By Joel Padgett
Connecting Liturgy and Life
Editor’s note: For 2026, the weekly “Connecting Faith and Life” column has been renamed “Connecting Liturgy and Life.” The column consists of reflections on Part Two of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), which focuses on the Liturgy and the Sacraments.
cf. CCC 1229-1245
In Catholicism, matter matters. Ever since creation, which God continually sustains in existence, and especially since he took on flesh in the Incarnation, matter matters. In our celebration of the seven sacraments, matter matters. Therefore, when we take a look at the gestures, words and elements used within a sacrament, it matters.
Take baptism, for example. When we actually pause and pay attention to what takes place during the celebration of baptism, we discover “the riches this sacrament signifies and actually brings about in each newly baptized person” (CCC 1234). Let’s take a brief look at some of these elements.
Baptism begins with the sign of the cross. This sign “marks with the imprint of Christ the one who is going to belong to him and signifies the grace of the redemption Christ won for us by his cross” (CCC 1235). In other words, God claims me as his own. Jesus fulfills his promise. He does not leave me an orphan (cf. John 14:18). Even though I may feel alone, I am never actually alone. I belong to God. Furthermore, Christ has redeemed me, and my redemption was not cheap. It cost him his blood. It is the testament of his love. God loves me to the point of laying down his life for me.
After this comes the proclamation of the Word of God, which is meant to enlighten those present “with the revealed truth” and to elicit a “response of faith” (CCC 1236). The response of faith is inseparable from the sacrament of baptism, and it is through baptism that we receive the gift of supernatural faith. Baptism allows us to proclaim: We believe! It gives me the grace to stake our lives upon Christ and his message of Good News.
Next, “one or more exorcisms are pronounced over the candidate.” Then the celebrant “anoints him with the oil of catechumens,” and Satan is explicitly renounced (CCC 1237). The devil’s hold is broken. We are freed from both sin and from the devil. This freedom, together with the gift of faith, gives us the strength to confess our faith, even in the midst of trials and challenges.
Following the prayer that consecrates the baptismal water, we arrive at the heart of the sacrament, the actual act of baptism. Baptism both “signifies and actually brings about death to sin and entry into the life of the Most Holy Trinity through configuration to the Paschal mystery of Christ” (CCC 1239). It is performed by either immersing a person three times into the baptismal water or by pouring the water over the person’s head three times, while praying: “N., I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (CCC 1240).
One of my favorite parts comes next: the anointing with sacred chrism, the sweet smell of which tends to be a very fond memory for those who have witnessed the rite. Sacred chrism is a perfumed oil that the bishop consecrates during the annual Chrism Mass, which takes place during Holy Week at a diocese’s cathedral, where the bishop is joined with all of the priests of his diocese. (As an aside, if you’ve never been to a Chrism Mass, I highly encourage you to do so!) Beyond making the baby smell heavenly, this anointing “signifies the gift of the Holy Spirit to the newly baptized, who has become a Christian, that is, one ‘anointed’ by the Holy Spirit, incorporated into Christ who is anointed priest, prophet, and king” (CCC 1241).
Lastly, “the white garment symbolizes that the person baptized has ‘put on Christ,’ has risen with Christ,” and “the candle, lit from the Easter candle, signifies that Christ has enlightened the neophyte” (that is, the newly baptized person), making that person, in Christ, “a child of God entitled to say the prayer of the children of God: ‘Our Father’ (CCC 1243). Through baptism, we truly become children of God. God is not merely our Creator. He is our loving Father! He loves us with a love that is infinitely greater and more perfect than even the best of parents have for their child. This is something that we could reflect on for the rest of our lives and not even begin to plumb its depths! A more than worthy life goal would be to spend each day trying to integrate the consequences of this reality more fully into our lives.
There is a saying that Catholicism is all about the smells and bells, and there is some truth in it. As we’ve just seen, every gesture, every word, every element involved in a sacrament matters and is intentional. Beneath its appearance of ordinariness lies something truly extraordinary!