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Baptism and the Salvation of Infants
The Church teaches that someone who is invincibly ignorant of God’s revelation concerning the necessity of baptism can be saved without the sacrament.[1] But this applies only to someone who has the use of intellect and will to seek truth and do the will of God in accord with their understanding of it.[2] So, the question is, “What happens to infants to who die without baptism? They don’t have the use of their intellect and will.”
Some theologians have proposed the idea of Limbo for the children, which is a state of the afterlife akin to that of the Old Testament righteous saints before they went to heaven—a state of natural bliss that is not heaven, hell, or purgatory (see Luke 16:19-31).
Traditionally, the Magisterium explicitly defended the doctrine of Limbo as a legitimate theological opinion. In his 1794 papal bull Auctorem Fidei, Pope Pius VI called the rejection of Limbo by the Jansenists “false, rash, and injurious to Catholic schools.”
Although the Magisterium has never rejected Limbo as an acceptable and legitimate teaching, it has more recently proposed another way to approach the topic of unbaptized infants. For example, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God,” and then gives two reasons as to why we can “hope that there is a way of salvation” for these children: 1) God desires all men to be saved, and 2) Jesus was tender toward children (CCC 1261).
The bottom line is that the Church doesn’t know with certainty whether children who die without baptism receive the Beatific Vision or exist in Limbo. The simple reason for such agnosticism is that it’s not revealed to us. This testifies to the humility of the Church and her concern for preaching only what Christ has revealed. In the end, however, we do have reason to hope for the salvation of unbaptized infants. And that’s something that we can take comfort in.
[1] See Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 1260. [2] See Ibid.Baptism of Desire and Sacramental Character
The Church has traditionally taught that the desire for baptism, whether explicit or implicit, saves.[1] Yet, someone may ask, “If that person doesn’t receive the sacrament of baptism, is that person ‘fully Catholic’”?
If by “fully Catholic” one means “getting to heaven,” then the answer is yes. However, if by “fully Catholic” one means receiving the character/seal of baptism, then the answer is no. The Catechism teaches that the desire for Baptism “brings about the fruits of Baptism,” but “without being a sacrament” (CCC 1258). Since the character is only communicated through the sacrament (CCC 1121), it follows that the desire for Baptism does not communicate the sacramental character or seal.
What’s the significance of this? For this life, it simply means that the person wouldn’t enjoy the “rights within the Church” to participate in aspects of the life of the Church, such as the sacraments (CCC 1269). The character/seal is ordered to making the baptized “share in Christ’s priesthood” and constituting them as “a member of the Church according to different states and functions” (CCC 1121). Or, as Aquinas puts it, it gives a person the right “to do or receive something pertaining to the worship of the priesthood of Christ.”[2]
Concerning the afterlife, this lack of the character might not have any significance at all. The Church only definitively teaches that the seal remains at least until death.[3] Even if the character does remain in heaven, which is the general theological opinion,[4] the only implication would be that the souls that didn’t have it would experience beatitude in a lesser degree than those that did have it. But that’s not a problem because every soul will experience different degrees of beatitude in heaven depending on their state of charity.
Regardless of whether the seal remains, the important thing is that the baptism of desire does indeed save. And in that sense every soul in heaven is “fully Catholic.” [1] For the Church’s teaching on the explicit desire for Baptism, see The Council of Trent, Canons on the Sacraments in General, Can. 4; Decree on Justification, Chap.4; Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 1259; Cf. Aquinas, Summa theologiae [ST] III, q. 66, aa. 11-12; q. 68, a. 2. For the Church’s teaching on the implicit desire for Baptism, see Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 1260. [2] Aquinas, ST III, q. 63, a. 6, ad 3. [3] See Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma (St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Company, 1957), 335. [4] See Ibid.Are You Baptized in the Holy Ghost?
