Ecce Fides - Pillar of Truth - St. Patrick's Basilica

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III SACRAMENTS Are sacraments just symbols? For the Catholic sacraments are efficacious. That is, they produce what they signify. A sacrament imparts grace to the individual (Acts 2:38; 8:17; 19:4-7; 1 Pet. 3:19-22). The seven sacraments of the Church are foreshadowed in a powerful manner in the Hebrew Scriptures, in the Old Testament signs and symbols of the covenant--circumcision, anointing, consecration, the laying on of hands, sacrifice, Passover. These signs of the Old Covenant foreshadow the signs of the New Covenant—Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick and Matrimony. Each of the sacraments of the “new covenant,” of the New Testament, can find similarities in one or more of the Old Covenant, Old Testament, signs and symbols--baptism replacing circumcision, anointing of the sick replacing the ancient anointings, consecrating or ordaining priests by the laying on of hands replacing the consecration of kings and Levitical priests, the institution of the Eucharist as presence and sacrifice replacing the Old Testament sacrifices of lambs and the Passover experience. What do Catholics mean by being “born again” (Jn. 3:3-5) and why do they baptize children? Baptism is God’s most beautiful and magnificent gift…. We call it gift, grace, anointing, enlightenment, garment of immortality, bath of rebirth, seal, and most precious gift. It is called gift because it is conferred on those who bring nothing of their own; grace since it is given even to the guilty; Baptism because sin is buried in the water; anointing for it is priestly and royal as are those who are anointed; enlightenment because it radiates light; clothing since it veils our shame; bath because it washes; and seal as it is our guard and the sign of God’s Lordship. Augustine of Hippo, Letter to Jerome (Oratio 40, 3-4: PG 36, 361C) In the Old Testament, the reality of baptism is beautifully prefigured in Ezekiel 36:25-27: I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. In 1 Peter 3:20-21 we read: [Eight persons, in the account of Noah’s flood] were saved through water. This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. Jesus taught Nicodemus that one must be born again by water and the Spirit (Jn. 3:5), not by the Spirit only, but by water and the Spirit. Most fundamentalists view baptism as merely a symbol which signifies something that has already taken place. That is, one becomes “born-again” by accepting Jesus as one’s Lord and Savior (Jn. 3:16), and then one is baptized to symbolically affirm what has already taken place. Baptism, for evangelicals, therefore implies the use of reason. Consequently, children under the age of reason cannot make such a reasoned decision. Children should not be baptized according to their view. Besides the idea of infant baptism being contrary to their theology, fundamentalists argue that there is no proof of infant baptism in the Bible and since there is no proof of infant baptism in the Bible, it is not a Christian practice. For the Catholic to be baptized is what it means to be “born again.” Baptism is a sacrament with real power and it is a sacrament which is necessary for salvation, for it is by baptism that we are “born again” of water and the Spirit (Jn. 3:5; Mk. 16:16). God “saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our Savior, that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:5-7). In baptism one enters into Christ’s death and resurrection (cf. Rom. 6:3-4). One has put on Christ in baptism (Gal. 3:27). Baptism cleanses one 44
