On Baptism

Speaker 0 00:01 The catechism of the Council of Trent. Great work edited by St Charles Foreign Mail and published by order of Saint Pius. The fifth says that priest quote can never think they've bestowed sufficient labor and attention on the explanation of the sacrament of baptism. Close quote, it points out we should make baptism a frequent topic of instruction. Well, baptism replaced a circumcision. It's been just over a year since we've reviewed baptism. So this morning we're going to review the merciful effects of baptism and also how to do an emergency bap set baptism. It's essential for everybody to understand those things. We'll start with a little story I've told before because I think it makes a good point. I took this out of the journals of a pioneer priest who is working in Mile City Montana in 1880 so when it was Montana territory, here's from his journals quote, I will relate. One more genuine, full blooded baptism. Speaker 0 00:59 Robert Cobb, Matthew's born of Robert Matthews and wife Mary Jane McCannon Baptized July 31st, 1881 sponsors Edward Flynn and Bridget Johnson, resident Matthew's ranch, 20 miles below the junction of the Missouri. And Yellowstone's rivers in North Dakota. They traveled 10 days and a half. Horseback carried their provisions in oats for the horses and a tent for the night. They said it would take as long to go home as it did to come. It took 21 days of travel to get that baby baptized. This was during the Sioux war. They were constantly in danger to be met by Indians to be routed of all they had to be murdered and their bodies left for the wolves to devour. Close quote 21 days to travel. That that country's still rough. I mean, you still, that'd be a rough trip right now to do that horseback, that distance and you know, you can stop in places on the way now it's at 21 days. Speaker 0 01:58 Think of a sacrifice this young couple were willing to go to to get that child baptized. Thankfully we don't have to travel 10 and a half days to get through a wilderness qualling with war parties and whatnot to get a priest, but it ought to give us pause to think about and the incredible value that Catholics have traditionally put upon getting a child baptized in a timely fashion. Okay. As a catechist in the concept, Trent states quote, since infant children have no other means of salvation except baptism, when they easily understand how grievously those persons sin who permit them to remain without the grace, the sacrament longer than necessity may require close quote the catechism of the Council of Trent. Now sometimes people think, well, it's been updated. Nothing's been updated. Here's the instruction on infant baptism approved by Pope John Paul his second October 20th, 1980 quote for infants baptisms entry into the church and the gateway to personal salvation. Speaker 0 03:00 The church knows no other way apart from baptism for insuring children's entry into internal happiness. Accordingly, it is important to recall the baptism of infants must be considered a serious duty as for the time the actual celebration indications and the ritual should be followed. The first consideration is a wealth for the child that may not be deprived as the benefit of the sacrament as a rule and infant should be baptized within the first few weeks of birth. Close quote. As a rule, an infant should be baptized within the first weeks after birth. Those who excessively delay the baptism of infants greatly sin. In other words, don't delay baptizing your baby. Don't delay. Even if every buddy can't be there. You get the kid baptized and later on you can have the party. Okay? The first point is don't delay in the ritual itself. The godmother holds the baby ones been baptized. Speaker 0 03:54 Why? Because back in the day when in Christendom, as soon as the baby was born, they take it and take off for the church. The woman's still in bed. The mother, the godmother would take it down and get him baptized and then bring him back. That's it. We still see that expressed ritually at that point in the church season to this po important. That's the only way for babies to be saved. Now, of course, when you're older, when you, when you reach the age of reason, and we'll talk about that a different day, we don't have the time to go through it, but there is baptism, desire and baptism of blood. That's what we're talking about here. A baby can't have a baptism of desire, okay? Unless he's explicitly killed, like the holy innocence were for Christ. Unless he's explicitly killed, he doesn't get the baptism of blood either. Speaker 0 04:37 Okay, so we've got to get the babies baptized quick. That's the first point. Now let's review six merciful effects of baptism. First, merciful effect is the remission of sins, baptism or myths, original and actual sin than fallible