The Sacrament of Baptism

There was a time in the history of Christianity when the Sacrament of Baptism was requested or demanded by Christians only on the latter part of their lives. Why? This Sacrament erases all our sins, thus we become a new creation. The most famous of these late Baptisms was Emperor Constantine; he definitely wanted to die with all his past sins forgiven. Hence, a greater chance to go to heaven.

In the Acts of the Apostles, we are told that the Disciples of Christ were baptizing whole households, needless to say, including infants and children. Today, parents bring their babies to be baptized. Who would not want to become a child of God anyway? Moreover, like all Sacraments, Baptism is a channel of grace. We receive the theological virtues of, Faith, Hope, and Charity. Parents therefore, should not wait until their children reach the age of reason. We do not want our children to be impoverished, do we? These theological virtues are gifts; therefore, carry responsibilities that parents most especially are obliged to practice as models for their growing children. Let us always remember that our children are eternal beings and therefore are our treasures from God who loved us first.

The theological virtue of Faith is where we believe in God, all His revelations and what the Church proposes. The theological virtue of Hope is our desire to go to heaven, and the theological virtue of Charity is the love of God and others. These virtues were shared to us by God through the Sacrament of Baptism. We too must become, as children of God, sharers and beacons of these three theological virtues. Let us continue to reflect this New Year with what we have done and what we are going to do with these gifts we received. (Johnny Sulit)