Are you baptized in the Holy Ghost? This is a question that you’ll often get if you ever hang around Charismatic Christians—whether Protestant or Catholic. What they usually mean is, “Have you experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit in a powerful way?” Often they think a sign of this “baptism” is the outward manifestation of certain spiritual gifts, like speaking in tongues.
But for Catholics, the language of “being baptized in the Holy Spirit” need not be reduced to a subjective experience that we may have of Him or the ability to speak in strange tongues. It arguably refers to a sacrament: namely, the Sacrament of Confirmation.
In Acts 1:4-5, Jesus instructs the apostles not to leave Jerusalem until they receive the promise of the Father to be “baptized with the Holy Spirit,” which, according to Peter in Acts 11:15-16, is a reference to the descent of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.
Now, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in paragraph 1288 that the Sacrament of Confirmation “in a certain way perpetuates the grace of Pentecost in the Church.” This is confirmed in Acts 8 when Peter and John lay hands on the newly baptized Christians in Samaria and give them a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit similar to that of the Christians in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost.
If Pentecost was the event where the early Christians received their “baptism” of the Holy Spirit, and the laying on of hands in Confirmation perpetuates the graces of Pentecost, then it follows that to be confirmed is to be “baptized in the Holy Spirit” insofar as by means of the sacrament we receive the same outpouring of the Spirit that allows us courageously to spread and defend the faith in word and deed.
And just because some confirmed Christians might not have the gift of tongues, doesn’t mean they haven’t been “baptized in the Holy Spirit,” since, according to Paul in 1 Cor. 12:30, not all members of Christ’s Body have this gift.
So, to the question, “Have you been baptized in the Holy Ghost?” Christians who’ve been validly confirmed can say with some charismatic flair, “Amen, brotha!”
St. Thomas’s Prayer Tips
[1] See Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae II-II, q. 83. [2] See ST II-II, q. 83, a. 12, resp. [3] See ST II-II, q. 83, a. 13, resp. [4] See ST II-II, q. 83, a. 13, resp. [5] ST II-II, q. 83, a. 14, resp.
Desire & Happiness: Part 2
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Baptism and the Salvation of Infants
The Church teaches that someone who is invincibly ignorant of God’s revelation concerning the necessity of baptism can be saved without the sacrament.[1] But this applies only to someone who has the use of intellect and will to seek truth and do the will of God in accord with their understanding of it.[2] So, the question is, “What happens to infants to who die without baptism? They don’t have the use of their intellect and will.”
Some theologians have proposed the idea of Limbo for the children, which is a state of the afterlife akin to that of the Old Testament righteous saints before they went to heaven—a state of natural bliss that is not heaven, hell, or purgatory (see Luke 16:19-31).
Traditionally, the Magisterium explicitly defended the doctrine of Limbo as a legitimate theological opinion. In his 1794 papal bull Auctorem Fidei, Pope Pius VI called the rejection of Limbo by the Jansenists “false, rash, and injurious to Catholic schools.”
Although the Magisterium has never rejected Limbo as an acceptable and legitimate teaching, it has more recently proposed another way to approach the topic of unbaptized infants. For example, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God,” and then gives two reasons as to why we can “hope that there is a way of salvation” for these children: 1) God desires all men to be saved, and 2) Jesus was tender toward children (CCC 1261).
The bottom line is that the Church doesn’t know with certainty whether children who die without baptism receive the Beatific Vision or exist in Limbo. The simple reason for such agnosticism is that it’s not revealed to us. This testifies to the humility of the Church and her concern for preaching only what Christ has revealed. In the end, however, we do have reason to hope for the salvation of unbaptized infants. And that’s something that we can take comfort in.
[1] See Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 1260. [2] See Ibid.Baptism of Desire and Sacramental Character
The Church has traditionally taught that the desire for baptism, whether explicit or implicit, saves.[1] Yet, someone may ask, “If that person doesn’t receive the sacrament of baptism, is that person ‘fully Catholic’”?
