Baptism is the first sacrament, and through it a person is washed clean of the stain of original sin, enters the state of grace, and becomes a member of the Church. The action of baptism is the pouring of water while saying the following: I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. A priest is the usual minister of baptism, but in very unusual circumstances (such as danger of death) ordinary lay people can administer it. People of any age can be baptized, but the traditional Catholic practice is to baptize infants and unbaptized adult converts. The person who is baptized has one or two sponsors, who are known as godparents, and the godparents pledge to assist the parents in the religious education of the child. In the solemn baptismal ceremony, the person baptized is anointed with two different consecrated oils.
Baptism imparts a special mark or character on the soul, and a person can only be baptized once in his or her lifetime. Baptism is necessary in order to receive the other sacraments. Baptism is said to be one of the “sacraments of initiation,” the other two being confirmation and Eucharist.
See, as a Roman Catholic you are fucked right from the start unless Mom and Dad get you to the baptismal before something terrible happens and you go to hell before you know what hell is. So, parents are sincerely traumatized by the very idea of the child until baptismal happens.
Original sin dates back to Adam. He screwed up. Literally. The price one pays. I always wanted to know if Adam made it to the pearly gates and if Eve was there to greet him. Just one of those things a soul has to wait to find out. But, as a Catholic Kid it plays with your head, ya know?
Original sin may be taken to mean: (1) the sin that Adam committed; (2) a consequence of this first sin, the hereditary stain with which we are born on account of our origin or descent from Adam.
From the earliest times the latter sense of the word was more common, as may be seen by St. Augustine's statement: "the deliberate sin of the first man is the cause of original sin" (De nupt. et concup., II, xxvi, 43). It is the hereditary stain that is dealt with here. As to the sin of Adam we have not to examine the circumstances in which it was committed nor make the exegesis of the third chapter of Genesis.
It it is good enough for Jesus, it is good enough for anyone.When he was thirty, he began to preach on the banks of the Jordan against the evils of the times and called men to penance and baptism "for the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand".
He attracted large crowds, and when Christ came to him, John recognized Him as the Messiah and baptized Him, saying, "It is I who need baptism from You".
