Saturday, June 30, 2012
262. Is it possible to be saved without Baptism?
(Comp
262) Since Christ died for the salvation of all, those can be saved without
Baptism who die for the faith (Baptism of blood). Catechumens and all those
who, even without knowing Christ and the Church, still (under the impulse of
grace) sincerely seek God and strive to do his will can also be saved without
Baptism (Baptism of desire). The Church in her liturgy entrusts children who
die without Baptism to the mercy of God.
“In
brief”
(CCC
1281) Those who die for
the faith, those who are catechumens, and all those who, without knowing of the
Church but acting under the inspiration of grace, seek God sincerely and strive
to fulfill his will, are saved even if they have not been baptized (cf. LG 16).
(CCC 1282) Since the earliest times, Baptism
has been administered to children, for it is a grace and a gift of God that
does not presuppose any human merit; children are baptized in the faith of the
Church. Entry into Christian life gives access to true freedom.
To deepen and
explain
(CCC
1258) The Church has
always held the firm conviction that those who suffer death for the sake of the
faith without having received Baptism are baptized by their death for and with
Christ. This Baptism of blood, like
the desire for Baptism, brings about
the fruits of Baptism without being a sacrament. (CCC
1259) For catechumens who die
before their Baptism, their explicit desire to receive it, together with repentance
for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation that they were not able
to receive through the sacrament. (CCC 1261)
As regards children who have died without
Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does
in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that
all men should be saved, and Jesus' tenderness toward children which caused him
to say: "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them" (Mk 10:14;
cf. 1 Tim 2:4), allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children
who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church's call not to
prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism.
On
reflection
(CCC
1260) "Since
Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same
destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the
possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal
mystery" (GS 22 § 5; cf. LG 16; AG 7). Every man who is ignorant of the
Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of
God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be
supposed that such persons would have desired
Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity. (CCC 2473) Martyrdom is the supreme witness given
to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death. The martyr
bears witness to Christ who died and rose, to whom he is united by charity. He
bears witness to the truth of the faith and of Christian doctrine. He endures
death through an act of fortitude. "Let me become the food of the beasts,
through whom it will be given me to reach God" (St. Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Rom. 4, 1: SCh 10, 110).
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