Baptism launches the life of a Christian, giving the gifts of grace and new life. In the first few decades after Jesus’ ascension into heaven, predominantly adults were baptized. The history of the Catholic Church teems with amazing conversion stories. St. Paul was the first, but not last, unlikely person to convert. In our modern-day, one of the watershed testimonies was Scott Hahn’s conversion story, which I remember listening to on a cassette. He inspired millions of Catholics, as did Jeff Cavins, Fr. Don Calloway, Steve Ray, and many others. I think it is proof that the graces poured out on individual members of the Body of Christ refresh the Church as a whole.
I love conversion stories; they remind me and make visible the power of grace to turn hearts. I relate somewhat to those stories as a cradle Catholic. Who among us is without sin? Who cannot sympathize with St. Augustine’s reluctance to give his whole heart to Christ?
One Lord, One Baptism
As a cradle Catholic, I never had the dramatic entry into the faith. Part of me wishes I did so that I could have a gripping testimony to tell. Yet that comes from a place of vanity, not virtue! Converts do not get a special, high-octane baptism; the saving waters of the baptismal font are the same for the baby as well as the convert. St. Paul urged the Ephesians to remember that there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (4:5, RSVCE).
Baptism is the beginning of the story, not the end of one. If every Catholic knew and acted on what they truly had in their baptism, the Church would be bursting at the seams with the Holy Spirit. Not a single member of the Body of Christ can say that they do not have a story worth telling—for each story begins in sin, has a rescue by Our Lord, and brings freedom in Christ.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines baptism as:
the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit, and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. 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).
Once we unpack that definition, the baptized do not have it so bad after all.
Life in the Spirit
It took me a long time to get over my fear of the Holy Spirit. The phrase “life in the Spirit” took on the connotation of a sort of free-spiritedness that brought with it a laxity in dogma and a disregard for rules. I cannot pinpoint where that impression came from—and it is neither informed nor fair. The other hang-up that I believe many have with the Holy Spirit is the impression that the Spirit will compel us to go to the street corners and yell at people.
I think it is a good exercise to do an internal examination to discern any fears or obstacles to the Holy Spirit. After all, a Catholic would be an utter fool to reject the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4), our teacher in all matters of faith (John 14:26), our helper in prayer (Romans 8:26), our defense when being persecuted (Matthew 10:19-20 RSVCE), and most significantly, the very love between the Father and the Son poured into our hearts (CCC #733). Then think of the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-29, RSVCE). The gifts of the Holy Spirit too: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, fear of the Lord, and piety (Isaiah 11:2). The Church desperately needs the gifts and fruits of her members today!
The Other Sacraments
Baptism happens once, and unfortunately, sin does not. Our Lord instituted the other sacraments to provide refreshing grace throughout the Christian life. The frequent sacraments, Eucharist and Confession, join with confirmation, anointing of the sick, and the sacraments of vocation (marriage and holy orders).
The most basic definition of grace is the life of God, gratuitously shared with us. While grace is available to us in all sorts of ordinary ways, the sacraments are unique opportunities to get inundated with grace. Baptism makes that possible.
Conversions naturally involve a significant amount of grace and working of the Holy Spirit. They entail leaps of faith, great trust in the deliverance of Christ, and a fair amount of emotion. As powerful as those experiences are, theologically, no conversion can approach the objective reality offered every time we approach the Eucharist.
Freedom from Sin
Jesus gave His very authority of binding and loosing sins to the apostles; this is one of the best-kept secrets of the Catholic Church in the post-conciliar era. When pastors, theologians, and parish staff trivialize sin, brush it off, or even encourage it, they unknowingly rob the Church of one of her greatest gifts.
Sin can never bring us closer to God. It can draw us to a deeper repentance, but the character of sin is one of rupture with God, never union. We genuinely need healing from sin, from the smaller bad habits to the mortal sins.
This is the setup for the best news in the history of humanity: yes sin exists, hell exists, but Jesus flipped the script. Our mistakes do not have to define us and sin can not hold us hostage. We can repent and gain healing for our wounds. And thanks to Scripture, when one of the priests of the Catholic Church says those incredible words of absolution, we can know with certainty that our sins are forgiven (see John 20:23).
Sharers in the Church’s Mission
If you have the question, what is the Church’s mission exactly?, go directly to Jesus’ great commission at the end of Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 28:16-20). Equipped with the Holy Spirit, the benefit of grace, and life in Christ, we are to make disciples of all nations.
If this intimidates you as it always has me, I find it helpful to remember my “story.” I am a sinner, richly loved by the Holy Trinity, who has been forgiven countless times. Maybe it is not the fireworks version of some, but how is that grace any less amazing in my life? God opened salvation to me personally and bestowed great grace on me. The Lord healed me; the Lord removed obstacles from my soul; Jesus incarnated, died, and rose with me in mind. How is that not worth sharing?
Remembering the Right Things
Regardless of how many times I have been forgiven, regardless of the grace I receive, I sometimes dwell on what I do not have. Thanks to our fallen nature, the grace of God is easy to take for granted.
The older brother in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32, RSVCE) illustrates this well. Leaving aside the older brother’s bitterness, he took for granted the incredible gift he had—just like we forget the gift of baptism.
“Son, you are always with me,” said the father in the parable. Applying that to our spiritual lives, can we ask for anything greater from God the Father? Look at all we have in our baptismal vocation: life in the Spirit, the sacraments, freedom from sin, and the call to share joy and healing.
Jesus tells us that “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23, RSVCE). In essence, He is saying the same thing as the father in parable: “all that is mine is yours” (Luke 15:31).
Go in prayer to our heavenly Father and thank Him for the grace of baptism!
3 thoughts on “Baptism: Claiming the Gift I Always Had”
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Even a cradle Catholic can have a high-octane Spirit baptism. The Gentiles at the house of Cornelius had the Spirit baptism before water baptism (see Acts 10:44-48, 15:8-9). They received it by faith. Revisiting the role of the Holy Spirit would be a good place to start, but this would involve going back to the priorities of the New Testament.
Biblical mysticism is as simple as being anxious for nothing by casting all of our care on God (see Philippians 4:6-7, 1Peter 5:5-7, Proverbs 3:5, Psalms 37:7, 55:22, Isaiah 26:3-4, 55:7-9, and Galatians 5:22-23). This is how we connect with God. It is primarily relational. It is not solely dogma and rules (see Colossians 2:20-23).
Thanks for your comment Peter, and you’re right about a baptism in the Spirit being open to all. I would point out that all the sacraments–which would be lumped into the “dogma and rules” if I understand what you mean–were instituted by Christ as a means of encounter with Him. And, by their very nature, they are relational.