Lesson 7

The Institution of Baptism

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Now that we have covered general principles about the Sacraments, it is time to look at each one of them in detail, so let’s start with Baptism and the moment of institution.  Each of the seven Sacraments were instituted by Christ to give grace, but the moment and circumstances of the institution are clear for some sacraments, but not so much for others.  We begin by looking for evidence in the Sacred Scriptures, especially the four Gospels of the New Testament.

Let’s start with Baptism.  In John 3:5  when Jesus told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God,” Nicodemus and the others who were listening that day realized that somehow, someway, someday, they would have to be baptized by “water and the Holy  Spirit”, even though they did not know exactly what that meant at that moment.

Sometime later, Jesus came down to the Jordan river where St. John the Baptist was calling people to repentance and baptism, which at that moment was a symbolic expression of conversion and purification.  But then Jesus and his Apostles started baptizing, and that is the moment of institution.  (Jn 3 & 4) By Our Lord’s physical contact with the natural water of the Jordan river, he endowed it with spiritual power for the moment people would be baptized according to His instructions.

Finally, right before Jesus ascended into Heaven, he gave the Apostles the “Great Commission”  (Mt. 28:19) by mandating:  “Go out into the whole world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold I am with you unto the end of the world.”  And that is just what the Apostles did:  they baptized with water and the trinitarian formula, which is still used today.

So tune in every day of Lent to learn more about your Catholic faith, because if you Learn it, then you can Live it; and if you Live it, you will Love it; and if you Love it, you will never Leave it!

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