The Holy Sacrament of Baptism

Beloved, good evening. Tonight I would like to talk to you about baptism. In a country like Brazil, where Catholicism is the traditional dominant religion, but with few strict observers, many people give to  baptism a certain importance and, even though frequently not religious themselves, have their children baptized at the Catholic Church. But without proper understanding of what this truly means.

I myself am baptized, like most Brazilians, even though my parents are not religious Catholics and I only actually converted to Catholicism at 20.

The true meaning of Catholic baptism is that henceforth you become, really, literally, a new member of the Catholic Church. This is why it is so important that those who take part in the baptism of a child actually understand and practice the Catholic faith. One of the prerrogatives required during the ceremony of baptism is the total repentance of all your sins. And most of the time the people just repeat the formula, frequently not actually paying attention to what they are saying.

For, within Catholic morality, just to give some examples, are sinful: sex out of wedlock, marriage without the sacrament (civilian marriage), divorce of a valid and consummated marriage, anticonceptionals, condoms, practice of other religions, paganism, esoterism, astrology, not going to the mass on the Sundays and days of feast, desiring someone other than your spouse (yes, this includes movies, celebrities, pornography)...

Needless to say, a huge quantity of the population of most countries indulges in one or many of these. And, unfortunately, Brazil is not quite the exception.

Baptism means the spiritual birth. The person who was stained by original sin and distant from God's grace now receives it completely, and becomes fully a child of God, receiving what we call sanctifying grace - the vocation and capacity to holiness.

See, how absolutely important and serious a matter Catholic baptism is? And, I must add, like any other sacrament, IT CANNOT BE UNDONE. Even if you abandon the faith or never actually practice it, your baptism is still valid.

For a baby to be baptized, the Church does not demand that the parents of the child be Catholic (though of course they should); But the Godfather and Godmother, yes, those the Church DEMANDS they be PRACTICING CATHOLICS. How often these supremely important roles are chosen not because of faith or religious example, but merely due to proximity and relations? Once again, that is terrible.

Anyway, I think that was it. Hope to see you soon, and, now, I wish you understand the importance of baptism, and how it is something absolutely sacred (afterall, it's a sacrament), and not merely a superstitious rite or something like that.

With my best wishes,

Diogo Geraldes.

God bless!

Rio de Janeiro, January 19th, 2021.