Living water: how baptism changes our identity, family, and purpose

Zayn Gonzalez is baptized by Father John Shanahan, TOR, at St. Andrew Church in Fort Worth on Sept. 22, 2024. (NTC/Juan Guajardo)

Kristina Mata remembers her baptism — she was baptized as a teen at an Easter Vigil Mass — but she made certain her son, Dominic Davis, won’t remember his.

She and her husband, Beverly Davis, had 12-week-old Dominic baptized at St. Andrew Parish in Fort Worth on Sept. 22 in a group baptism with two others.

She didn’t want to wait longer, she said, explaining that the couple was eager for their son’s life of faith to begin.

So Dominic, like the majority of cradle Catholics, will not remember the most important day of his life. 

Gateway to holiness
It’s easy to overlook the incredible significance of the day that we don’t remember, but baptism changes our identity, our family, and our purpose.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes the sacrament: “Through baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission” (1213).

When Matthew Gill, director of formation and evangelization at St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Flower Mound, helps teach baptism to catechumens preparing to enter the Church and to new parents, he lays it on the line. 

The sacrament of baptism, he explained, marks a permanent change. “You’re claiming that child or that adult for Christ. You’re moving them from the domain of Satan to the domain of God — the Kingdom of God, the Church. You’re expelling original sin and putting in its place sanctifying grace.”

He uses the analogy of living in a lousy apartment complex with roaches, flickering lights, and a terrible landlord. There’s a new apartment complex on the street, but how do you get there? 

“Jesus Christ died for us and conquers the terrible landlord and pays your rent. Now you can move across the street. … That’s just so liberating,” he said.

Laura Nelson, diocesan director of faith formation, also described the effects of baptism as a stark contrast.

“We’re no longer children of darkness. We’re children of the light,” she said. “The world’s a dark place; we need as much light as we can get, right? A light that never will be extinguished.”

A growing family

Through baptism, we are adopted as sons or daughters of God and we become part of God’s family.

“In baptism, when we are regenerated and renewed, we’re also introduced into the mystical Body of Christ,” said Jason Whitehead, diocesan director of evangelization and catechesis. 

The Body of Christ includes not just our brothers and sisters visible in the pews, but all the saints in heaven and the souls in purgatory. 

“We become, through what the Church calls the grace of adoption, part of God’s family. And as part of God’s family, we are part of the Body of Christ. We directly participate in His divine life,” explained Whitehead.

Ashley and Christopher Gonzalez had their son, Zayn, baptized in the group baptism at St. Andrew Parish with Dominic.

Ashley appreciated the community aspect of having other children, each with an extended family, present.

“Seeing other children get baptized was very special to see,” she said, emphasizing that being part of the large family of God offers opportunities to support and be supported on a common journey of faith.

Why so young?

Infant baptism is a teaching that some Christians don’t understand, but Catholics have practiced it from the earliest days of the Church, and with good reason.

The Acts of the Apostles refers to entire households being baptized, which would have included children in those multigenerational homes.

In the Old Testament, infant boys were circumcised on their eighth day of life as a sign of the covenant between God and the people of Abraham. 

“Some people don’t understand why we’re baptizing infants because they think the grace comes through belief, and an infant can’t believe,” said Gill, emphasizing that the sacrament, not belief, confers the sanctifying grace.

In fact, the free grace of God is exemplified in infant baptism, Whitehead said. 

“Baptism initiates you into the entire life of grace, and there’s no greater example in my mind of the absolute gratuitousness of God’s grace — just how free grace really is — than in the example of infant baptism,” he said. 

A baby has not met any standards or expressed a set of beliefs, but God freely bestows that very first gift, Whitehead said.

Nelson explained that baptism removes the stain of original sin, and even though a baby hasn’t done anything wrong, “we still need that mercy, even if we haven’t chosen sin, because of the fallen nature of humanity.”

“The child as an infant does not know what’s happening to them. But the grace is still there and there’s nothing getting in the way of them being receptive to the grace because they’re very innocent. That grace will come alive and be embodied throughout their life as long as it’s nurtured,” she continued.

She added that baptism “is like armor in a way, too,” equipping the baptized for a spiritual battle. “It’s going to help guard and protect that child. Spiritually we need to put them in an environment of the family of God that equips them to be able to handle the challenges that will come ahead.”

Responding to the gift

So the graces of baptism are freely given, but what do we do with the gift?

Our responsibility is to, with the help of the Holy Spirit, live up to the baptismal promises we made or that were made on our behalf by our parents and godparents.

