Baptism

Question 1

Chapter 1: Baptism in Biblical Revelation

Answer 1

OT REVELATION

• OT prefigurations of Baptism (Gk: “immersion”): (in themselves) true events of salvation
• 3 of greatest importance:
• Universal Deluge
• Purifying value of Baptism: death of those living in sin / following rebirth
• 1Pt 3:20-21: baptism catechesis
• Water: place of confrontation (btwn. Power of: God // evil)
• Ark: Church (instrument of salvation: as it struggles among waves)
• 8 people: 8th/Paschal day (when baptized are brought in)
• Exodus: Liberation from Egypt (by Crossing Red Sea)
• Liberation from slavery / A warning
• 1Cor 10:1-6,11: prefigurement: Entire Christian life
• Some still perished after: baptism: NOT guarantee of salvation (BUT its beginning)
• Collective dimension of event: collective dimension of Church
• Christ as New Moses (“all baptized into Moses in: cloud / sea”)
• Circumcision (1Cor 10:11)
• Rite of incorporation (w/Profession of faith) into People of Israel (the Church)
• Col 2:11-12
• Spiritual circumcision of Christ (of heart)
• Faith in Power of God
• Other:
• Primordial waters (over which Spirit broods in Gen 1:1)
• Also: link btwn. purification/living water // Spirit
• Also: sea waters = chaos/death; rivers/streams = life.
• Crossing of River Jordan (enter Promised Land (Heaven))
• Prophets:
• Zech 13:1 (fountain to purify from sin/uncleanness)
• Is 55:1 (“thirsty ones come to the water!”)
• Ez 47:1-9 (water from Temple: life-giving; sea water: fresh)

BAPTISM OF JOHN

• End: prepare hearts for Christ’s coming thru:
• Preaching (bring men to faith in Christ)
• Habituation (accustom them to Baptism ritual)
• Purification (dispose their hearts thru conversion/penitence (NO pardon of sins))
• Partly continuation of Past / Partly New
• Continuity: purification ritual thru water in Judaism; rite of incorporation in Essenes/Qumran sects; regional movement for spiritual Baptism
• Newness: NOT ritual-legalistic purification; NOT rite of initiation; characters: Moral (true change of life) / Eschatological (preparation for Kingdom of God)
• Relationship btwn. baptisms: Christian / John’s
• Difference: Christian Baptism “in Holy Spirit / Fire” confers grace; John’s did NOT
• Similarity of methodology: valid Baptism needs faith/intention/penitence (see in John’s)

BAPTISM IN THE GOSPELS / ACTS

• Gospel accounts of Jesus in Jordan:
• Mk 1:9-11: theophanic
• Lk 3:21-22: Jesus in prayers
• Mt 3:13-17: dialogue w/John the Baptist
• Jn 1:29 (indirect): “Lamb of God”: redemption from sin; assumes it / so is baptized
• Specifics
• Purpose of Christ’s baptism:
• Not out of need (sinless): BUT fulfill all righteousness (justice/God’s will) / Solidarity w/All men
• Paradigm of filial obedience (Father is pleased because He obeys)
• Church Fathers: Purify/Symbolically confer to: Waters: Virtue of Justification of men (determined as sacramental sign)
• Heavens opening above Jesus / Descent of Dove
• New stage in salvation history: access to Father (closed thru original sin) reopens
• Trinitarian theophany:
• Baptism as effusion of HS: Incorporates us into Christ: Bring us to Father
• Actions of every Person of Trinity, each w/an individual role
• Divine filiation: Baptism renders us: Participants in Incarnation of Christ/Adoptive sons
• Baptism before/after Paschal Mystery
• Baptism before Pasch (during Christ’s preaching): NOT on par w/that of after:
• 1st: only an initiation into discipleship
• Clarifications on Dialogue of Jesus/Nicodemus
• “Amen (2x): I tell you: if one NOT born of water/Spirit: canNOT enter Kingdom of God” (Jn 3:5)
• “Water” = Christian Baptism (NOT John’s); “Spirit” = “birth to a new life of faith”
• Both Baptism / faith needed: Reciprocal nature; new manner of being/acting
• One must be “born from above”
• Man canNOT completely transform himself to enter Kingdom: Must come from God
• “Those that are born from the flesh are flesh, those born of the Spirit, spirit.”
• Baptism—Incarnation / Paschal Mystery
• JC: speaks of His death as a Baptism; Water from His side: Seen by Church as: sign of Baptism
• Incarnation: Gives baptismal grace: Effect of divine filiation:
• While Paschal Mystery: provides Baptism its efficacy
• In Incarnation: Son of God: Born in His humanity
• In Paschal Mystery: Church of Christ is born
• In Baptism: men are born again as sons of God
• Missionary mandate (MT 28:19-20)
• Begins a new phase of salvation history; two dimensions:
• Preaching of Faith; Baptism reinforces the faith
• Task of baptizing (duty of Church) explicitly tied: to that of training/teaching
• Moment of institution
• No one precise moment; Implicit thru-out Christ’s whole life; Ongoing process
• St. Thomas: multiple moments
• (matter=Christ’s baptism; necessity=Jn 3:5; use=when disciples were sent to preach/baptize; efficacy=Passion; disclosure=Mt 28:19-20)
• Importance of Pentecost for Baptism
• Pentecost: announced by Lord as a Baptism; Baptism also incorporates us into this event; apostles waited until after Pentecost to start baptizing.
• One of the first things the Church did; tied with the message of salvation; Peter—“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