teaching. A concept. Trent quote, if anyone denies that by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, which has conferred in Baptism, the guilt of original sin is remitted or that all sin is not taken away. Let him be anathema. Close quote. So baptism, Ritz, all the guilt of original sin and all the guilt of actual sin, all of it, every bit, it's all gone. If somebody was an unbaptized mass murder, literally a mass murderer, they got baptized. It's gone just like that. All of it. The original sin and all the actual sins. Of course the baby hasn't committed actual sin, but still as original sin. But when an adult gets baptized, everything before prior to that point is gone. Speaker 0 05:39 So that's the first, uh, merciful effect. Remission of all sin. Original, actual second merciful effect, baptism, remits, all the punishment due to sin. All of it. There's not one speck of purgatory. Time left. We do penance after we get washed, clean in the confessional, but no one does. Pennants after baptism, go back to the mass murder. You have some mass murderers on death row. He decides to eat. He's been a heathen his whole life. He decides I want to get baptized. He gets baptized, he's clean, nothing, no purgatory, nothing. It's all gone. It's fantastic. So That's the second merciful effect. Third, merciful effect. The soul of the newly baptized man is flooded with sanctifying grace. That's another way of saying that the soul of the newly baptized man is now supernaturally alive. He now has supernatural life. Remember that in order to live the life of heaven, we have to be supernaturally alive if we die supernatural live, which is the same as saying, if we die with sanctifying grace, which is also the same as saying, if we die in the state of grace, we can live the life of heaven. Speaker 0 06:45 If we die without it, we can't live the life of heaven. Remember this, we had to burn that in our minds. If we die with sanctifying grace, if we die with supernaturally live, we can get to heaven and we can live there. If we get there, if we die without it, we can't. Okay, and thanks to Adam when we're born supernaturally speaking, we're all born dead. What does baptism do? Dat Baptism makes us supernaturally alive. It floods. Our soul was saying to find grace, so that's the third merciful effect. The fourth merciful effect, the soul of a newly baptized man is now United to Christ. Our whole religion is all about having a living content with Christ our Lord. That's why set up his church. It's so we can have contact with him and baptism puts us into that contact with him. It starts then the soul of the newly baptized man is United to Christ and through that union with Christ that's now been established, the supernatural virtues are poured in supernatural virtues. Speaker 0 07:48 These are virtues beyond her nature. Supernatural virtues like faith, hope, charity, supernatural prudence, supernatural justice, supernatural fortitude, supernatural temperance, sanctifying grace changes the way we are. Cheetahs are beam, but the supernatural virtues changes and change the way we act. It gives us the power to do acts that are beyond our ability as mere men. I'll use this example a lot cause we can see it. We don't think about it sometimes where we can see it by the power of the supernatural power fate. We can believe there's certain men that can take pieces of bread and whisper words to those pieces of bread and that bread becomes a man and that man is God, but that's not obvious. We believe that because we got this gift in our baptism, this gift of faith that we can believe in the real presence that our Lord is really present body blood, soul, and the vetting the most busted sag altar. Speaker 0 08:42 We believe that as certainly as we believe we're here and alive, it's we can believe it with the most certain certainty because God says so, but we don't believe that of our own nature. We believe that because he's given us a supernatural power. We've been put in contact Christ and in that contact he's given us the ability to believe things that are naturally not possible to believe. So the fourth merciful effect is we get these virtues poured into us by that unity union with Christ. Okay? Fifth merciful effect. Baptism impresses upon the soul. An indelible mark called a character. It's a spiritual mark that can be never brought it up. It can never be blotted out. If we go to hell, it'll be there. Please God. We want God. If we go to heaven, I'll be there. The supernatural, not mark can every bought out. Speaker 0 09:29 It's like a spiritual brand that Marxists with the sign of the cross. Okay. What does this do? The character of baptism gives us a new capacity. It makes us capable of receiving the other sacraments in a fruitful manner. This is why our lady was baptized. She didn't have