Since Baptism is a true entry into the holiness of God through incorporation into Christ and the indwelling of his Spirit, it would be a contradiction to settle for a life of mediocrity, marked by a minimalist ethic and a shallow religiosity.  To ask catechumens: "Do you wish to receive Baptism?" means at the same time to ask them: 

"Do you wish to become holy?" It means to set before them the radical nature of the Sermon on the Mount:

"Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Mt. 5:48)