Day 171: The Necessity of Baptism (1253-1261)

• It’s Day 171!!

• FAITH AND BAPTISM

• Faith and Baptism go hand in hand

• Sometimes it is the faith of the Baptized person

• Sometimes it is the faith of the parents or Godparents

• THERE ALWAYS HAS TO BE FAITH!!

• WHO CAN BAPTIZE?

• THE NECESSITY OF BAPTISM

• Let’s say a prayer!!

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Ok God, whatever this day is, wherever we are at in this day, it is yours. Father in Heaven, we come before you and we give you this day. We give you all the joys and sorrows of this day. We give you all the victories and frustrations of this day. We give you the work and the rest of this day. Let it all be for you. Let it all be a gift to you because this day has been your gift to us. And so as we come before you, we do not want to come before you empty handed. Lord God, even our failures we bring to you. Even our sins we bring to you. We all want to bring to you those things we are proud of and those wins, that great work. And you accept those. But you also accept our weaknesses. You also accept our failures. You also accept our sins. We bring it all to you. The good days and the bad days. The victories and the losses. It is all yours. Because you are the Lord. Truly, you are the Lord of everything including the Lord of everything in our lives and everything today. So please accept it all and accept it in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. We make this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen”

• So there we have it!!

• FAITH AND BAPTISM

• Faith is the ENTRANCE to new life

• Baptism is the DOOR

• Faith and Baptism are LINKED

• If an adult is seeking Baptism, it is because they have the response of faith

• If an adult is bringing a child to be Baptized, it is the faith of the adult that speaks on behalf of the child

• In Mark Ch 2 there is the story of the paralyzed man who is brought to Jesus by his four friends

• Let’s listen to Fr. Mike…

• It also says this in Matthew’s Gospel that Jesus sees their faith and says to the man, “Child, your sins are forgiven.”

• The faith of SOMEONE ELSE has spoken on behalf of the person who is forgiven, who is healed

• This extends even to the Sacraments like Baptism

• Because of this, a godparent or parent can bring their child to Baptism and it is THEIR faith that speaks on behalf of the child

• This is not anti-Scriptural

• This is not unScriptural

• IT IS VERY MUCH IN SCRIPTURE

• SOMEONE ELSE’S FAITH SPEAKS FOR ANOTHER!!

• At the same time, faith needs to GROW afterwards for all of us

• Baptism is just the beginning

• Paragraph 1254 says, “For all the baptized, faith must grow after Baptism. For this reason the Church celebrates each year at the Easter Vigil the renewal of baptismal promises.”

• At one point in our lives someone spoke these words FOR US

• Now we get to speak them for ourselves

• At one point someone’s faith spoke on our behalf 

• Now it is our response to God that speaks

• WHO CAN BAPTIZE?

• Ordinary ministers like bishops, priests, and deacons

• Extraordinary ministers like you and me

• Paragraph 1256 says, “In case of necessity, anyone, even a non-baptized person, with the required intention, can baptize…”

• God wants ALL PEOPLE to be saved

• Baptism is NECESSARY for salvation

• The only things that are required are the INTENTION to do what the Church does when She baptizes

• Baptize with water with the Trinitarian formula

• Fr. Mike’s mom and grandma were nurses and were taught to Baptize

• In emergency cases, they baptized children

• THE NECESSITY OF BAPTISM

• Jesus Himself affirms that Baptism is NECESSARY FOR SALVATION 

• John 3:5, “Only those who are born again of water and the Spirit can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

• At the very end of the Gospel of Matthew Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

• THIS IS SO INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT!!

• THIS IS NECESSARY TO ALL THOSE TO WHOM THE GOSPEL HAS BEEN PROCLAIMED!!

• A lot of us have these questions…

• What about…?

• Paragraph 1257 says, “The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude…”

• We just don’t know of any other way

• Jesus has given us THIS

• Maybe there is something else

• BUT…

• WE DO NOT KNOW OF ANY OTHER WAY!!

• We have to take what Jesus has given us

• JESUS IS THE LORD GOD!!

• GOD KNOWS ALL THE THINGS!!

• GOD IS IN CHARGE!!

• Vastly more than any of us can understand

• God is the one who gave us the Sacrament of Baptism 

• God is the one who said, “THIS IS THE WAY.” (This is also true for Mandalorians!!! Every Single THIS IS THE WAY  ||  THE MANDALORIAN )

• God has not given us another way

• God is not unjust

• God is COMPLETELY JUST

• We do know this…

• Paragraph 1257 continues, “God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.”

