Catholic Water Rituals Essay

The water she is using can no longer wash away her regrets and culpability. She cries, "Out, damned spot! Out I say!.... Hell is murky." (V.i.33-34) Thelologists agree that “the phrase ‘being born of water, [Biblical contect]’ is to mean to be born again, forgiven, and cleansed by means of water.”

The color white symbolizes newness which is a synonym of the meaning of baptism, rebirth. The pouring of water, anointing with oil or chrism, and the spoken words have been used as a way to cleanse one of sin throughout history. Occasionally salt was put on the infant’s tongue to symbolize the ocean and immortality. The sacrament of baptism is a prerequisite for the other six religious sacraments, is needed for salvation, and is needed in order to enter Heaven. Saint Augustine stated that everyone is bound to sin after birth, and the grace of God is needed at the beginning of our life to fight our sinfulness.

Connection: The biblical story, Jonah and the Whale, is an example of Baptism. God gave Jonah a job, but he set off in another direction. Suddenly, there was a storm. The boat was tossing in the middle of the sea. No one on the boat knew what to do. Jonah knew that the storm was because of him. God was with him. Everyone prayed for forgiveness and they threw Johan into the water. The storm immediately stopped. God heard Jonah’s prayers and sent a fish to rescue him. Jonah lived in the fish’s stomach for three days. He prayed to God for help. When it was safe, the fish spit Jonah out onto the land. Jonah was cleansed when he returned back to the land. Being tossed into the water was symbolic. He was reborn after the incident.

Ultimately, when an individual responds to their baptismal call, a community of Christian believers are united under the goal of guiding the initiated. Thus, this attained unity allows the faith to prosper like a living religion. Furthermore, re-birth from sin is intrinsically connected to the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is a fundamental belief throughout Christianity, though it is practiced differently. “Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word.” (CCC, 1213). Regardless of the denomination, all baptism rituals symbolise beliefs in the Christian faith, all involves water. Some denominations, like Lutheran practice the sprinkling of water over the head of an initiate, while Pentecostals, practice immersing the head of the initiate in the water. Thus a reminder that, “Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”, for individuals who have been initiated that they made a commitment to the teachings, practices and life of of the community. The baptised should live a life of faith as modelled on the example of Jesus, who forgave their sin. The last belief derived from Baptism, is the believed in the Trinity. Through the guidance and support of the Holy Spirit, an individual's is able to carry out God’s word, and evangelise and spread the message of Jesus. “One will come more powerful that I, and he

My family and I got up, got ready, and drove less than a mile down Old Hickory Boulevard to Forest Hills Baptist Church, like we had always done. Except, that day I packed my swimming trunks. On August 5th of 2007, I was baptized by a minister at my church. I was eager to get started. With both of us cloaked in white, the minster and I stepped into the baptism “tub” during the worship service. Colorful rays of light were beaming through the stained glass windows, the water was warm, and my mother was standing beside of me for comfort and reassurance; I was at peace. Out of the opening, I could see the watchful eyes of the choir, worship leader, congregation, and my family; I was at peace. As part of tradition, I was getting ready to be immersed into the water; I was at peace. While in the water, an extraordinary sensation of purification swept through my body. I, for the first time in my eight years of life, had truly felt cleansed from head to toe. This feeling was a direct action of the Holy Spirit entering and presiding in my vulnerable self permanently.

The elements of this practice equip the individual to perform this ritual in a successful manner and allow adherents to be disciples of the Lord in the Christian community. The use of water signifies the spiritual cleansing of the individual and reflects the discussion of rebirth through water in the Gospel of John - “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water” (3:5). The use of water also unifies the individual with the ministry of Christ as we take part in the same ceremony as him. The bible highlights the eternal connection established with the Christian community as the word stresses the importance of this practice. Furthermore, the white garment symbolises the pure and virtuous nature of this ritual and signifies the releasing from the chains of sin and being reborn into a new life with Christ. Pope Francis’ statement that the “people of God have become missionary disciples” highlights the communal aspect of baptism and its contribution to Christianity as a living tradition as it is the individuals moral duty to baptise non-believers and unite them with the Christian community. The Gospel of John reinforces this obligation and the importance of baptism for the individual and the community as a whole in “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mttw

Just as Christ was crucified and died, our submersion in water symbolizes us too dying with him. In turn, our removal from the water symbolizes our rebirth and connection with Christ giving us our first divine-human encounter. The depth of such an act clearly portrays how vital of a part cleansing of sins by way of water is important and used in our faith since the beginning of time and an example of initiation into Christ’s life. Water has, since the beginning of time, been used to symbolize cleansing and new beginnings and in turn a major reason why this sign is seen as such in the symbolic ritual.

