Baptism is one of the sacraments of Christianity. It is the Christian religious rite of sprinkling water on a persons' forehead or of immersing them in water, symbolizing purification or regeneration and admission to the Christian Church. In many denominations, baptism is performed on young children and is accompanied by name-giving.

In this regard it is of cardinal importance to recall that Lord Jesus Himself was baptized by John the Baptist. The Holy Bible states that "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him, and a voice from Heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (John 3: 16-17)

The Christian baptism illustrates the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. At the same time, it also illustrates humans' death to sin and new life in Christ. Being submerged in the water represents death to sin, and emerging from the water represents the cleansed, holy life that follows salvation. According to Romans 6:4:“We were therefore, buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

This is a real-life story which tells that Nicole Nicholls was surprised when her 8-year-old son, Charlie, came home from school one day with a simple request.

“Mom, I want to be blessed like all my other classmates,” the second-grader at St. Patrick School in Carleton said. Charlie was asking to be baptized.

When he came from school, he said: ‘You know what, Mom? I want to be blessed like my classmates.’ I said, ‘Well, what do you mean by blessed?’ He then said, ‘I want to be blessed into the Catholic faith and be baptize'."

Actually, when Charlie came home from school--as he was attending St. Patrick since pre-kindergarten, the school celebrates Mass every Friday, and Charlie’s classmates were preparing for their first Communions. So, he brought it up out of the blue.

When asked, ‘Do you understand the word 'baptism?' he said, ‘I want to be part of the Church, I want to know Jesus,' He pointed to the crucifix on the wall of classroom and goes, ‘I know Jesus suffered for me.’

With his baptism, Charlie will discover what gifts the Holy Spirit has for him. And he will be a great contributor to building up the kingdom of God.

With Charlie seeking to be baptized, he unknowingly follows Lord Jesus Christ as quoted in the Holy Bible, " Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life'.”