from “original sin,” personal sin, and the punishment for sin (Mk.16:16; Jn. 3:5; Acts 2:38f; 22:16; Rom. 6:3-6; Gal. 3:7; 1 Cor. 6:11; Eph. 5:26; Col. 2:12-14; Heb. 10:22). Psalm 51:7 states: “In guilt was I born, and in sin my mother conceived me.” One becomes a new creation in Christ and a partaker in the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). One becomes a member of the Church as an adopted child of God (cf. 1 Cor. 12-13; 27). One becomes a Temple of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; 19:5f) with an indelible mark or character on the soul which enables one to share in the priesthood of Christ and in his passion (Mk. 10:38f; Lk. 12:50). Because of this reality, infants are encouraged to be baptized. As Irenaeus explains in Against Heresies (cf. 2, 22, 4) (ca. 180): “Jesus came to save all for all are reborn through him in baptism—infants, children, youths, and old men.” To deny a child baptism is to deny a child the precious gifts of baptism. How contrary to God’s will (Mt: 19:14; Lk. 18:15-17): Let the children come to me, sayeth the Lord.” As Augustine of Hippo (ca. 415) so poignantly states in his Letter to Jerome (166, 7, 21): Anyone who would say that even infants who pass from this life without the participation in the Sacrament [whether by a baptism of desire, blood, or water] shall be made alive in Christ truly goes counter to the preaching of the apostles and condemns the whole Church, where there is great haste in baptizing infants because it is believed without doubt that there is no other way at all in which they can be made alive in Christ. St. Hippolytus of Rome (ca. 215) argues: “Baptize first the children; and if they can speak for themselves, let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them” (Apostolic Tradition, 21). The ecclesiastical writer Origen in 244 AD wrote: “The Church received from the apostles the tradition of giving baptism to infants” (Commentary on Romans, 5:9). In terms of Bible quotations with reference to infants in particular, I would refer you to the following quotes, Acts 16:15, 33 and 1 Corinthians. 1:16. In these quotations we see that whole families were baptized. Given the culture of the ancient world, this most likely implied the baptism of infants. How can whole households not have any infants, any children? In the Acts 2:38-39 we read a direct account of where Peter baptized adults and children: “Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him…. (RSV).” Many argue that one must be old enough to accept the faith: No one, not even your parents, can stand in for you. This might sound appealing but it is contrary to the Scriptures. God often bestowed spiritual gifts on peoples because of the faith of others. The centurion’s faith brought about the healing of his servant (Mt. 8:5-13); the Canaanite’s woman’s faith brought about the healing of her daughter (Mt. 15:21- 28); and in Luke 5:17-26 a crippled man is healed by the persistent faith of his friends. A parent’s faith bestows the gifts of baptism upon their children. Furthermore, Paul in Colossians 2:11-12 reminds us that baptism replaces circumcision for the Christian. In the Old Covenant, the Old Testament, one became a member of the people of God through circumcision on the eighth day. Now in the New Covenant, the New Testament, one becomes a member of the people of God through baptism as early as possible! For the Christian baptism is a replacement for circumcision (Col. 2:11-12). If Jewish parents would covenant with God on behalf of their eight-day old children through the command to circumcise their children, then Christian parents covenant with God on behalf of their children through the command to baptize. How could people deny children entrance into the covenant, into the people of God? As Jesus said: “Let the children come to me for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (cf. Mk. 10:14; Lk. 18:15). And as alluded to above, the fact that “whole households” were baptized in the New Covenant makes absolute sense since “whole households” were circumcised in the Old Covenant (Gen. 17:12-14), including house-born slaves and “foreigners acquired with money.” Children were circumcised under the Old Covenant, and under the New Covenant they were baptized. In Judaism a child had no say as to whether he was circumcised or not! On the eighth day he became a part of the people of God by virtue of the will of his parents and the act of circumcision. The same applies with the baptism of children! And just as in the Old Testament, when one reached the age of reason and could reject the gift received as a infant, one could likewise, in the New Testament times, reject the gift of baptism. The gift is given to be affirmed or rejected, to be nourished or to be allowed to die. The following quotes are also worth noting when understood within the context of all the previous 45
