Is Feeneyism Catholic? - Society of St. Pius X

E XPOSITION OF THE DOCTRINE 7
EXPOSITION OF THE DOCTRINE
THERE IS A LAW 6 ESTABLISHED BY JESUS CHRIST, THAT
EVERY MAN MUST BE BAPTIZED IN ORDER TO BE SAVED
“Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of
water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of
God” (Jn. 3:5). 7 Our Lord clearly speaks here of the sacrament of
baptism, i.e., the baptism of water. The Council of Trent teaches
that the sacrament of baptism is the “instrumental cause” of grace
in the soul: it is the ordinary and obligatory means of receiving
the grace of God for the first time.
This law does not establish a mere extrinsic necessity of baptism;
like the laws of nature, it belongs to the very nature of baptism
to cause grace in our souls (ex opere operato): for the unbaptized,
it is the only means at his disposal to get this grace.
GOD IS NOT BOUND BY THE LAWS HE HAS SET
In the natural order God sometimes produces an effect bypassing
the ordinary secondary causes He has established: this is
called “a miracle.” In a similar way also, He sometimes produces
grace in souls bypassing the ordinary secondary causes, i.e., without
the exterior sign of the sacrament: this is like a miracle in the
supernatural order. For example, when Christ walked on the waters
He produced an effect (to support His body above the water)
without the natural cause (a solid ground), thus not following the
law of gravity. In the same way, He can give His grace and thus
open heaven to a soul without the waters of baptism.
Hence the definition of Baptism of Desire by St. Thomas
Aquinas:
Forasmuch as someone’s heart is moved by the Holy Ghost
to believe in and love God and to repent of his sins, not only
6
See p.36 why it is a law.
7 For a more complete explanation of these words of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
see p.33.