Sacraments of Initiation God's I Love You

In this issue of Catholic Update, author Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M., discusses sacraments of initiation, in particular baptism. He describes today's baptisms as following the model of Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist in the New Testament. He categorizes three steps of the process: 1. We go into the water, 2. We hear the voice, and, 3. We come up changed. He discusses how the sacraments of initiation changed over the centuries of the Catholic Church. Baptism is important in the life of the Church as Father Richstatter explains, because, ""After our baptism we continue to hear the voice again and again throughout our Christian lives. We hear this voice of love primarily through the Christian community which assures us that we are beloved with a love that cancels out all feeling of shame and insufficiency and empowers us for mission.""