It derives its power from the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, which is made present in the Eucharist.
After Our Lord had died, a soldier pierced His side with a spear, and at once there flowed from the wound blood and water. The Church understands this to be symbolic of the two Sacraments of the Eucharist and Baptism.
In the early Church there was no separate sacrament of Confirmation, partly because the norm was for adults to be baptised, and partly because the two acts had not yet been separated.
In modern rites of Baptism there is still an echo of this original unity in the anointing with Holy Oil after the baptism with water. An important part of the Rite of Confirmation also is the anointing with Holy Oil.
Elements of the Rite of Baptism:
The Visible Side
The Rite of Baptism is made-up of two layers: a layer of necessary elements, and a layer of elements which although important are not strictly necessary for the sacrament to 'work'.
The necessary elements are:
1.
A genuine desire to become part of the Church, whose beliefs are expressed in the words of the Creeds and whose God is the Holy Trinity. This is made explicit in some form of assent and promise of commitment by the adult, or in the case of a child by an adult who can speak for him.
2. The pouring of water, or the immersion in water, three times, accompanied by the words "(I baptise you) in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."
Secondary elements are:
1.
In most modern rites the candidate for Baptism, is anointed with Holy Oil once or twice. The first anointing is before the Baptism with water, and is an exorcism, intended to drive out the devil. The second, in the form of a cross on the forehead, is after the baptism and represents the gift of the Holy Spirit.
2. A lighted candle is often given to the newly baptised person as a symbol of the new life which the baptised person enjoys united to Christ "the light of the world".
3.
The whole liturgy is hedged-about with various prayers, and often includes a form of 'welcome' from the gathered congregation which represents the Church at large.
Some Popular Misconceptions
1.
That Baptism is little more than a 'naming' service. Of course only a name given at Baptism is properly a 'Christian' name, but this is not the purpose of the Rite.
2.
That in some way Baptism is a kind of passport, or guaranteed ticket to 'heaven'.
Of course a baptised child who dies will, without doubt, enter heaven. As a person grows to maturity, though, and takes responsibility for their own actions, beliefs, and way of life, they may fall away from the True Faith or deny it altogether.
In that case the fact of having been baptised will not be of much help at all!
What Happens- The Spiritual Side
Generations of children have tried to grow apple trees by planting a pip of their favourite apple, and failed! A tree may have grown in time, but it would certainly not have produced their favourite fruit.
The only way to grow a tree that would yield the desired apple is to take a twig, or cutting, from the original tree and grow it on, or propagate it. There are several ways of doing this, but the only one likely to succeed is grafting.
This involves joining then cutting to a rootstock, or rump, of a tree with strong life in its sap. The sap from the rootstock then floods into the twig and enables it to grow into a full-size fruit-yielding tree.
This is what happens to a person in Baptism. They are grafted onto the Holy Vine, the Church, which is the Body of Christ.
The life-sap of the Holy Vine, which is God the Holy Spirit, then flows into the newly-baptised person. The result is that, potentially at least, the baptised Christian will live as long as the tree onto which they have been grafted, which is forever!
The difference between a cutting and a person, however, is that unlike the cutting, a human being has the ability to separate themselves from the tree onto which they have been grafted!
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