The Sacrament of Baptism

“Baptism is birth into the new life in Christ. In accordance with the Lord’s will, it is necessary for salvation, as the Church herself, which we enter by Baptism. The essential rite of Baptism consists in immersing the candidate in water or pouring water on his head, while pronouncing the invocation of the Most Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The fruits of Baptism, or baptismal grace, is a rich reality that includes forgiveness of original sin and all personal sins, birth into the new life by which man becomes an adoptive son of the Father, a member of Christ and a temple of the Holy Spirit. By this very fact the person baptized is incorporated into the Church, the body of Christ, and made sharer in the priesthood of Christ.” (CCC #1277, 1278, 1279).