Question 2

Chapter 2: Effects of Baptism

Answer 2

BAPTISMAL REGENERATION

• Principal effect of Baptism:
• True / Proper rebirth of Believer // His passage from death to life
• Becomes a “new creature” // Powers of his soul: Elevated to a supernatural plane
• (Jn 3:3, 2Cor 5:17)
• All are equal: Being a part of Mystical Body of Christ
• Participation in Death/Resurrection of Christ (Rom 6:3-5)
• Thru Baptism: we are: “Conformed” to Christ/Inserted in Him so that:
• 1) His D/R become events of Baptism; 2) His life is abundantly showered on us
• NOT only an ontological reality: Permeated by strong-moral existential character
• (IE: NOT to “live in sin anymore” (Rm 6:2))
• “Being circumcised in Christ” (circumcision of heart): Puts Relationship (Baptism-faith) in a more dogmatic background (rather than the ethical one of “conformity”)
• Faith becomes efficacious: In its internal relation to Baptism: Leads to Baptism/Preserves its entire meaning beyond the rite (that was realized one time for all time)
• This link must be kept in mind: When Paul speaks of faith w/out speaking of Baptism
• Divinization: Thru Baptism: Christians have share of Fullness which dwells in Christ corporeally
• We “part-take” of His divine nature
• Solidarity: His death becomes our death; His life, our life; we share of His glory
• Presupposes a continuity w/Christ as creator of all (original solidarity)
• Paschal events truly become events of those who are baptized in Him
• Conferral of Holy Spirit (baptism in water/“in the Spirit”):
• Our incorporation into Christ is perfectible
• Christian life = Growing in/Ending with full identification w/Him thru successive effusions of grace
• Purification from sin
• Forgives original/personal sin / guilt (babies only original sin): NOT change wounds/inclination to sin of man
• Four wounds (vulnera):
• ignorance-intellect, malice-will, concupiscence-concupiscible appetite, weakness-irascible appetite
• Death/Illness/Suffering/Cosmic consequences of original sin/etc. ALSO remain
• Partial healing: freedom from slavery to sin (Christian has a choice away from it)
• Only regards supernatural action: Now capable of it/of progressive identification w/Christ thru successive infusions of grace
• Natural actions: Capable of proceeding w/human force alone (though canNOT arrive at total healing w/o grace)
• Regards directly the person: Asked to offer co-redemption thru redemptive suffering experienced in his still wounded nature
• St Thomas (on benefits of dealing w/wounded nature): Gains us merit/Functions as pain medicine/Reminds us of the infinite gap (us//God)
• Divine filiation/New life in Christ
• Baptismal grace works in man according to a 3x dimension of one salvific reality:
• Sanctifying grace: Habit that effects in a person an energizing of Divine life
• Infused virtue: Natural faculties can produce correlative supernatural operations
• Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Given to bring about growth in supernatural virtue
• Adoption makes us true sons in the Son (NOT reduced to legal/metaphorical sense);
• a true transformation: NOT rupture our condition as creatures
• Strictly connected to the gift of the HS: by which we are inserted into the innermost of Trinitarian love; we are baptized in Christ in the Holy Spirit.
• Confers to Christian a radical equality: greatest title possible, given freely to all baptized

