What does the Catechism of the Catholic Church state?
(A): 1213 Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: “Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water and in the word.” 1265 Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte “a new creature,” an adopted son of God, who has become a “partaker of the divine nature,” member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit. 1266 The Most Holy Trinity gives the baptized sanctifying grace, the grace of justification: (1) enabling them to believe in God, to hope in him, and to love him through the theological virtues; (2) giving them the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit; (3) allowing them to grow in goo
