Moral Dimension of the Sacrament of Baptism in the Light of Pope Francis Encyclical Lumen fidei

Abstract

A baptism – the first of the sacrament that a person receives in a life, is the foundation of all Christian existence and introduce (initiate) into the life of faith. It implies the consequences of a moral character, that is, influences and conditions the personal life of the Christian as a free, conscious and responsible person who is moving towards the good. We can say about the moral dimension of the sacrament of baptism, as Pope Francis wrote in his first encyclical Lumen fidei: “In baptism we receive both a teaching to be professed and a specific way of life which demands the engagement of the whole person and sets us on the path to goodness” (n. 41). Francis states that holy baptism is the sacrament of faith. Searching for good is a moral category. It concerns a person as a free, conscious and responsible subject who, in making his choices, in choosing Christ, responding to the gift of a new life in Christ, in the freedom seeking the truth, is looking for the good. The baptism has a fundamental dimension for Christian existence because it is the realization of the very essence of being a Christian – it brings with it a rebirth which opens the way to imitate Christ.