BAPTISMAL CHARACTER

• What is it?
• Faculty by which we are designated to Cult of Christian religion
• Consecration in the same consecration of Christ by which: Become partakers of His priesthood / Inserted in Church’s mission
• A delegation: Assigns a task w/in Church’s mission: that is a right and an obligation
• A universal/permanent call: Work for Expansion of Kingdom of God
• Three aspects:
• Signum configurativum: Imprints on the soul a resemblance w/Christ
• Signum distinctivum: Distinguishes Christian/faithful from non-Christian/-faithful.
• Signum dispositivum: Gain capacity to: Worship God as Christian/Receive divine gifts
• Is Baptism repeatable?
• No, even if received in schism/heresy (indelible; “rebaptism” only if NOT valid)

IN-CORPO-RATION INTO THE CHURCH

• Intrinsic to other elements mentioned; NOT a side-effect BUT a new condition: “we”
• Spirit effused in Baptism = Spirit that is principle of unity in Church
• Grace of salvation = of convocation/gathering/unification
• Baptism as founding principle of unity: Personal faith transforms fully into Ecclesial faith
• Ecumenical aspect
• Baptism: Eliminates separation / Inserts us into God’s family; NO Christian is isolated
• Why Church seeks full communion with those NOT perfectly united to her
• A gift proper to Christ’s Church even outside visible boundaries; pushes for unity
• Constitutes foundation of communion among all Christians (CCC 1271)
• Church canNOT NOT be ecumenical NOR fail to recognize elements of truth/sanctification outside of visible organism
• The one Church / Body of Christ (Ephesians 1:23)
• Oneness of Baptism is to be understood in conjunction w/ oneness of the Church
• Multiplicity of Baptisms (among non-Catholics) does NOT = multiplicity of Churches
• BUT incorporation into one reality (His Body) that subsists fully only in the Catholic Church

COMMON PRIESTHOOD AND PARTICIPATION IN CHURCH’S MISSION

• Characterized by: Cultic/Prophetic/Regal functions
• NOT really separate: 3 aspects of 1 unified function of mediation btwn (God/men)
• Cultic Aspect (Rom 15:16)
• NOT just liturgical aspects/sacraments: BUT making one’s whole life a cult to God
• Events of our life become “a living sacrifice”: which are inserted into the liturgy
• By insertion into “sacred office”: oblation becomes “pleasing / sanctifying”
• Included in this: being: acolyte/extraordinary ministers of Eucharist/etc.
• Prophetic Aspect
• Public profession of faith thru living testimony / word
• Includes catechist/lector/teaching of sacred science/etc.
• Regal Aspect
• Principally: participation in the establishment of the Kingdom
• Basically: regal freedom/self-denial/a holy life (conquer reign of sin in ourselves) / serve Christ by serving others (humility/patience) & leading them to the King
• to serve = to rule
• 3 Fields of Participation by Baptized (Non-Ordained) to Mission of Church
• Attivita ecclesiali (principal): seeking Kingdom of God thru secularity
• Intra Ecclesiam: instituted ministries (lector) & stable activities w/o specific institution
• Catechesis/Pastoral councils/etc. (even non-established ones like readers, cantors)
• Collaboration in ministerial functions (i.e., preaching outside of Mass): extreme cases
• Those which enjoy true repraesentatio Christi Capitis but NOT requiring actuation in persona Christi
• And which the lay can do temporarily through official deputation

Question 3

Chapter 3: The Necessity of Baptism for Salvation

Answer 3

NECESSITY

• While all sacraments: necessary: NOT all so on an individual basis
• Instead, some for the community altogether (Matrimony, Orders)
• Baptism IS necessary for salvation in all cases, w/mediating necessity,
• Consequently is the condition sine qua non for attaining eternal life
• (N.B.: “salvation”: NOT about reaching a minimum of goodness (to avoid damnation) BUT arriving at the perfection of charity)
• Salvation: only in Cristo w/ incorporation thru Baptism (Gal 3:27, Jn 3:5, Mk 16:15-16)
• Heaven transcends our natural capacity; need His grace (against Pelegianism)
• His mediation is the ONLY saving action of God; see Aquinas for need of baptism (REF)

