As I write this article, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. This event in the life of our Lord marks the beginning of His public mission, and it signifies for us the beginning of our journey back to the Father.
WHY WAS JESUS BAPTIZED?
Christ did not need to be baptized for Himself; being the Son of God, He had no sin in need of forgiving. Yet, the Lord was not content just to teach by words what He would have us know, but He teaches primarily through example. Jesus was baptized to show us that we, too, must descend into the waters if we are to become beloved sons and daughters of the Father. Jesus descended into the waters, bearing on His shoulders the weight of our sins, to drown them in River Jordan and raise up humanity cleansed and made new. The power of baptism was inaugurated by the Lord on this day, but it’s full realization in my own life would only take place on the day I followed Him down to the Jordan river, on the day that I was baptized. “At my baptism I was immersed with Christ, and with Him I died and was buried. Then I emerged, and for the first time Heaven opened to me as the Holy Spirit made His entrance into my soul; and my Father in heaven glanced down upon me, now “His Son, His child” (Pius Parsch, The Church’s Year of Grace, vol.1, 299). The day of our baptism is for each of us a real birth, a coming into life eternal that has no end, and in this way it is the fundamental starting point of our lives. Recently, Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to learn the date of their baptism and to celebrate it as a real “birthday”, such is the importance of that day in each of our lives.
WHY BAPTIZING YOUR BABY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO:
Baptism is necessary for salvation, and so the Church has always been keen to baptize as soon as possible. Infant baptism, in fact, is a powerful expression of our faith in the Sacrament of Baptism. In the early Church, it was almost unanimously held that baptizing infants was the right thing to do, and even those who questioned the practice did so without necessarily objecting to it. It wasn’t until the Protestant Reformation that there would be any real objection to the practice, and even this by only the most fundamentalist sects of Protestantism. But as with so many things about our Faith, we know “what” we do, but perhaps not so much “why” we do it. The temptation to Biblical Fundamentalism (i.e., “If it isn’t in the Bible, it doesn’t exist”) continues to draw once believing Catholics away from the One, True Faith, and understanding the ancient practice of the Church can help us who remain to bring them back. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:
“Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by Original Sin, children also have need of the new birth of Baptism to be freed from the power of darkness and brought into the realm of the freedom of the children of God, to which all men are called” (1250)
Because infant baptism is so important in the mind and heart of the Church, the Code of Canon Law also governs its practice. For valid and licit infant baptism, at least one parent or one individual holding their place must give their consent, and there must be a realistic hope that the child will be brought up in the Catholic religion (Canon 868.1, 1-2). But the law goes further yet, and also holds that an infant in danger of death is lawfully baptized even if the parents are opposed to it (Can. 868.2); and that an abandoned infant or foundling is to be baptized as soon as possible unless it has already been baptized (Can. 870. In fact, because baptism is necessary, the Church teaches that in danger of death and in the absence of an available cleric anyone may confer baptism upon an individual, provided they use water and the Trinitarian formula. Recognizing the great gift that baptism confers (i.e. freedom from Original Sin and new the new life in Christ that makes us sons and daughters of the Father), parents would “deny a child the priceless gift of becoming a child of God were they not to confer Baptism shortly after birth” (CCC 1250), and so the Church legislates further that “parents are obliged to see that their infants are baptized within the first few weeks. As soon as possible after the birth, indeed, even before it, they are to approach the parish priest to ask for the sacrament for their child, and to be themselves duly prepared for it” (Can. 867.1). Furthermore, if an infant is in danger of death, “it is to be baptized without delay” (Can. 867.2).
One objection of Fundamentalists still remains: “but an infant cannot claim Jesus as His personal Lord and Savior!” True enough, but remember what our Lord and Savior Himself taught us: “It was not you who chose Me, but I Who chose you” (John 15:16). At the end of the day, this debate comes down to two opposing concepts of belief. In matters of Faith, Catholics hold the position: “It is true, therefore I believe.” For many Protestants, especially Fundamentalists, the inverse is true: “I believe, therefore it is true.” Infant Baptism is the Church’s expression of the fact that in her love for the Lord “she believes all things” (1 Cor 13:17), that she believes the Lord when He says “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Infant baptism has a real, life-changing effect in the life of the infant baptized, and it is the duty of the parents, godparents, and the whole Church, to nurture and nourish this nascent faith into full blossom as the child grows in wisdom, age, and grace, as a new member of the household and family of God. May God bless you in the week ahead, and may Mother Mary lead you more deeply into the Sacred and Merciful Heart of Jesus. I remain,
Fr. Hess