original sin. She didn't have actual sin, but she was baptized to get that character impressed into our soul. Coordinates the Lapid, he says, according to the ancient fathers, Christ our Lord himself baptized the bus, Virgin Mary and baptized St Peter. The character impressed on a baptized soul. <inaudible> baptize. So different from those who don't have it. It's again, it's Kinda like a spiritual brand showing this person as a Christian because it's got an indelible character. It can never be repeated again. It's once for all. So the saints in Heaven that weren't baptized like St Moses for example, he doesn't have this character in his soul, but we do and hopefully we'll get there. Speaker 0 10:26 It makes a difference in having to anyway, sixth merciful effect because baptism removes original, actual sin and the punishment due to sin, it opens the gates of Heaven. Okay, so quick review. The six merciful or effects of baptism are first, your mits original and actual sin. Second, it remits all the punishment due to sins. There's no purgatory time for anything done before baptism. Third, the soul becomes supernaturally alive. It's flooded with sanctifying grace. Fourth, the souls United with Christ and in that union, it's filled in with supernatural virtues. They're poured in. Fifth, the soul is marked with his permanent character. It's indelible mark and sixth, the gates of heaven are open for the newly baptized man. Okay. Now that we've reviewed the merciful effects of Baptism, it's easy to understand and fallible teaching of the Catholic Church explained by this following Canon taken from the council of Trent. Speaker 0 11:22 If anyone say oth that baptism is optional. That is not necessary for salvation. Let him be X. Communicating. Why is it so necessary? Because we're born without supernatural life. We thank Adam for that. We're born supernaturally dead, but in order to live the life of heaven, in order to be saved, we have to be supernaturally live, which means we have to be baptized. Okay? Some other time we'll talk about what, how the baptism of desire, the baptism of blood fit into this. All right. Let's then the basic aspects of baptism, which is to say we'll reveal the matter, the form, the minister, and the intention when we're talking about a sacrament. If we know those four things, who understand the sacral matter for ministry intention. Okay, matter is the stuff. What's the stuff in baptism? It's water that can be natural or it can be holy water. Speaker 0 12:13 It can be baptismal water. You know, we make that every year at holy Saturday at the vigil of Easter. We make a baptismal water. It can be river water, it can be pulled water. It can be distilled water. It can be sink water, not snow, not beer, a not spit, not amniotic fluid, not tomato juice, whatever. It's what we commonly regard as water. That's what we can use for baptism. That's what we use is what's commonly regarded as water. The form. That's the words. The form is, I bet it's easy if you know how to do this. Not a cross. He can do this because he had a few words in front and he says, I baptize you and the name of the father, son and the holy ghost in the name of the father, send the Holy Spirit or in any language, whatever language is your native tongue, it's fine. Speaker 0 12:54 I Bay you're saying I baptize you and that sign across the name of the father, son, the Holy Spirit or I baptize you in the name of the father, son, the Holy Ghost. It doesn't matter. So as you say it in that form, okay, minister, the ministers, anyone who has the use of reason, who intends to do what the church does, that solid intention, intention, it's pretty easy on a sacrament. You intend to do what the church does. Does that mean you understand it? No. Does that mean you believe it? No. This is so important as we've just seen how important baptism it is. This is such an important sacrament that Christ, our Lord made it possible for anyone to baptize. Two Pagans can baptize each other. We can't baptize ourselves, but two pagans could baptize each other and become Catholics to choose. Can Baptize each other to Muslims can baptize each other. Speaker 0 13:42 Anybody can baptize. That's reached the age of reason, has intention of doing what the church does. Some of that could lay there and ask somebody who's definitely not a believer, doesn't want to be believe, would you? Blap ties me. Sure if they're doing that because, because you've asked them to. That's a baptism and it'll work. All right, so even the pagan can baptize. All right, let's review then how we should baptize in the case of emergency. By this we mean the case of someone dying. First off, if someone's dying, you know, and you're at this mergence thing. Don't wait for a priest to do this. Don't you know? I mean, yeah, it's great stuff. I don't say