Thursday, November 10, 2016
Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 197 - Part III.
(Youcat
answer - repeated) From antiquity the Church has practiced infant Baptism. There is one
reason for this: before we decide on God, God has decided on us. Baptism is
therefore a grace, an undeserved gift of God, who accepts us unconditionally.
Believing parents who want what is best for their child want Baptism also, in
which the child is freed from the influence of original sin and the power of death.
A deepening through CCC
(CCC
1280) Baptism imprints
on the soul an indelible spiritual sign, the character, which consecrates the
baptized person for Christian worship. Because of the character Baptism cannot
be repeated (cf. DS 1609 and DS 1624).
Reflecting and meditating
(Youcat comment) Infant Baptism presupposes that
Christian parents will raise the baptized child in the faith. It is an
injustice to deprive the child of Baptism out of a mistaken liberality. One
cannot deprive a child of love so that he can later decide on love for himself;
so too it would be an injustice if believing parents were to deprive their
child of God’s grace in Baptism. Just as every person is born with the ability
to speak yet must learn a language, so too every person is born with the
capacity to believe but must become acquainted with the faith. At any rate,
Baptism can never be imposed on anyone. If someone has received Baptism as a
little child, he must “ratify” it later in life—this means he must say Yes to
it, so that it becomes fruitful.
(CCC Comment)
(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.
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