OTHER POSSIBILITIES BESDIES BAPTISM BY WATER

• We are bound to the sacraments BUT God is NOT
• Two other ways that open the door to salvation: baptism by blood + by fire
• NOT sacraments NOR “baptism” in the proper sense (NOT received actions)
• Summation of effects (situations): Bring about final situation of soul: Permits opening of doors of salvation
• Grace is still absolutely necessary
• Perfection of the act of charity = Principle of all 3
• Baptism by blood
• Confers sacramental effects of grace in a preeminent way among non-Sacraments
• Martyrdom; excludes non-baptized who do NOT endure death as a testimony to Christ
• NOT just a representation of Christ but an imitation of Him
• Includes the Holy Innocents (attests to gratuity of this event of grace)
• Seen in view of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross where blood/water flowed from His side
• Moved by the perfection of the act of charity (which implies martyrdom)
• Baptism by desire
• NOT an ordinary means of salvation NOR a complete saving work; doesNOT obtain all effects
• Must be brought to Baptism by water or be willing / heading there if impediments exist
• Difficult to define; lead men to be unsure of their salvation—no objective, validating rite
• General conditions that determine a fitting situation
• Invincible ignorance: thru no fault of one’s own Gospel/need for Baptism never heard
• A good disposition of the soul: living in accord with natural law/conscience
• Desire has to be “informed by perfect charity” (grace) and not only intensity of virtue

DESTINY OF DEAD BABIES WHO DID NOT RECEIVE BAPTISM

• Possibilities
• Augustine: dead babies before Baptism canNOT attain removal of original sin / are damned
• Limbo as permanent state of natural happiness (NO punishment NOR Beatific vision)
• Defended sometimes by Magisterium BUT NEVER taken as dogmatic truth; also…
• Council of Carthage: anyone who believes that there is some place outside of Heaven for these dead babies, let him be anathema
• 2nd Council of Leon: destiny of those who die in moral/even original sin is hell, albeit w/various punishments
• No biblical basis; just a rational solution
• Seems opposed to divine justice; theologians have sought other possible ways:
• Baptism in voto given by parents in favor of their children as a valid substitute
• Theory of Illumination: God enlightens them at moment of death (votum Baptismi)
• Salvation w/o Baptism, since Baptism in re or in voto is not always attainable
• All of these emerge “by the negative way” as the “Church does NOT know of any other means outside of Baptism to secure [salvation]” (CCC 1257)
• No easy answer; possible way open to the Church is reliance on God’s mercy
• Church cannot box in Mercy of God: NOT limited by the sacraments
• Funeral liturgies of babies w/out Baptism infused w/ emphasis on God’s mercy

Question 4

Chapter 4: Sacramental-Liturgical Celebration (Roman Bapt. Lit.)

Answer 4

RITES OF INTRODUCTION

• Purpose: Verify desire of the baptized (or their parents) to receive Baptism / take on the relative duties
• Invocation of the saints – integration into the communio sanctorum
• In oration of exorcism, God is beseeched to take away every evil spirit
• Anointing w/ oil of catechumens signifies necessity of divine help
• Benediction of water – strong catechetical and epicletic (invoking of the Holy Spirit) dimensions
• Renunciation of Satan and profession of Trinitarian Faith – the battle against evil and the eradication of sin

ABLUTION WITH WATER

• An abundance of biblical testimony points to the use of water as the material element of Baptism
• Didache – living, cold water preferred (other water acceptable)
• Magisterium – “pure and natural water” (not important if it is hot or cold)
• Criterion of moral theology – “the common judgment of men”
• So, the validity of the material does not come from a chemical analysis of the composition of the liquid, but upon the consensus that this is believed to be water by the common judgment of men
• *NB: Can. 853 Apart from a case of necessity, the water to be used in conferring Baptism must be blessed according to the prescripts of the liturgical books.
• Symbolically
• The ablution with water signifies the ablution of sins (ablution = the act of washing oneself)
• “mystical participation in the death and resurrection of Christ, for which believers in his name die to sin and rise to eternal life” (RCIA 32)
• The ablution is itself the “proximate matter” of the Baptism; must be a true washing, and thus must be with immediate contact of the water with the body and done in such a way that the water flows over
• Can. 854 Baptism is to be conferred either by immersion or by pouring; the prescripts of the conference of bishops are to be observed.
• The three ways of ablution are:
• Immersion – obvious
• Infusion - pouring of water over head
• Sprinkling – no longer allowed
• Matter: Water, Immediate Contact with Skin, “Flows Over”