Page 1 and 2: Ecce Fides Pillar of Truth TABLE OF
Page 3 and 4: Chapter VII: Salvation Do Catholics
Page 5 and 6: INTRODUCTION By His Eminence Paul C
Page 7 and 8: Where did the Bible come from? I HO
Page 9 and 10: estimated that there are as much as
Page 11 and 12: unroll the order of their bishops,
Page 13 and 14: (Acts 15:1-35). With every succeedi
Page 15 and 16: lacking. Let us take just one book
Page 17 and 18: Church must fit together like a puz
Page 19 and 20: Catholic scholar Johann Eck on the
Page 21 and 22: Who’s your founder? II THE CHURCH
Page 23 and 24: Irenaeus, the disciple of Polycarp,
Page 25 and 26: Babylonians destroyed the temple an
Page 27 and 28: Peter, the Rock upon which Jesus bu
Page 29 and 30: the current pope, the Church has al
Page 31 and 32: faith of the Church: They who have
Page 33 and 34: Paul mentions how he “laid the fo
Page 35 and 36: Anastasius III (911-913) Landus (91
Page 37 and 38: Cyprian in his Letter to all his Pe
Page 39 and 40: Hussitism (fifteenth century): Huss
Page 41 and 42: Church). It also affirmed the gift
Page 43: dealing with the belief as much as
Page 47 and 48: Trinitarian formula. The Didache (c
Page 49 and 50: (Cf. Nm. 52-54, 58: SC 25 bis, 186-
Page 51 and 52: (Philadelphia, 4, trans. Lake). In
Page 53 and 54: existence in the Church of a set Ma
Page 55 and 56: namely himself to be offered by the
Page 57 and 58: human hands have made (cf. Qo 3:13)
Page 59 and 60: You are to confess your sins in the
Page 61 and 62: priest. What does it mean to be exc
Page 63 and 64: whose contributions to the world ha
Page 65 and 66: Where the bishop is to be seen, the
Page 67 and 68: the priesthood as much as it is a c
Page 69 and 70: the bond between two believers, now
Page 71 and 72: communion, albeit a distinction, be
Page 73 and 74: supernatural life (2 Cor. 3:8) with
Page 75 and 76: Mary…” The Governor of Pontus,
Page 77 and 78: Transfiguration (Mk: 9:4). Joshua f
Page 79 and 80: Mary is the mother of Jesus. Mary i
Page 81 and 82: Redeemer and Savior. Where do Catho
Page 83 and 84: I firmly believe that Mary, accordi
Page 85 and 86: ehold your son.” Then he said to
Page 87 and 88: generations will call me blessed”
Page 89 and 90: “saved, but only through fire”
Page 91 and 92: punished, yet is their hope full of
Page 93 and 94: What about the 144,000? Basing thei
Page 95 and 96:
Original sin was the sin committed
Page 97 and 98:
security, a resignation, and a hope
Page 99 and 100:
egin contracting until it collapses
Page 101 and 102:
eliminate the capacity to love God.
Page 103 and 104:
He that believes in the Son has eve
Page 105 and 106:
So people from other religions (i.e
Page 107 and 108:
our minds might wing aloft in yearn
Page 109 and 110:
markers to mark important places (G
Page 111 and 112:
held by the popes became the faith
Page 113 and 114:
that Jesus demands a response to th
Page 115 and 116:
Descartes and Kant Rene Descartes a
Page 117 and 118:
Evolutionalism/ Progressivism Evolu
Page 119 and 120:
changes for the new epoch or era. M
Page 121 and 122:
The natural law is based on the law
Page 123 and 124:
The American Psychological Associat
Page 125 and 126:
The fostering of passivity Televisi
Page 127 and 128:
4. The fourth commandment demands t
Page 129 and 130:
fact, there is no way of understand
Page 131 and 132:
Why are contraceptives evil and why
Page 133 and 134:
longer two, but one flesh. Therefor
Page 135 and 136:
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross was a world-r
Page 137 and 138:
Techniques involving only the marri
Page 139 and 140:
uying a new car. Promiscuity and th
Page 141 and 142:
APPENDIX AN APOLOGETICS DEBATE HAND
Page 143 and 144:
another; Photinus, Apollinaris, Pri
Page 145 and 146:
Adversus Marcionem libri quinque ,
Page 147 and 148:
Christians are brought to future li
Page 149 and 150:
Blood?”…. “Do not therefore r
Page 151 and 152:
Ad uxorem, 2, 8, 6-7: PL 1, 1412-14
Page 153 and 154:
Lk. 1:43: Mother of my Lord Mary wi
Page 155 and 156:
expecting the Lord to come. And beh
Page 157 and 158:
Heb. 10:26-27: if sin after receivi
Page 159:
159
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