don't call them, but don't wait. Get with the program. Don't wait. Anyone over the age of reason can do this. You need to intend to do what the church does. Speaker 0 14:25 You mean intend to baptize a person if they're already not baptized? We'll have three cases here and you will be able to understand from that. First, you come across a wreck. You're out in the country. Here comes a motorcycle. He missed the curve. Bang, he hits the fence, you know it's a big mess and he's unconscious and he's dying. You're not sure if he's baptized. You don't know. You don't know him. So there he is and he's dying. He's take run up with the water. Well, you're pouring it on the skin. You say the words, if you're capable, even if you'd forget that those words, you mean to bet it's called a conditional baptism. Cause if he's baptized, it won't be a baptism. If he's not baptized and he's open to it, we'll be a baptism. So you're assuming, hey, he must want to be baptized. Speaker 0 15:12 He's probably not baptized. So this is what's called a conditional baptism. You don't mean to baptize him if he's already baptized. Do you see what I mean? You don't have to have all this legal stuff. I'm just explaining to you. So because people have questions. We've just answered your intended about ties. And if he's not baptized, that works. I baptize the name of the father, son, the Holy Spirit. The same person who's pouring the water has to say the words. It's not a joint effort. The minister of the sacrament has to be to them that or and the form. It has to be one guy. He it. So one guy can't pour, another guy says words, nothing's happened and if you do that, okay, the same person who pours has to say the words if possible, you pour the water on the forehead. If the forehead isn't there on skin somewhere, it can be on her wrist. Speaker 0 15:55 It can be on a leg, it can be on the sole of his feet. It can be on the palm of his hand on skin, not on hair. It has to flow. It has to move over the skin. That does not mean you have to have a river. If you only have a drop of water, just a little drop. You can't hardly get it to flow. You can push it as you're saying, you know, I mean you can literally take that drop and move it along if that's what it takes. If you're down to that little water, do it, but the water is flowing well. You say the words. Okay. All right. Even if all you have is a drop that dribbles down the forehead, that's sufficient, okay. As a Waterstone, you have to say the words I baptize you in the name of the father, son, the Holy Ghost, dry baptize you in the name, the father and the son. Speaker 0 16:33 The Holy Spirit. Again, any exposed soon, not on here and exposed scheme. Okay? As the water's flowing, if you're capable of I baptized, name of father, son, Holy Spirit. That's the first case. The second case miscarriage, basic idea, fill a bar, a bowl with lukewarm water break open the sack that surrounds the little baby. You might not be able to see the obvious if the baby's big enough, you break it up cause you can see when you baptize right on his forehead. You don't want to waste time but you don't have to panic and it'll be exciting, you know, and and depressing and all that stuff. But if you do this rightly, you're going to have a saint. Okay, so you open the sack of the sac isn't open. It's not a baptism. If you can't find it then you, then you just do the best you can just what? Speaker 0 17:19 Right now. But if you find a sack that you know, a lot of times they'll be the size of a marble or bigger. You just carefully open that set cause jr will be in there. You might not be able to see him. Don't worry if you can see him, you're worrying about baptizing them. Not if you can see him. Okay, so what do you do? You fill the bowl with lukewarm water break. Open the sack. It's surrounds a little baby. If it's not broken, there's not a baptism. Then put all this in. Gently swirl it in the water. You put him into the water and swirl it. Then the water is flowing and as you're swirly sat, baptize you. The name of the fathers on the Holy Spirit. If he's not there to conditional baptism cause you don't know, you don't know if his soul still there. Speaker 0 17:59 So I baptize the name of father and son, the Holy Spirit. Bull corn water open, a little sack, gently swirl around in the water and while you're Swant see if you're capable, you don't have to say that, but you mean that I baptize the name of father and the son and the Holy Spirit. That's how you baptize in the case of a miscarriage. And we will put out in the email and we will have a handout. We give it out every year and we'll have those available, you know, in the next few weeks. So that's the second case. Miscarriage we've seen like a car wreck or someone an adult die. We've seen it miscarriage third newborn baby in the