Concerns about being baptised

[princessbambi]

I’m planning to get baptised in the future and I’m excited but I also have concerns being that through baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as children of God, does this mean that the person who I was before is gone? I know that I’ll be freed from my past sins but the experiences that I had shaped who I am today and although they were negative it has made me wiser. I have someone who I’m dearly in love with and I’m scared that becoming a catholic and getting baptised will somehow change who I was before and the feelings that I have towards him. I embrace god, and the christian beliefs and I want my to be freed from my sins but I’m just scared that it’ll change the person I am?

 

[po18guy]

Talk to your local parish priest.

 

[Limoncello4021]

No. You will still be you, but you will be filled with sanctifying grace which will make you a child of God and give you the help you need to live a holy life. There is no reason to assume that your love for a person will change, unless that love is sinful in some way right now. If you are worried about that relationship for any reason, discuss it with your priest. The closer we get to God, the more our love for each other grows. God will show you over time whether this relationship is best for you or not. He can lead us in surprising ways.

 

[princessbambi]

thank you for your reply, and no my love for him is not sinful in any way, I love him sincerely and unconditionally more than anything and all I wish for him is his happiness. I guess I’m just worried about how this will change my life and my faith and i’m scared that I might change in some way since I have loved this man during the times at my lowest. He’s the person dearest to me and I hope that god will lead me to help him and give my love to him.

 

[TomH1]

No, you will still be you with all the good and bad things about you. We are all sinners and that is why we need the graces of the sacraments. Although baptism will absolve you of all your sins it will not stop you sinning in the future. It will not alter who you are.

I am glad you said that negative experiences in your life has made you a wiser person. Too many people get agitated about never making a mistake. Those who have never made a mistake have never really lived. We all make mistakes. What we have to do is learn from those mistakes so we do become wiser and do not repeat the same mistake.

I would encourage you to get baptised. Be forgiven of all your past sins but know that you will have to strive to avoid sin in the future and at times, like us all, you will fail. If you do not get baptised you cannot access any other sacraments so you cannot receive their graces. If you do get baptised you can receive the graces that come from the sacraments and which with strengthen you. And, when you sin in the future you must make use of the sacrament of penance: go and confess your sins.

 

[BrotherKnightSTL]

Matthew was a tax collector, who turned to follow Jesus.

His past was always a part of him, but his future was in Christ.