Catechesis of The Sacrament of Baptism1

CATECHESIS ON THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
FOR PARENTS AND GODPARENTS
CONTENTS
Communiqué of the Episcopal Conference of Costa Rica
Part One: General guidelines
I. To whom is this catechesis addressed?
II. Who will teach this catechesis?
III. Nature and criteria proper to adult catechesis
IV. How to communicate the baptismal catechesis in the face-

to-face modality?
V. How to communicate baptismal catechesis in the distance

mode?
VI. What are the objectives of this catechesis and how to

evaluate them?
VII. What is the message that will illuminate the human

experience of parents and sponsors?
VIII. The elements that this guide offers in each topic

Second part: Development of the topics
The following are the topics, by units, with their corresponding

orientation or "axis":
FIRST MODULE: CALLED TO A LIFE OF WHOLENESS
The Lord has called us to natural and supernatural life as the most
precious gift that we must care for and protect. We have been created
in His image and likeness. It is we who turn away from God because
of sin. Therefore, God the Father, through Jesus Christ, has willed to
restore our fallen nature by our denial of God and to give us back his
grace, considering us his children and brothers and sisters of all by
faith.
1. God calls us to life: We feel life and can normally enjoy it to

the fullest, from the moment we get up to the moment we go to
bed. Whether we are working, studying, being happy or going
through difficulties, we discover that all of this is possible, thanks
to the life that God has given us. God also gave us the gift of his
friendship, that is, supernatural life. What is our commitment to
life to respond to these signs of God's love?
2. Jesus restores our life: Human beings often affect their

lives and enter into a rupture with God and their brothers and
sisters, rejecting their friendship. Because God loves us, He sent
us His Son so that, accepting Him and believing in Him, we may
be renewed interiorly. Jesus Christ, by his very life, his
teachings, his signs and especially by his death and resurrection,
saves us from sin and death and makes it possible for us to live
as children of God. It is necessary to sincerely accept and
convert to Him, living His teachings.
SECOND MODULE: SHARING THE LIFE OF JESUS IN THE

CHURCH
Through the sacraments, especially Baptism, Christ incorporates us

into the Church. It is in the Christian community that we are called to
live united to Christ and to our brothers and sisters. The parish is a
"community of communities" into which we have been received and
into which the children will be received on the day of their Baptism.
3. Jesus saves us in his Church, through the sacraments:

All human beings use signs to communicate. Jesus is the sign
that makes the Father's presence visible to us. The Church is the
sign par excellence of Christ's salvation. In it, the sacraments
are sensitive signs through which Christ's salvation is
communicated to us. Are we participating in the sacraments of
Salvation?
4. Jesus incorporates us into the life of the Church,

through Baptism: The birth of a child incorporates him into his
family to become part of it. The sacrament of Baptism
incorporates us into Christ, makes us sharers in his very life and
integrates us into his Body, which is the Church. We must
effectively be living members of it, participants in its life and
servants of the community.
THIRD MODULE: CELEBRATING THE FEAST OF BAPTISM
The baptismal celebration is the beginning of a process in which the

richness of the other sacraments of Christian life is interwoven.
Therefore, the signs of water, oil and light, the Word proclaimed and
responded to, the gestures, prayers, bodily attitudes, silence and
songs, are elements that need to be understood in their full meaning,
so that the baptismal celebration may truly be the beginning of the
Christian journey for the baptized. The catechesis prior to Baptism
brings parents and godparents closer to the reality of the baptismal
signs, while introducing them to the theological reality of baptism
through which one is reborn to life, by means of water and the Spirit.
5. We are reborn to the life of Christ through water and

the Holy Spirit: Water is indispensable for living; she is the
source of cleansing, fertility and life; but also of death. The life
that Christ gives us in the Sacrament of Baptism is
communicated to us through the sign of water and the invisible
action of his Spirit. Through Baptism we die to sin. This new life
received in Baptism, we must increase it in ourselves and
cultivate it progressively in our children (or godchildren) already
baptized.
6. We receive the grace of Baptism through sacred signs:

In our daily lives we express emotions, feelings and attitudes
through a variety of "rites", through words, silences and
gestures. The celebration of the sacrament of Baptism is
composed of eloquent and meaningful signs. It is necessary that
we understand the meaning of each one of them and achieve a
"full, conscious and active" participation in the Baptism of our
child or godchild.
FOURTH MODULE: COMMITTED TO THE LIFE THAT SPRINGS

FROM BAPTISM
Baptism commits us to live in coherence with the faith, hope and

charity instilled in us by this sacrament.
To be a Christian is to constantly remember Jesus' warning: Not
everyone who says "Lord", "Lord", will enter the Kingdom of Heaven,
but the one who does the will of my Father... (Mt 7:2). This implies
thinking, feeling and acting in the way of Jesus; and living in solidarity
with our brothers and sisters, especially the poorest and neediest.
7. We promote Christian life in ourselves and in our

children: At birth we all possess a series of potentialities that
need to be developed, with the help of our parents and
educators. The Baptism of a child implies for the parents serious
responsibilities before God and their own children: to develop in
them the spiritual gifts granted by God in this sacrament, with
the help of the godparents and the Christian community. What
will be our commitment when the baptismal celebration is over?
8. The social commitment of the baptized: It is stimulating

to help one another and work together for the betterment of the
community. The Church is a community of solidarity, for in it we
Christians live and celebrate the faith together, foster fraternity
and help the weakest, as Christ taught us. How can we get our
child or godchild to assimilate this commitment, with the
encouragement of our own example?

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CATECHESIS ON THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM

FOR PARENTS AND GODPARENTS

Communiqué of the Episcopal Conference of Costa Rica

Part One: General guidelines

I. To whom is this catechesis addressed?

II. Who will teach this catechesis?

III. Nature and criteria proper to adult catechesis

IV. How to communicate the baptismal catechesis in the face-

V. How to communicate baptismal catechesis in the distance

VI. What are the objectives of this catechesis and how to

VII. What is the message that will illuminate the human

VIII. The elements that this guide offers in each topic

The following are the topics, by units, with their corresponding

FIRST MODULE: CALLED TO A LIFE OF WHOLENESS

1. God calls us to life: We feel life and can normally enjoy it to

2. Jesus restores our life: Human beings often affect their

SECOND MODULE: SHARING THE LIFE OF JESUS IN THE

Through the sacraments, especially Baptism, Christ incorporates us

3. Jesus saves us in his Church, through the sacraments:

4. Jesus incorporates us into the life of the Church,

THIRD MODULE: CELEBRATING THE FEAST OF BAPTISM

The baptismal celebration is the beginning of a process in which the

5. We are reborn to the life of Christ through water and

6. We receive the grace of Baptism through sacred signs:

FOURTH MODULE: COMMITTED TO THE LIFE THAT SPRINGS

Baptism commits us to live in coherence with the faith, hope and

7. We promote Christian life in ourselves and in our

8. The social commitment of the baptized: It is stimulating

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