The faith of our fathers - Carmel Apologetics

"THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM. 307Adam, consoled him by the promise of a Redeemerto come. I will put enmities," saith the Lord, "between thee and the woman, and thy seed and herseed ;she shall crush thyhead." l Jesus, the seedof Mary, is the chosen one who was destined tocrush tne head of the infernal serpent. And"when the fulness of time was come, God sentHis Son, made of a woman, . . . that He mightredeem them that were under the law, that wemight receive the adoption of 2sons."Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, came to wash awaythe defilement from our souls, and to restore us tothat divine friendship which we had lost by the sinof Adam. He is the second Adam, who came to repair the iniquity of the first. It was our Saviour sprivilege to prescribe the conditions on which ourreconciliation with God was to be effected.Now He tells us in His Gospel that Baptism isthe essential means established for washing awaythe stain of original sin, and the door by whichwe find admittance into His Church, vhich maybe called the second Eden. We must all submitto a new birth, or regeneration, before we can enter the kingdom of heaven. Water is the appropriate instrument of this new birth, as it indicatesthe interior cleansing of the soul ;and the HolyGhost, the Giver of spiritual life, is its Author.The Church teaches that Baptism is necessary forx Gen. iii. 15. Gal. iv. 4, 5.