All Christians know about the Great Commission, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, English Standard Version). In that command, Jesus tells us to baptize in the name of the Trinity. What does the word “baptism” mean? Baptimsa and sometimes baptismos, the Greek word origin of “baptism”, can translate to “immersion” or “bathing” without any religious implications (McGowan, 2014). Nearly every Christian church practices baptism with a religious implication; however, they do not agree on God’s activity in, the qualifications for admitting a person to, and methods of administering baptism. For instance, many churches do not baptize people until they become adults and make a profession of faith, while others encourage baptizing an infant soon after they are born. The practices and philosophy for baptism changed throughout its use in the New Testament, the Early Church, and the Medieval era.

Water is the symbol of life. It purifies and cleanses us physically; at the same time it cleanses and purifies our souls from original sin in and through the baptismal water. Water has another dimension in our life if we recognize the fact that when we are in our mother’s womb we are in the water and grow in water.

Some of the cultural approach to water differ from other approaches, as where every culture has a different way of understanding water, and what it means to them. Water is seen through different cultures differently, for example in Australia we have water theme parks that has water and displays water differently. Water is one of the most important thing for everyone and for every culture, as where everyone uses water differently. For example, every human being would use water to clean themselves as a daily routine of having showering to keep hygiene. Furthermore, different culture experiences and see water differently, for example, people in turkey villages would use water different to people in the city in turkey, as water in villages is harder

For example, Christianity sees water as a symbol for washing away sins. Therefore, many Christian denominations use it for religious rituals like Baptism and Easter Mass. In the Hindu faith, water is known to be sacred. Because of this, many rivers appear to be “holy rivers” and many Hindu holy places are located near water. Judaism also sees water as a form of cleaning human error.

Ephesians 4:4-6 states, 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you[a] all.." In the days of Jesus, for Christians, baptism became a symbol of the washing away of sin because, and of the sacrifice of Christ. Baptism is seen almost as a reboot of

It is used to clean and purify things, which is why baptisms involve water. Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3). Many scholars believe that this being born of water is considered baptism. Being baptized is consider a new birth, the creation of spiritual life. As state earlier, water symbolizes purity. In John 1:29-34, John the Baptist is baptized with water. Jesus is baptized in John 3:22-30. Jesus also uses water to wash the feet of the disciples (13:1-20). The ritual of water baptism is a way to express the spiritual conversion. Jesus uses the water to cleanse and purify spiritually. Baptisms in today’s society typically occur soon after birth when a child enters the world or when a person decides to join a new faith. This cleansing in the water represents birth and new life in the church and in faith.

Roughly 70% of the human body are made of water. The average human can only live without water for about 3 to 5 days. Nothing can exist without out water, water is the source of life. Mircea Eliade (1996) states “Water symbolized the who potentiality; is “fons et origo”, the source of all things and of all existence (p.188). So it makes sense that water plays such a huge role in the religion. While the Islamic, Judaic, Hindu, and Zoroastrian religion may all be different but they do all have practice water rituals. Despite their differences they all believe that water is important, these religions believe that water has the power to purify the soul.

The “Baptism in Water” is the first significant procedure that believers should appropriate themselves after they have concurred with the gospel and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives. Following Jesus example, these people comply with the observance of “Water Baptism,” because they are likewise expressing their belief and obedience to the will of God by living their new life in Jesus Christ. What important powerful spiritual phenomenon believers have to understand they should inherit when they go though the ordinance of “Water Baptism”? Matt. 3:13-17, provides a powerful evidence on this