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to goodness. Those who are baptized are set in
a new context, entrusted to a new environment,
a new and shared way of acting, in the Church.
Baptism makes us see, then, that faith is not the
achievement of isolated individuals; it is not an
act which someone can perform on his own, but
rather something which must be received by en-
tering into the ecclesial communion which trans-
mits GodâÂÂs gift. No one baptizes himself, just as
no one comes into the world by himself. Baptism
is something we receive.
42.âÂÂWhat are the elements of baptism which
introduce us into this new âÂÂstandard of teach-
ingâÂÂ? First, the name of the Trinity â the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit â is invoked upon
the catechumen. Thus, from the outset, a synthe-
sis of the journey of faith is provided. The God
who called Abraham and wished to be called his
God, the God who revealed his name to Moses,
the God who, in giving us his Son, revealed fully
the mystery of his Name, now bestows upon the
baptized a new filial identity. This is clearly seen
in the act of baptism itself: immersion in water.
Water is at once a symbol of death, inviting us to
pass through self-conversion to a new and great-
er identity, and a symbol of life, of a womb in
which we are reborn by following Christ in his
new life. In this way, through immersion in water,
baptism speaks to us of the incarnational struc-
ture of faith. ChristâÂÂs work penetrates the depths
of our being and transforms us radically, making