THE INVOCATION OF THE HOLY TRINITY

• Already in the Didache (7,1) we find the precept “baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”
• This formula manifests the merging of the action of the three persons of the Trinity
• St Thomas tells us that the form of Baptism must express (1) the action of the minister on the subject and (2) the principle cause, that is, the Most Holy Trinity, in unity of essence and trinity of Persons (S.T. III, q. 66, a. 5)
• The form is the words “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Decretum pro Armeniis DH 1314)
• The principle cause is the Holy Trinity and the instrumental cause is the minister who externally confers the sacrament (Decretum pro Armeniis DH 1314)
• Two things required for true baptism (Lateran III, DH 757):
• Words (including “I baptize you…”
• The act of immersion (etc) If the act, done by this same minister, is expressed with the invocation of the Holy Trinity, then it is a true Baptism
• The Jansenist doctrine used the formula but omitted “I baptize you”. The Magisterium declared these as invalid Baptisms (Decree of the Holy Office 7.12.1690, DH 2327)
• Name of “Jesus” instead of the Holy Trinity?
• Scripture speaks of Baptism “in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2,38; 10,48; 19,5) and among some Father, such as Ambrose, we find the use of a formula without the Trinitarian invocation
• Two possible interpretations, each with Magisterial support
• This does not indicate a refutation of the Trinitarian mystery, but simply as a understanding of the text of Mt 28:19 in an exclusively doctrinal context and without a pretense of searching for a liturgical formula – Pope Nicholas, 866AD, see DH 646
• “Baptism of Jesus” used to distinguish it from baptism of John. – Pope Pelagius I, 558AD, see DH 445
• Common element amid these varying Magisterial interps: if the formula denies - implicitly or explicitly - the Trinitarian mystery, the Baptism is invalid
• After Council of Trent can. 4 de sacramento baptismi, this has not been much of an issue
• Official formula in use today: “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

POST-BAPTISMAL RITES

• Also called “explanatory rites”, they derive from ancient “complements” of Baptism
• Anointing with chrism
• Omitted though if Confirmation immediately follows
• Made on the head of the candidate signifying “the regal priesthood of the baptized and their insertion into the People of God”
• white vestment
• to be carried “without stain to the tribunal of our Lord Jesus Christ, in order to obtain eternal life.”
• candle lit from the flame of the paschal candle
• symbolizing the light of Christ
• the baptized [or parents] given the charge always to “live as sons of light”
• rite of the “ephathah”
• the celebrant touches with his thumb the ears and tongue of the individual baptized
• “to hear at once his words and profess the Faith”
• Conclusion:
• In the case of adult, the Eucharistic liturgy follows as usual.
• For babies, the concluding rite (Our Father and final blessing) is done near the altar, recalling their future First Communion, the fullness of Christian initiation

Question 5

Chapter 5: The Minister

Answer 5

THE SACRAMENTAL MINISTRY (MINISTERIALITÀ) OF BAPTISM

• In Scripture:
• Lots of passages (abundant testimony)
• Pentecost – “So all those who had taken his words to heart were baptized, and about three thousand souls were won for the Lord that day” (Acts 2, 41)
• Paul’s baptism after his conversion (Acts 9,18)
• Cornelius and his family (Acts 10, 44-48).
• Administering of Baptism was not exclusive to the Apostles and the ministers whom they designated
• Tertullian affirms that the laity also have the faculty to baptize – he sees the reception of baptism as the condition for giving baptism
• Jerome – in case of necessity, even the laity can baptize; “one receives so one can give.”
• Augustine spoke in similar terms
• Magisterium – Synod of Elvira in 303, confirmed solemnly by Council of Florence (Decretum pro Armeniis, DH 1315)
• Nevertheless, the administration of Baptism by a non-ordained person should not be considered the usual mode
• the entirety of the munus sacramentale (sacramental office) belongs only to the ordained minister
• the minister represents Christ and acts in persona Christi
• the faithful can act in this sacrament but never in persona Christi.
• Theological problem: the conferral of sacramental grace, which comes from Christ the Head, requires that such “capitality” be represented sacramentally – something that doesn’t at all happen in the case of baptism administered by a layperson. Thus the origin of the sacramental ministerialità is put in question.
• A first answer would suggest the common priesthood of the faithful as the root of this ministerial ability – but even a non-believer can baptize, as has been confirmed many times by the Church
• Christifideles Laici 23:
• “The task exercised in virtue of supply [functio suppletorie exercetur] takes its legitimacy formally and immediately from the official deputation given by the Pastors, as well as from its concrete exercise under the guidance of ecclesiastical authority”
• Recall that when a deacon confers baptism, not even he acts in persona Christi. He is, however, enabled to represent the Church and, more concretely, to act in the name of the bishop
• Best solution, then, seems to be: legitimization by means of intention.
• Ordained ministers have “permanent ministerial potential”
• Non-ordained ministers have “ministerial ability (ministeriality) existing only in actu”
• With the condition of having the intention to do what the Church does and presupposing the intention of the bishop to enlarge his ministeriality in these specific cases

