What Does Baptism Symbolize

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Baptism: Beginning Your Occupation in the Church “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (CCC 1240). These are the words that welcome a person into the Light of Christ and initiate him or her into the Catholic Church. But what is Baptism, and why is it significant? Baptism means to “immerse” or “plunge,” referring to the candidate’s symbolic burial when he or she is plunged into the water and resurrection when he or she comes out of the water as a new member of the Church (CCC 1214). Baptism is described in Ezekiel 16:9 when it is said, “Then I bathed you with water, washed away your blood, and anointed you with oil.” Baptism is the first sacrament of initiation, and when we are baptized, we are relieved of our original sin and are able to partake in the Church and her rituals. Baptism is a crucial sacrament for us to receive because it is the foundation of our faith, and it enables us to receive the other sacraments later (CCC 1213). …show more content…
Some of these signs include the sign of the cross, the essential rite, oils of Baptism, the white garment, the baptismal candle, and most importantly, water (CCC 1235-1241). Water is the main symbol because many events in the Bible use water to prefigure Baptism. Noah’s ark is an example of this because the waters ended sin and brought a new beginning for the few people who were saved from the flood (CCC 1219). One of the best examples of Baptism in the Bible is Jesus’s Baptism in the Jordan River. Matthew 3:16 says, “After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove coming upon him.” This is an exemplary model of Baptism’s effects on us because the Holy Spirit comes upon us in Baptism in the same way it did to Jesus many years