The origins of the sacrament of Baptism lie in the reality of a new life which in turn generates a new reality. No one comes to baptism without starting from a lively Christian presence, in the context of a Church that celebrates baptism while at the same time making it understandable and desirable, and in which the sacrament may unfold its own fruitfulness.

Baptism in fact is first of all a sacramental form instituted by Jesus Christ, so as to make possible in the course of history, personal incorporation in communion with Him and, at the same time an intimate communion with God and with all brothers.

This sacrament has its foundations in He who is "God-with-us", according to the historical form determined by His revelation and expressed within the Incarnation, that achieves its fullness in the Paschal mystery. For this reason the life generated by baptism first of all signifies entering the great movement of communication between God and mankind that takes place in Christ and this becomes manifest in the form of the mystery of charitable, redeeming and saving love.

Consequently life generated by baptism is first of all a gift; this comes from the gesture that accepts the gift of reconciliation, of divine love, consigned to mankind in the form of the Crucifix, the Resurrection and the sending of the Lord.

This life "in Christ", constituting a gesture of welcome, reconciliation and profound communion, is called upon to unfold within mankind, illuminating at once its existence and the whole of realty. In virtue of all this the believer lives his own "vocation" and "mission", basically deeply-rooted in the profound dialogue with the Lord, which are the mark of the reconciliation and of the communion bestowed in baptism.

This mission is also for its very nature joined with primary baptismal communion, and can be developed in a prolific manner only as the expression of this unity and remaining within it. Although adopting the forms that concretely characterize the personal path of each believer, this mission will always and in all circumstances have to consist in a testimony of the merciful Love of God and of the gift of Himself finalized in the accomplishment of the divine design for the salvation of humanity.

Baptismal life therefore achieves its highest expression in the celebration of the Eucharist, in which the divine initiative, the answer and new human life become manifest within their original and at the same time supreme unity.