THE ORDINARY MINISTER

• The Bishop and priests are the ordinary ministers of Baptism (also the deacon in the Latin rite) {CIC 861.1; CCEO 677.1}
• More specifically Baptisms are entrusted to parish priests.
• This right is also a duty: the pastor must take care that all entrusted to him receive baptism.
• Based on the tradition of the Church, the Baptism of adults should be conferred by the Bishop. (CIC 863)

BAPTISM IN CASE OF NECESSITY

• In absence of an ordinary minister, a non-ordained lay person or even a non-Christian can baptize validly.
• Distinction necessary (see CIC 861.2):
• a catechist entrusted to perform Baptisms by the bishop – corresponds to a prolonged absence of the ordinary minister and when the omission of baptism would be an imprudent delay
• any person acting in a strict emergency – corresponds to cases of danger of death, or “cases of necessity” (“cases of emergency” might be better phrase since also the first situation is a case of necessity)
• the extraordinary minister is minister in that moment only, and does not remain minister afterwards
• CfL 23: “However, the exercise of such tasks does not make Pastors of the lay faithful: in fact, a person is not a minister simply in performing a task, but through sacramental ordination. Only the Sacrament of Orders gives the ordained minister a particular participation in the office of Christ, the Shepherd and Head, and in his Eternal Priesthood”
• Lateran IV: “The sacrament of baptism, conferred by whomever, both to children and to adults, is font of salvation” (DH 802)
• Council of Florence: “In case of necessity, not only the priest or the deacon can baptize but also a lay man or woman, even a pagan or heretic” (DH 1314).
• This regards the case of no alternative in an imminent death situation.
• The ultimate motivation for all this: the mercy of God and His universal salvific will

Question 6

Chapter 6: The Baptized

Answer 6

GENERAL CONDITIONS OF THE BAPTIZED

• All men are not only capax baptismi (capable of baptism) but also called by God to Baptism
• “God wishes that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1Tim 2,4)
• CIC 864: “Every person not yet baptized and only such a person is capable of baptism” [Baptismi capax est omnis et solus homo nondum baptizatus
• Baptism is an event directed to each single person
• And each person, from the moment of his Baptism, begins to participate in the communio personarum (communion of persons) of the intra-Trinitarian life and in this one finds relationship with others who have been baptized too.
• The baptismal grace that saves each person is the same grace that unites him to others.
• Personalized character of baptism is signified by the application of a name at Baptism, a personal call by God.
• Included in the “solus homo” is the character of “viator” (traveler), that is, a living person
• The person is to be baptized only if there is no proof of previous valid Baptism (nondum baptizatus – not yet baptized).
• in cases of doubt regarding the status viatoris or nondum baptizati baptism is given sub condicione
• Important in this area to remember that there exists valid baptism outside the Church and to distinguish b/t proper baptism and reception into full communion

