Baptism as a Gate of Christian Morality. Inspirations of the Document of the International Theological Commission The Reciprocity Between Faith and Sacraments in the Sacramental Economy

Abstract

Baptism is rightly called the gate – the gate to salvation, to eternal life, to the Church, the gate of life in the Spirit, the gate of hope, the gate to other sacraments. In a sense, it can also be called the gate of Christian morality. This name is implicitly suggested by the International Theological Commission document on the relationship between faith and the sacraments. Baptism is a gate, because by giving a participation in the Christ’s death and resurrection, it constitutes the very subject of moral action and introduces man to active participation in the life of the Church and the world. This active participation is realized not only in worship, but also in moral life, which has its source in sacramental gifts. It is the realization in action of what baptism gives in the form of a gift. Christian moral life is therefore a consequence of passing through the baptism gate. This is its specificity.