II. Baptism in the Economy of Salvation
Prefigurations
of Baptism in the Old Covenant
1217
In the liturgy of the Easter Vigil, during the blessing of the baptismal water,
the Church solemnly commemorates the great events in salvation history that
already prefigured the mystery of Baptism:
Father, you give us grace
through sacramental signs which tell us of the wonders of your unseen power.
In Baptism we use your gift of
water, which you have made a rich symbol of the grace you give us in this
sacrament.11
1218
Since the beginning of the world, water, so humble and wonderful a creature,
has been the source of life and fruitfulness. Sacred Scripture sees it as
"oveshadowed" by the Spirit of God:12
At the very dawn of creation
your Spirit breathed on the
waters,
making them the wellspring of
all holiness.13
1219
The Church has seen in Noah's ark a prefiguring of salvation by Baptism, for by
it "a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through
water":14
The waters of the great flood
you made a sign of the waters
of Baptism,
that make an end of sin and a
new beginning of goodness.15
1220
If water springing up from the earth symbolizes life, the water of the sea is a
symbol of death and so can represent the mystery of the cross. By this
symbolism Baptism signifies communion with Christ's death.
1221
But above all, the crossing of the Red Sea, literally the liberation of Israel
from the slavery of Egypt, announces the liberation wrought by Baptism:
You freed the children of
Abraham from the slavery of Pharaoh,
bringing them dry-shod through
the waters of the Red Sea,
to be an image of the people
set free in Baptism.16
1222
Finally, Baptism is prefigured in the crossing of the Jordan River by which the
People of God received the gift of the land promised to Abraham's descendants,
an image of eternal life. the promise of this blessed inheritance is fulfilled
in the New Covenant.
Christ's
Baptism
1223
All the Old Covenant prefigurations find their fulfillment in Christ Jesus. He
begins his public life after having himself baptized by St. John the Baptist in
the Jordan.17 After his resurrection Christ gives this mission to his
apostles: "Go therefore 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."18
1224
Our Lord voluntarily submitted himself to the baptism of St. John, intended for
sinners, in order to "fulfill all righteousness."19 Jesus'
gesture is a manifestation of his self-emptying.20 The Spirit who had
hovered over the waters of the first creation descended then on the Christ as a
prelude of the new creation, and the Father revealed Jesus as his "beloved
Son."21
1225
In his Passover Christ opened to all men the fountain of Baptism. He had
already spoken of his Passion, which he was about to suffer in Jerusalem, as a
"Baptism" with which he had to be baptized.22 The blood and
water that flowed from the pierced side of the crucified Jesus are types of
Baptism and the Eucharist, the sacraments of new life.23 From then on,
it is possible "to be born of water and the Spirit"24 in
order to enter the Kingdom of God.
See where you are baptized, see
where Baptism comes from, if not from the cross of Christ, from his death.
There is the whole mystery: he died for you. In him you are redeemed, in him
you are saved.25
Baptism in
the Church
1226
From the very day of Pentecost the Church has celebrated and administered holy
Baptism. Indeed St. Peter declares to the crowd astounded by his preaching:
"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit."26 The apostles and their collaborators offer Baptism to
anyone who believed in Jesus: Jews, the God-fearing, pagans.27 Always,
Baptism is seen as connected with faith: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and
you will be saved, you and your household," St. Paul declared to his
jailer in Philippi. and the narrative continues, the jailer "was baptized
at once, with all his family."28
1227
According to the Apostle Paul, the believer enters through Baptism into
communion with Christ's death, is buried with him, and rises with him:
Do you not know that all of us
who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were
buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised
from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of
life.29
The
baptized have "put on Christ."30 Through the Holy Spirit,
Baptism is a bath that purifies, justifies, and sanctifies.31
1228
Hence Baptism is a bath of water in which the "imperishable seed" of
the Word of God produces its life-giving effect.32 St. Augustine says
of Baptism: "The word is brought to the material element, and it becomes a
sacrament."33
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