How Baptism is celebrated

The Church teaches that Confirmation and the Eucharist are the ‘summit’ of Christian initiation, writes Cathal Barry

The Church teaches that from the time of the apostles, becoming a Christian has been accomplished by a journey and initiation in several stages. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that this “journey can be covered rapidly or slowly”. However, it notes that “certain essential elements” will always have to be present, namely: Proclamation of the Word, acceptance of the Gospel entailing conversion, profession of faith, Baptism itself, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and admission to Eucharistic Communion.

This initiation, the Church recognises, has varied greatly through the centuries according to circumstances. “In the first centuries of the Church, Christian initiation saw considerable development,” the Catechism states. “A long period of catechumenate included a series of preparatory rites, which were liturgical landmarks along the path of catechumenal preparation and culminated in the celebration of the Sacraments of Christian Initiation.”

Where infant Baptism has become the form in which this sacrament is usually celebrated, it has become a single act encapsulating the preparatory stages of Christian initiation in a very abridged way. By its very nature, according to the Church, infant Baptism requires a post-baptismal catechumenate. “Not only is there a need for instruction after Baptism, but also for the necessary flowering of baptismal grace in personal growth,” the Catechism states.

The Second Vatican Council restored for the Latin Church the catechumenate for adults, comprising several distinct steps. The rites for these stages are to be found in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). The council also gives permission that: “In mission countries, in addition to what is furnished by the Christian tradition, those elements of initiation rites may be admitted which are already in use among some peoples insofar as they can be adapted to the Christian ritual.” 

The Catechism states that today in all the rites, Latin and Eastern, the Christian initiation of adults begins with their entry into the catechumenate and reaches its culmination in a single celebration of the three sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist. 

The key teaching document also notes that in the Eastern rites the Christian initiation of infants also begins with Baptism followed immediately by Confirmation and the Eucharist. In the Roman rite it is followed by years of catechesis before being completed later by Confirmation and the Eucharist, the “summit” of their Christian initiation. 

The meaning and grace of the Sacrament of Baptism, the Catechism states, “are clearly seen in the rites of its celebration”. 

By following the gestures and words of this celebration with attentive participation, according to the Church, the faithful are “initiated into the riches this sacrament signifies and actually brings about in each newly baptised person”.