Baptism is the beginning
of a lifetime journey of commitment and discipleship. Our journey begins with an invitation, a call from God through the Christian
community to live the gospel as committed disciples of Christ. When we accept the invitation, that call and response are ritualized
and made visual and "real" for us in the celebration of Baptism.
Baptism is birth into the family of the Church. In the baptismal font we
die and rise to new life in Christ. Parents bring an infant to the font because they want more for the child than physical
life. They come to ask the fullness of life that only Christ can give.
The new emphasis given to Baptism is that we all join in the common priesthood
of all the faithful.
