BAPTISM

Last Sunday afternoon I attended a child baptism at the sacred cathedral Kota Kinabalu. I was the godparent of my nephew son, Chester. There were about more than fifty children baptize and just imagine without air-condition they were crying and the parents were just trying to make them comfortable while others help to sooth the child where possible.

My nephew son was uncomfortable with the heat and cried but after other parents advices to remove the long pant and he slept after that. He cried after white cloth was worn after the baptism was completed. The garment was long covering the whole body and the material was thicker which trap hot air, which will be hot for the child.

Baptism is one of the two most important sacraments in Christianity. At its most basic, it involves application of or immersion in water, a blessing, and the pronouncement, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Most Christian churches baptize both infants and adults, but adult usually baptized after having attended the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) classes for a year. The Church will not baptize if the individual who need the conversion to the Catholic faith does not complete the one-year RCIA class.

I converted to the Catholic faith when I was in my very young age as both my parent at that time were a non-Christian. They’re both Pagan. When I started my kindergarten, I was enrolled to a mission as all villagers were schooled there. I was exposed to the catholic faith since I was small and knew how to pray and attended church activities and masses. I didn’t know that I was not baptized and thought that the services I attended at the Church were part of the school curriculum.

Later I found out that I was a pagan when filling out the personal biodata for some School activities. I attended religious lesson at that time and it was just to learn more about the Catholic faith, as I had no problem with the prayer as I had learned it by heart then.

When I received the Sacrament of Baptism, I was very happy to be part of the faithful to the Catholic faith. Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit and the door, which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word."

When you feel you are ready to join the Catholic Church, contact any Catholic parish and ask about information about their RCIA Inquiry group. This is the first step in RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) but you can stop at any time.

There is no obligation to become a Catholic.

With love and prayers in Christ.