THE BAPTISM OF INFANTS

• The aspect of age is not the main difference between the Baptism of adults and that of children: really a question of the use of reason, on which is based the possibility to exercise freedom and thus to make a personal act of faith
• CDF Instruction Pastoralis Actio 20.X.1980
• Data that arises from scripture and the life of the Church.
• There are no explicit references to infant Baptism in the New Testament.
• There are entire families who receive Baptism such as that of Cornelius (Acts 10,44-48); The jailer’s family (Acts 16, 33); and the family of Stephania (1Cor. 1,16).
• We presume the presence of children in these cases.
• See also Jn 3,5: “Jesus answered, Believe me, no man can enter into the kingdom of God unless birth comes to him from water, and from the Holy Spirit”
• And the missionary mandate.
• The growth of infant Baptism in the early centuries
• As more adults were baptized at first, their children would come to embrace the Faith they did.
• Irenaeus speaks of children participating in Baptismal rites.
• Cyprian and other African bishops promote infant Baptism.
• One of the oldest liturgical documents: Traditio Apostolica from the 3rd century states: “Children are baptized first: those who can speak on their own can speak, those who cannot can have their parents or one of their family speak for them.”
• Historical testimony shows a certain regression in this practice in the 4th century due to the lack of frequent sacramental Confession.
• Many wanted to save Baptism until death so as not to live in grave sin and for fear of public penances.
• Infant Baptism was not abandoned by all (Cf. Augustine and the Eastern Church)
• In 384 Pope Siricius allowed Baptism for infants who could not speak
• in the 5th century the Pelagians denied infant Baptism, but the council of Carthage in 418 condemned their views.
• 16th century: Anabaptists argued that Baptism was a sign of faith already received, but no infant could make a personal act of faith
• Council of Trent condemned the positions that baptized children should not be counted among the faithful, that they should be re-baptized at the age of reason, and that it is better not to baptize them before they can make a personal act of faith (DH 1626)
• Paul VI Professio fidei (1968) – reinforces the doctrine of Trent
• Paul VI also ordered the publishing of Pastoralis actio
• Interesting theological reflection from PA: the role of the fides Ecclesiae as a clarification of the essential relation between faith and baptism in the case of children – they are baptized in the faith of the Church (since they cannot make a personal act of faith)
• PA 14: “This teaching is repeated by St. Thomas Aquinas and all the theologians after him: the child who is baptized believes not on its own account, by a personal act, but through others, “through the Church’s faith communicated to it.”” (Cf. S.T. III, q. 68, a. 5, ad 3).
• CIC 867: §1.Parents are obliged to take care that infants are baptized in the first few weeks; as soon as possible after the birth or even before it, they are to go to the pastor to request the sacrament for their child and to be prepared properly for it. / §2. An infant in danger of death is to be baptized without delay
• Responses to certain difficulties
• The succession of preaching-faith-sacrament from the apostolic tradition in the NT might seem to contradict the notion of infant Baptism.
• However children are not baptized without faith, but in the Faith of the Church.
• Overall do not forget that Baptism is the cause of faith and the sacrament of faith – not just a sign of faith.
• “post-baptismal catechumenate” – development of faith after baptism.
• Another objection: the nature of grace requires that it should be accepted consciously by him who receives it – something that cannot happen in infant baptisms
• This position want to move away from a mechanistic view of the sacraments that entrusts everything to the ex opere operato causality – trying to take more into account the interior dispositions of the subject
• It seems not to consider the baby as a person
• Difficulty of the real lack of intention on the baby’s part
• Required level of intention varies from sacrament to sacrament
• For baptism of babies, who of course have no personal sins, non-refusal is sufficient
• In fact, this highlights the gratuity of baptism
• To modern society, seems to infringe on the liberty of the baby
• This objection seems weak in light of the fact that the baby (and his “choices”) is entrusted de facto to his parents; otherwise he would not survive
• Also, the fact that the entrance into the land of the living comes not from the child but from his parents makes it more understandable that his entrance into supernatural life comes also by a parental decision.
• Furthermore, the authentic freedom of the child remains more unguarded proprio in the deferment of Baptism.
• Children need a new birth of Baptism to be freed from the powers of darkness and to be given the freedom of the sons of God (CCC 1250).
• Baptism is not about a preoccupation of increasing members but is a direct response to the explicit commandment of Jesus.
• Some particular cases
• The Church recognizes some limits on the Baptism of infants.
• Natural rights of parents prohibit Baptism of their child without their consent.
• There also has to be some guarantee that the gift of baptism will be developed in education in the faith (see PA 28.2)
• When parents are non-practicing or indifferent Catholics
• sufficient that there exist a “founded hope,” as for example when future Catholic education is not explicitly refuted.
• This is where the role of the Godparents come in
• They must be solid believers, ready and capable to sustain in the Christian life the newly baptized child or adult (CCC 1255).
• In a situation of children of non-Christian parents [found often in mission territories] their Baptism without the knowledge of the parents is absolutely forbidden.
• Baptism should be denied when non-Christian parents request it out of superstition.
• All the preceding criterion aside, in danger of death always baptize, even against the will of the parents.

