Baptism - its Meaning

The essence of Baptism is not the ceremony of welcoming a new member into the Church. It is a job of work. It consists of driving out the unclean spirits from the soul, wiping out the scar of Original Sin, and establishing the soul in a State of Grace. In the process, any sins previously committed – 'actual' sins – are automatically cancelled out. Mystics who have *seen* a soul in a State of Grace have reported that it is quite overwhelming in its beauty. And that the *sight* of a soul in Mortal sin is so horrifying that, without supernatural aid, they would have died of shock at seeing it.

The 'updated' Catholic Rite of Baptism is very sadly deficient. If you can get hold of a copy of the Traditional Rite, you might be surprised at the strength and sternness of the language, especially the five separate exorcisms that precede the actual application of the water. One important reason for the spread of diabolical evil in the world today is the omission of these exorcisms – so much so that the Church has recently been hurriedly training up more exorcists, and many families have presented themselves to have their children (even themselves) 'topped up' in a ceremony based on the Traditional Rite, but omitting the Baptism itself (as it is a sacrilege to repeat a sacrament that can be administered only once in eternity).

These facts explain two items of Catholic practice.

[1] One is infant baptism itself, which many of the earliest authorities have declared is of Apostolic Antiquity and authority. Inscriptions in the catacombs also attest to this practice.

In days of high infant mortality, it was of high priority to get the newborn child baptised. We were given no information by Christ of any other means of attaining the supernatural life of Heaven without the actual water of Baptism. There is Baptism of Blood and of Desire, attested to by those who have died before succeeding in getting baptism, in which case God, we believe, will intervene, looking at the intention. But where does this leave the unbaptised infant?

We have a Natural Right to Justice from God, who is All Just, but we have no *right* to gratuitous gifts above what it just. We have no right to Heaven. God could put us in a place of perfect earthly happiness, but that would not be Heaven. In Catholic teaching, Heaven is not just free sweeties: it is more as if our pet cat and dog were given the power to talk and join our human world. It would be beyond their nature; supernatural. In the same way, we have actually been promised that we will be lifted beyond our natural abilities and allowed to participate in the Life of the Holy Trinity: *forever.* That is the promise. But just as a cat cannot learn to talk by its own efforts, so we cannot make ourselves fit for Heaven by our own efforts alone. We need the Gift of Supernatural Grace. This begins at baptism, and is renewed through our lives by prayer, good works offered to God, and especially the Sacraments of the Catholic Church.

Now, if God really does have a mechanism He uses to bring infants to Heaven, we can see why He has not told us. It is because a mother would be tempted to "send her child to Heaven", either though infanticide or through abortion.

BTW, there are three forms of 'Conditional Baptism". If there is doubt about the validity of an earler baptism, or whether it was performed at all, the formula is "If you are not already baptised, I baptise thee..." If the person shows no sign of life (usually a stillbirth) it is "If you are alive, I baptise thee"... and if grossly deformed, "If you are a man (homo), I baptise thee..."

NB It is strictly forbidden to baptise an infant against the parents' wishes, or in their ignorance. Certain over-zealous missionaries had to be curbed from this practice.

[2] The other fact is the very widespread and entrenched practice of the early centuries, strange as it may seem to us now, of adults deferring their baptism as late as possible in their lives, to avail of the 'automatic' wiping out of their sins. The great Church Fathers fought tooth and nail against this for centuries. One of them (S. Ambrose or S. Augustine – 4th century) pleadingly asks his hearers: "Would you wait to call a physician until the last minute, so that his cure would be the more wonderful? You would do no such rash act. How much the more, then, should you beware of keeping your soul away from the laver of Christ." Naturally, it meant that these souls did not have Confession or Communion either. Yet it was a firmly entrenched attitude of the laity that took a lot of work to eradicate.