• Every time a Sacrament is celebrated, God is there and active

• God is doing the thing

• Every time someone is Baptized, God is there

• Every time someone goes to Confession, God forgives

• BUT…

• GOD IS NOT BOUND BY HIS SACRAMENTS!!

• GOD CAN DO WHATEVER GOD WANTS TO DO!!

• At the same time, we only know of Baptism as the doorway to Eternal Salvation 

• Paragraph 1258 says, “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.”

• It would be beyond the pale that someone who shed their blood for Jesus Christ by dying would not be in Heaven

• Paragraph 1259 says, “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.”

• Fr. Mike is telling the story about Baptism of desire

• What about those who have never been Baptized, like children?

• Paragraph 1260 says, “‘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.’” 

• This means that there is no one living on this planet for whom Jesus has died that does not have a chance to say YES to God in that definitive way

• EVERY HUMAN BEING is made in God’s image

• God wants EVERY PERSON HE EVER CREATED to be a Saint with Him in Heaven

• THIS IS A WAY KNOWN TO GOD

• We don’t know and we don’t need to know

• God makes it possible for EVERY HUMAN BEING WHO LIVES to say YES to Him in a definitive way

• Does that make sense?

• More what abouts…

• Turkey?

• Borneo?

• Siberia?

• Jesus Christ died for ALL

• He wants EVERY PERSON to be saved

• In a way known to GOD ALONE

• We hold on to this TRUTH that God makes it possible that every person has a chance to say YES to Him in a definitive way

• Paragraph 1260 continues, “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.”

• THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!

• This is not a WILLED ignorance

• This is an ACCIDENTAL INVINCIBLE ignorance

• “I don’t know and I could not have known.”

• It’s not enough to not know and then go to Heaven

• You have to ACTIVELY SEEK THE TRUTH

• THEN you have to ACTIVELY DO THE WILL OF GOD according to your understanding

• You can’t be lackadaisical

• God’s grace is BROAD and DEEP

• So we hold out hope that all those who do that can be saved

• Paragraph 1260 continues, “It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity.”

• Paragraph 1261 says, “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.”

• What does this mean?

• THAT MEANS WE HOPE!!

• A Catholic funeral is not merely a celebration of life or a ritual or a way to say goodbye

• A Catholic funeral is a PRAYER for that person who has died

• THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!!

• The point of the funeral is to PRAY FOR THE PERSON WHO HAS DIED

• We only pray for people when WE HAVE HOPE FOR THEM

• If there was NO POSSIBILITY for them to be in Heaven, then there is no reason to pray

• The Church entrusts all those babies who died without Baptism to the mercy of God

• The great Mercy of God who desires that ALL MEN SHOULD BE SAVED

• AND…

• Jesus’ tenderness towards children

• Allow us the hope that there is a way of Salvation for children who have died without Baptism

• So many people who are listening have lost children in the womb

• Or the child died unexpectedly

• The grief is unimaginable

• Then there is secondary grief when one wonders if that child will be in Heaven

• WE HOLD OUT HOPE THAT YOUR CHILDREN ARE IN HEAVEN WITH THE LORD GOD!!

• Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Do not hinder them.”

• JESUS WAS TALKING ABOUT YOUR CHILD!!

• JESUS WAS TALKING ABOUT YOUR CHILDREN!!

• We know that this is the heart of God

• THIS IS SO IMPORTANT FOR US!!

• Baptism is NECESSARY

• And at the same time…

• God’s love is EVEN BIGGER than His Sacraments

• God’s love comes to us in the Sacraments, absolutely

• And GOd’s love is EVEN BIGGER than His Sacraments

• God has bound Salvation to the Sacrament of Baptism

• BUT…

• God Himself is NOT BOUND BY HIS SACRAMENTS

• GOD’S LOVE IS UNBOUNDED!!

• That love has touched your children whom you have lost

• That love is where your children live right now

• THAT IS WHAT WE HOPE!!

• Our call right now is to continue to live in that love

• Our call right now is to continue to walk in that love so that one day we are in that same place 

• Where parents and children are once again reunited in the love of Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit

• THAT IS OUR HOPE!!

• Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!

• Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!

• I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!