THE BAPTISM OF ADULTS

• It is only in the Faith of the Church that every believer can believe. CCC 1253
• The Catechumenate
• Baptism like all sacraments requires that the candidate has an interior disposition which conditions its fruitfulness.
• In the NT Baptism follows instruction in the Faith and an exhortation to penance.
• The growth and organization of the Church led to a more formalized process called a Catechumenate, a period of teaching of Christian doctrines.
• The goals of the period are to germinate, shelter, and secure the catechumen in the correct desire for Baptism and instruction in doctrine, which ends in an act of faith and a rejection of sin in one’s life.
• Finally it renders one open to the graces and gifts of the Sacraments of Initiation, allowing them to take full advantage. (CCC 1247)
• The RCIA speaks of three stages of the catechumenate journey:
• The time of catechumenate – catechesis and small rites and blessings.
• The day of the rite of election – start of the 2nd stage.
• Purification and illumination – Lent before the Vigil.
• The final stage, which occurs after reception into the Church, is the period of “mystagogy.” – time of maturation in the Xtn faith and cultivating the first spiritual fruits
• Ultimate goal of the catechumenate: fruitful reception of the sacraments
• The subject has the responsibility to provide
• Intention – affects validity
• Faith – affects liceity (whether it’s licit)/fruitfulness
• Repentance – affects liceity/fruitfulness
• Levels of Intention
• Absence of intention (past or present) – not valid
• E.g. unconscious person (who never requested the sacrament)
• Contrary intention – not valid
• E.g. in the case of coercion
• “moral pressure” (even a threat) – gravely illicit (but still can be valid)
• To a lesser degree, the case of someone simply following social custom falls in this category (purity of intention can be seriously compromised) [see pp. 113-114 of the manual, not totally sure on this –AB]
• The desire for greater social status or any secondary gain, being the primary reasoning seriously compromises the purity of intention.
• For an unconscious person, Baptism may be administered if in accord with their wishes. (sub condicione if there is no conclusive evidence one way or the other and there is the semblance of a good and honest life, the intention must be at least implicit)
• In a case of virtual intention (not being realized due to martyrdom etc.) the sacrament is without fail valid.
• Faith
• To be baptized and clothed in Christ requires faith in him according to St. Paul.
• Trent: “The instrumental cause [of justification] is the sacrament of baptism, which is the ‘sacrament of faith’ without which no one has ever been justified” (DH 1529, citing Ambrose).
• Connection b/t baptism and faith must be kept in mind if we are to avoid a “magical” or “mechanistic” view of baptism
• The catechumen learns quickly that while the Faith can be described in one essential moment, there is an evident deposit of Faith which begs ever-deeper exploration and there is a certain level of exploration which is required to enter the Church.
• Education in the faith is necessary; exact point of understanding that should be required is debated
• In danger of death certain ignorance can be ignored if the person rejects their sins and has the will to be baptized.
• Faith required for Baptism is not only fides quae (the objective content) but also, and above all, fides qua (supernatural faith or the virtue of faith).
• Problem/paradox: supernatual faith considered as effect of the sacrament and at the same time as condition for receiving it
• The supernatural grace of faith preceding the baptismal rite comes always in service of baptism, towards which it tends.
• It is an anticipation of the efficacy of baptism
• Faith requires of the catechumen a faith that is not only learned and believed but also lived. (Cf. Ad Gentes 14 )
• Repentance
• The scripture is very explicit on this, before Baptism the apostles exhorted their hearers to penance (Acts 2, 37-38); see also Peter’s response to those who seek baptism after his discourse at Pentecost.
• The term “repent!” or more precisely “convert!” (greek: metanoite, lit. to change one’s mind) does not indicate only a generic desire to change one’s life, but the internal and supernatural act of explicitly refuting committed sins.
• Ad Gentes 13.2 speaks of the newly converted creating a sort of spiritual itinerary in which the old life is left behind to follow Christ through his Pascal mystery arriving at a mentality of a changed and redeemed life in Jesus.
• This at least includes the distancing of oneself from any habitual situation of sin (could include regularizing marital situations, abandoning professions at odds with the moral doctrine of the faith, etc.)
• It is important to remember that, unlike Confession, the sacrament of Baptism absolves all sin and cancels all temporal punishment due to sin without requiring any satisfaction (or penance).