Posted on 12/09/2007 10:43:21 AM PST by Salvation
Baptism is one of the seven sacraments and the first of the sacraments of initiation into the life of Christ and His Church. Like all the sacraments, it can be considered from a wide variety of angles: How it was instituted, how it is celebrated and by whom, what it accomplishes, what it demands of us, and so on.
Our Lord Himself stressed the importance of baptism, commissioning his disciples to go out to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19). The least understood aspect of this baptism is probably the nature of baptismal grace, and what it accomplishes. The Catechism contains a clear and well-organized treatment of this very question.
Those who come to Faith as adults naturally wish to be baptized, but there has been a tendency in our own day to undervalue and even postpone infant baptism, which is also frowned upon by some Protestants. For this reason, we are wise to revisit the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's statement on this important topic in 1980.
Finally, since baptism is so obviously the ordinary means by which we are claimed for God, the question of whether salvation is possible for unbaptized infants is of great concern. At the request of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, the Vatican's International Theological Commission has recently issued a thorough examination of this difficult question.
If you only have time to look at three things, LOOK AT THESE.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church devotes one of its four major parts to “The Celebration of the Christian Mystery”, which contains two major sections on “The Sacramental Economy” and “The Seven Sacraments of the Church”. All the various aspects of baptism are succinctly covered in the latter section, in the chapter on “The Sacraments of Initiation”, under the article entitled The Sacrament of Baptism.
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 20: The Sacrament of Baptism
Baptism and the Usus Antiquior (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
The Early Church Fathers on Baptism - Catholic/Orthodox Caucus
Those who come to Faith as adults naturally wish to be baptized, but there has been a tendency in our own day to undervalue and even postpone infant baptism, which is also frowned upon by some Protestants.
You want to rephrase that?
[Francis Beckwith was an Evangelical who converted to Catholicism]I was a priest of what was then called "the Protestant Episcopal Church" and an adherent of the neo-orthodox, quasi-Calvinist wing in at least some of my theology. Does that mean when I post in a caucus thread its caucus status is in doubt?
The great thing about the internet is that priests like that can be "outed" in a heartbeat. What a dope - and worse!
Who are these Protestants? Why are they frowning? And who let them into this caucused thread?
Some people are just naturally petulant and whiny, it is the nature of humans.
We have two young sisters (ages 9 and 11) in our parish who have never been baptized. The parents left the decision up to them. Mercifully, we were able to convince the father to enroll the two girls in Religious Education. Both have now expressed a desire to be baptized into the Catholic Church. Their reception will be scheduled sometime in the month of January. Praise be to God!
Thanks be to God indeed that they are to be baptized.
How parents expect children to make a decision when they haven't given them any information is a mystery to me!
So, is there a special rite or ceremony by which an Orthodox person is received?
**. Both have now expressed a desire to be baptized into the Catholic Church.**
Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
Since I’m not that familiar with the Orthodox Church I am not qualified to answer your question.
Since all of the Orthodox Sacraments are valid, and Chrismation does equate to Confirmation (and cannot be repeated), there is really nothing to be done sacramentally for the person you describe in your example. An Orthodox convert to Catholicism is received simply with a formal profession of faith. A documentation of the Sacraments received prior to conversion would almost certainly be requested, and this would be handled simply with a certificate or copy of an official ledger from the Orthodox parish(es) involved.
Please keep your comment brief and respectful. This article is one in a series of teachings concerning Catholic beliefs and I'd like to keep the series as clean as possible.
Unfortunately, because of this one rather innocuous phrase, the "caucus" status of this thread was removed. Seems trivial, but what can you do? It's a shame that this thread is likely to be completely co-opted for no real reason, so, in the future, perhaps ALL threads posted by Catholics for caucus status can be read through by the poster first, and ALL references to our separated brethren, no matter how innocuous, can be removed beforehand.
It's ridiculous that it has come to this, but let's go the extra mile and keep those threads that should be caucused "intact"!
Yes, I think it is very sad. Since excumenism was a topic, I had no problem with the phrase.
It doesn’t change baptism at all though, does it? LOL!
The Church shall be persecuted and yet, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
**This article is one in a series of teachings concerning Catholic beliefs and I’d like to keep the series as clean as possible.**
Thank you, Praying for that respect of which you speak.
Sad that some people cannot accept the truth, huh?
(Almost like politics.............LOL!)
They just make a profession of faith.
Someone who is received from Eastern Orthodoxy automagically becomes a Byzantine Rite Catholic, not a Latin Rite Catholic. If they really want to become a Latin Rite Catholic (e.g., because they want to eventually seek ordination as a Latin Rite cleric), they would have to petition the Holy See for a formal change of rite.
Would this make any difference if the closest Eastern Rite Catholic Church is 500 miles away?
Not sure who you're asking about, but the closest Byzantine Rite church to you is more like 100 miles away. :-)
You can of course add a mention of the distance to the paperwork for a formal change of rite.
Keep in mind that there's probably no need for a juridical change of rite unless the person is interested in pursuing ordination. I think the other sacraments requiring jurisdiction (confession, for example) can be celebrated with a priest of another rite, if a Byzantine Rite priest is not readily available.
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