We Christians have been baptized into Jesus and, consequently, into His death and Resurrection (Rm 6:3-4). We have been baptized into Jesus and into His priesthood, prophetic ministry, and kingship (see 1 Pt 2:9). "In [Christ] we were chosen" (Eph 1:11; see also 1:13). In and with Him, we are heirs of God's kingdom (Rm 8:17; see also Eph 1:14). Baptized into Christ, we inherit the grace to be holy, pure, and free.

The ramifications of our Baptisms are so monumental and plentiful that we will spend eternity better appreciating "the radical newness of the Christian life that comes from Baptism" (Lay Members of Christ's Faithful People, Pope St. John Paul II, 10; see also Rm 6:3). Therefore, the bishops of the 1987 Synod recommended to baptized Catholics "a post-baptismal catechesis in the form of a catechumenate...with the purpose of allowing a person to grasp and live the immense, extraordinary richness and responsibility received at Baptism" (Lay Members, 61).

Our Baptisms are the basis for God's greatest gifts to us. This extraordinary richness gives us extraordinary responsibility. If we do not fully develop our Baptisms, we are seriously failing in stewardship. "When much has been given a man, much will be required of him. More will be asked of a man to whom more has been entrusted" (Lk 12:48). Fully develop your Baptism.

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, March 31, 2016

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