To become a full-fledged member of
the Catholic Church, one must be baptised, be confirmed and must receive the holy
Eucharist.
There are three cases to consider:
A. For an infant
An infant would
become a catholic as long as he/she is baptised. However,
the infant would become a full-fledged catholic later when he/she receives Confirmation and the Eucharist.
B. For a willing adult in a normal process
An adult, to
become a catholic, may receive Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist at the
same time.
C. For a child or an adult outside the Church
The one who
has been validly baptised outside the Catholic Church may become Catholic by
making a profession of the Catholic faith and being formally admitted into the
Church, and immediately followed by Confirmation and the Eucharist.
Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion
(Eucharist) are called the 3 Sacraments of Initiation because those are the
basic requirements of membership.
The sacrament of Baptism is a ritual that
serves as an entrance to the Church. One must be baptized in the name of the
Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). Baptism is done in
order for a person to become part of the body of Christ (Col. 1:18; Acts 20:28;
1 Cor. 12:13). In that way, a person will get the privileges - free from all
sins (Heb. 9:22) and reborn as a child of God (John 3:3,5-8). Do you remember
our first parents Adam and Eve (Gen 2; Gen 3)? Well, they are the reason why we
got the original sin and are considered dead (Rom. 5:12-14; 3:23). To become
alive, we can have it through Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:21; 3:24).
The
Sacrament of Confirmation is the perfection of Baptism. It completes the grace that was initially given in Baptism. It
would increase our sanctifying grace, strengthen our faith and personal
relationship with Christ, it would make us entitled to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38;
8:14-17).
The Sacrament of Holy Communion or
Eucharist is the only one of the three that we can or should repeatedly receive.
In Holy Communion, we consume the body and blood of Jesus Christ that would
unite us more closely to Him and would help us grow in grace by living a more
Christian life (Matt. 26:26-28; John 6:51,53-58).
One more thing to consider is the prerequisite to receive the three sacraments of initiation. One must be a human being. ;)
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