What does it mean to be baptised into the Roman Catholic Church?

Primarily we gain all the gifts earned by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on the cross on Calvary.  Through his established church, with 2000 years of experience behind it, our chances of gaining eternal life is greatly enhanced within the family of the church.  When our Lord went up on high, he left his representative behind him, and this was his HOLY CHURCH, his mystical body and bride, a divine institution, an organ of the Holy Spirit, who speaks through the church until the end of time.  In as far as Humanity is concerned, the clergy, chosen by God, are the Guardians and Administrators of God’s gifts (The Sacraments) spread and deliver Christ’s message to the world.

During those 2000 years The Church has been ever militant, sometimes The Church gains, sometimes The Church loses, and more often than not, while The Church is gaining The Church is losing also, in different parts of its territory.

The record of church history is one then of ever doubtful fortunes in the battle against evil, though the final victory is never in doubt.  Scarcely is The Church triumphant, when it is visited by a scandal.  No sooner are we at peace when it is suddenly thrown into persecution.  Our triumphs are closely followed by our setbacks, but the church makes progress by its trials and tribulations, its grief, and its consolations.

“The kingdom of God spreads externally because it has an internal hold upon us, because, in the words of the text, it is within us’, in the hearts of its individual members.  Bystanders marvel; strangers try to analyze what it is that does the work; they imagine all manner of human reasons and natural causes to account for it, because they cannot see, and do not feel, and will not believe, what is in truth a supernatural influence”

Up until the 20^th Century, the secret power of divine grace has been held together, not by the Bishops, but by the strong Faith of the ordinary laity.  Sadly with the advancement in the materialistic, e.g. Science, T.V. Internet etc. This strength is fading rapidly and needs to be addressed.