If by “fully Catholic” one means “getting to heaven,” then the answer is yes. However, if by “fully Catholic” one means receiving the character/seal of baptism, then the answer is no. The Catechism teaches that the desire for Baptism “brings about the fruits of Baptism,” but “without being a sacrament” (CCC 1258). Since the character is only communicated through the sacrament (CCC 1121), it follows that the desire for Baptism does not communicate the sacramental character or seal.
What’s the significance of this? For this life, it simply means that the person wouldn’t enjoy the “rights within the Church” to participate in aspects of the life of the Church, such as the sacraments (CCC 1269). The character/seal is ordered to making the baptized “share in Christ’s priesthood” and constituting them as “a member of the Church according to different states and functions” (CCC 1121). Or, as Aquinas puts it, it gives a person the right “to do or receive something pertaining to the worship of the priesthood of Christ.”[2]
Concerning the afterlife, this lack of the character might not have any significance at all. The Church only definitively teaches that the seal remains at least until death.[3] Even if the character does remain in heaven, which is the general theological opinion,[4] the only implication would be that the souls that didn’t have it would experience beatitude in a lesser degree than those that did have it. But that’s not a problem because every soul will experience different degrees of beatitude in heaven depending on their state of charity.
Regardless of whether the seal remains, the important thing is that the baptism of desire does indeed save. And in that sense every soul in heaven is “fully Catholic.” [1] For the Church’s teaching on the explicit desire for Baptism, see The Council of Trent, Canons on the Sacraments in General, Can. 4; Decree on Justification, Chap.4; Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 1259; Cf. Aquinas, Summa theologiae [ST] III, q. 66, aa. 11-12; q. 68, a. 2. For the Church’s teaching on the implicit desire for Baptism, see Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 1260. [2] Aquinas, ST III, q. 63, a. 6, ad 3. [3] See Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma (St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Company, 1957), 335. [4] See Ibid.Are You Baptized in the Holy Ghost?
Are you baptized in the Holy Ghost? This is a question that you’ll often get if you ever hang around Charismatic Christians—whether Protestant or Catholic. What they usually mean is, “Have you experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit in a powerful way?” Often they think a sign of this “baptism” is the outward manifestation of certain spiritual gifts, like speaking in tongues.
But for Catholics, the language of “being baptized in the Holy Spirit” need not be reduced to a subjective experience that we may have of Him or the ability to speak in strange tongues. It arguably refers to a sacrament: namely, the Sacrament of Confirmation.
In Acts 1:4-5, Jesus instructs the apostles not to leave Jerusalem until they receive the promise of the Father to be “baptized with the Holy Spirit,” which, according to Peter in Acts 11:15-16, is a reference to the descent of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.
Now, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in paragraph 1288 that the Sacrament of Confirmation “in a certain way perpetuates the grace of Pentecost in the Church.” This is confirmed in Acts 8 when Peter and John lay hands on the newly baptized Christians in Samaria and give them a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit similar to that of the Christians in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost.
If Pentecost was the event where the early Christians received their “baptism” of the Holy Spirit, and the laying on of hands in Confirmation perpetuates the graces of Pentecost, then it follows that to be confirmed is to be “baptized in the Holy Spirit” insofar as by means of the sacrament we receive the same outpouring of the Spirit that allows us courageously to spread and defend the faith in word and deed.
And just because some confirmed Christians might not have the gift of tongues, doesn’t mean they haven’t been “baptized in the Holy Spirit,” since, according to Paul in 1 Cor. 12:30, not all members of Christ’s Body have this gift.
So, to the question, “Have you been baptized in the Holy Ghost?” Christians who’ve been validly confirmed can say with some charismatic flair, “Amen, brotha!”
St. Thomas’s Prayer Tips
[1] See Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae II-II, q. 83. [2] See ST II-II, q. 83, a. 12, resp. [3] See ST II-II, q. 83, a. 13, resp. [4] See ST II-II, q. 83, a. 13, resp. [5] ST II-II, q. 83, a. 14, resp.