hospital and it's your newborn. He's having problems are dying, not in arrest. If he's in the respite or have the nurse take care of it in until in, you know, orally or call and call somebody at that point. Speaker 0 18:45 But a newborn in a hospital, it's dying. Your newborn. Okay. Take a cotton ball, get it wet with lukewarm water. It does not. You know, just so you have some water and depending on how he's laying there, you put the cotton ball in his forehead. If he's Kinda on one side or else on the temple cause you don't want it running over him and just pulling up so you, you put it like right here against the side of his temple. If he's laying on his back on his forehead and he squeeze it out, if he's laying on his side, so drop or two moves as you and as you're squeezing it and that drop starts flowing across, he'd say, I baptize the name of the father, son, the Holy Spirit. You squeeze this cotton bowl full of water. Get lukewarm water. I baptize new father, son, Holy Ghost. Speaker 0 19:25 All right, he's baptized. He's baptized just like that. <inaudible> you know, there's at least one child here who was in serious trouble. They had me come and do it. I want you to do it. But as soon as he baptize him, he got well, just like that, it happens. It's happened I think twice to me so far. I can't explain it. The good Lord can, we'll find out in the next life. But I mean the minute you're done baptized, you w you know, the nurses all start going, hey, you know, and whatever, I just get out of their way. You come in there, you do your thing and get out. But uh, with you do that. Now, if it's a dying newborn of anyone else, if it's a dying newborn, if he's actually dying and only if he's actually dying, baptizing, in other words, don't go out and baptize perfectly healthy little heathen babies. Speaker 0 20:10 Don't get this big project going with, with your, with your sister's kids or your cousin's kids or you know, your best friends, all the friends, we've all got friends that aren't living a good life. Fine. Don't baptize a little kids cause you've turned them into Catholics and they're not going to be raced, right? Don't do that. This is only if they're dying. The missionaries never did that. When you read about the missionaries, they'd baptized the dying babies because they knew all right. He'll be all right cause you know that's going to be all right. Just don't randomly baptize people. Okay? That's really important. All right? If it's a dying baby than baptizing, he'll be a sane if needs be. You can give some little line about cleanest forehead or whatever, say the words so quietly that only you can hear, but get that little guy baptize. Speaker 0 20:52 Don't let him die without it. He can't get into heaven without it. It's a salvation issue. Obviously. This is very important to understand for a physicians and nurses and emergency personnel. Okay? You have a great responsibility here and a great opportunity to really, uh, fill heaven. Okay? Finally, how long after someone dies? Is it okay to conditionally baptized until obvious decomposition sets in? Don't worry if they're blue, don't worry if they're blue, the soul might still be there. The late great father hardened reported a case. He had been a hospital chaplain for like 25 years. He reports a case of a lady in Chicago who is blue and frozen solid for eight hours. By the time she's brought in and somehow walked out of that hospital later on, if they're not visibly decomposing, you baptize them. You're not offending the good God if the, you know, if not, I don't mean to be gross, but if people, some you get these calls and people are very distraught, like there's been a really horrible accent. Speaker 0 21:48 If it's pieces you can't baptize, the soul's not there were only tow. That's decomposed in a rapid way. I'm not trying to be rude or funny here it's, it's, it's sad. But when there's really violent violent accidents where people are, are, are torn up into pieces, we don't baptize pieces. This, if we're talking to somebody that isn't decomposed either naturally from a, from the just falling apart or not decomposed by some violent accident or something like that. Okay, so let's close. We've seen the council of Trent says, if anyone says it, baptism is optional. That is not necessary for salvation. Let him be anathema. We seen that for those under the age of reason. It's the only way for them to be saved. Huh? We've seen how to baptize an emergency. We'll point water over the skin. The same person. Point of water says, I baptize you in the name of the father and the son and the Holy Spirit, or was squeezing water out of a cotton ball on the same person who says, I baptize you in the name of the father and the son and the Holy Ghost. I baptize you in the name of the father and the son and the Holy Ghost.