The Church reminds us of those promises each year during the Easter season, when we respond “I do” to questions about rejecting sin and Satan and believing in God in Three Persons.

Baptism equips us to uphold those promises.

Nelson said, “When we enter into the sacrament of baptism, He gives us a share of His life so that we can emulate Him. We can live in union with Him. We can live the life that we’re called to live. Without that grace of the sacrament, we’re doomed. We can’t do it by sheer force of will.”

Emulating Jesus means sharing in His ministry as priest, prophet, and king, which we carry out according to our vocation.

“Priests, prophets, and kings were anointed, and Christ means anointed one,” said Gill. In baptism, we are anointed with the oil of catechumens and the sacred chrism, “so you’re now a little Christ; you are putting on Christ.”

For the laity, we share in Christ’s role as priest when we grow in personal holiness and sanctification, taking advantage of the graces available in the sacraments.

We are called to be prophets, to share the Gospel with those in our families, our workplaces, and our neighborhoods.

As kings, we govern our own souls and the lives in our care.

We promise, summarized Whitehead, “first and foremost to keep the faith, live the faith. Not only to live the faith, but to proclaim it, within your own station of life.”

Signs and symbols

The baptism liturgy is filled with symbols and prayers that reinforce the importance of our first sacrament and recall allusions to the sacrament in Scripture.

As Father John Shanahan, TOR, conducted the rite at St. Andrew, he told the parents and godparents that he would use the same elements that John the Baptist used when he baptized Jesus at the beginning of His ministry.

Water represents the cleansing of original sin. Nelson explained when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, “The waters did not sanctify him. He sanctified the waters. He was able to make the waters holy instead of the opposite. Isn’t that beautiful? He did that for us so that we could be united with Him.”

Although water is most closely associated with baptism, oil is also a meaningful symbol in the liturgy.

The priest or deacon makes a cross on the chest with the oil of catechumens to represent the strength of Christ to fight off temptation. Then he anoints their foreheads with the sacred chrism (also used at confirmations and ordinations) to symbolize sharing in Jesus’ roles of priest, prophet, and king.

Parents or the newly baptized are presented with a candle, lit from the Easter candle, to represent the light of Christ, which guides us through the darkness.

A white garment represents Christian dignity and recalls Galatians 3:27, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

Remember this

Whether you recall receiving the sacrament or not, Catholics remember the gift of baptism every time they bless themselves with holy water. Making the Sign of the Cross with holy water as we enter a holy place helps us remember we are called to be in union with Christ and part of the family of God. 

“Things like holy water really help us to ground ourselves physically in a spiritual reality,” said Nelson.

In addition to holy water blessings, baptismal anniversaries can be acknowledged in simple ways or by making an event of it.

The Catholic Church grants a plenary indulgence for those who renew their baptismal promises on the anniversary of their baptism. 

Even better, suggests Gill, is renewing the promises at the church where it happened. He has made cross-town pilgrimages by taking his children to the parishes where they were baptized on their baptismal anniversaries. 

Renewing the baptismal promises “only takes five minutes,” he said, but can serve as a springboard for sharing memories of that day. “All those roots are very important — to know where you come from and to know a little bit about that day,” he said.

Some families celebrate baptismal anniversaries with a special meal or a cake and a relighting of a person’s baptismal candle.

Nelson discovered a simple method to recognize the significance of her sacraments. When going through some old documents from her childhood, she noted the anniversary dates of her baptism, first holy Communion, and confirmation and added them to her calendar. 

Each year, when she receives the reminders, she pauses for a prayer of gratitude.

She also recommends showing your children photographs and reminiscing about their baptisms.

Godparents, who promise to help the newly baptized grow in the faith, can also acknowledge baptismal anniversaries, even if it’s just a call or a text.

Just the beginning

Fr. Shanahan told the families of those assembled at St. Andrew for baptism, “This is the beginning of the journey for the children, and the Church is here to support you, to help you to show each other how to pray, how to act justly, how to walk humbly, and how to love tenderly God, your maker.”

The graces we receive in baptism — forgiveness of sin, rebirth as sons and daughters of God, incorporation into the Body of Christ, a share in Christ’s mission — are just the start.

The Catechism teaches, “Baptism is the gateway to life in the Holy Spirit and the doorway which gives access to the other sacraments” (CCC 1213).
We receive the graces of baptism once, but all sacraments of the Church have been instituted by Jesus to strengthen the Church and to help us grow in holiness by sanctifying grace.

“Grace is everything,” said Whitehead. “That’s the reason for all of the sacraments, ultimately, to communicate supernatural power for living a supernatural life in this life and to see God face-to-face in the next life.”