Thursday, May 26, 2016

BAPTISM IN CASE OF URGENT NECESSITY



The Sacrament of Baptism is absolutely necessary for our souls to be saved, so whoever dies without having received it, loses the opportunity to enter Heaven*.

Therefore:

First, infants should be baptized as soon as possible. It is a grave obligation of parents to carry this out. What a terrible responsibility if, due to their negligence, the child dies without being baptized! It is so sad to see so many cases where parents delay Baptism for weeks or, even worse, for months, by neglect or for secondary reasons, like throwing a lavish party, waiting a long time for a godparent to be present, etc. The most pathetic situations are those where irresponsible parents, contaminated by the errors of liberalism, wait for their children to become adults so they can decide if they wish to be baptized, however, they do not wait until they can decide whether they want to be fed or not. Both spiritual and material good should be provided to the infant without waiting for them to reach full age, this is the main responsibility of the parents, who must decide what is best for their children while they are minors. Otherwise, their son or daughter runs the risk of dying without Baptism, thus losing the opportunity of seeing God eternally. Furthermore, if parents are not aware of the great importance of this sacrament right from the birth of their children, they in turn will be even less aware of it. Pope St. Pius X mentions in his catechism the following: “Fathers and mothers who, through negligence, allow their children to die without Baptism sin grievously, because they deprive their children of eternal life; and they also sin grievously by putting off Baptism for a long time, because they expose them to danger of dying without having received it.”

Second, in case of need, that is to say when a person who has not been baptized is in mortal danger, (whether child or adult**), anyone can and must administer the Sacrament of Baptism. This is the reason why we should all know how to baptize correctly. 

TO BAPTIZE SOMEONE (THAT IS, TO EFFECT THE SACRAMENT) WE MUST:

1) Have the intention of executing the same that the Catholic Church does.

2) Pour natural or pure water over the head saying at the same time the following form, WITHOUT OMITTING any of its words:

“I baptize thee in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.”

We have highlighted some words that can be easily omitted by mistake.

Do not say the words first and then pour out the water, nor pour out the water first and then say the words, it is necessary that the two actions are performed at the same time. The water must run through the skin and not only through the hair.

Once the latter has been carried out, the sacrament has been effected. The catechumen has been baptized and therefore has been freed from original sin.

When the danger of death has passed, the person MUST be taken to their parish for a priest to complete the other ceremonies.

ABUSES RELATED TO BAPTISM

In accordance with the spirit of the Church, parents should only choose good Christians to be the godfather and godmother of their children. In cases of urgency due to mortal danger, the presence of godparents is not essential.

Non-Catholics, couples living together without marriage, divorced people, couples who are only married under civil law, people to whom sacraments are publicly denied and any other public sinners of the sort are excluded from the role of godparents.

The name of a Catholic saint must be chosen for the baptized, so he or she becomes their patron and intercessor in Heaven.

*Note 1: We will discuss in another post the three types of Baptism: by water, blood or desire. All of them can take us to Heaven as St. Pius X explains it in his Catechism: “The absence of Baptism can be supplied by martyrdom, which is called Baptism of Blood, or by an act of perfect love of God, or of contrition, along with the desire, at least implicit, of Baptism, and this is called Baptism of Desire.”

**Note 2: The Baptism of adults requires their consent, for it should not be performed against their will. Before the baptism takes place, the person to be baptized will make an act of contrition along with amendment of purpose (to this end, an Act of Contrition can be said). If the person is very weak to say it, whoever is going to administer the Sacrament of Baptism can help him or her to say it or can recite it on their behalf (asking the patient to follow it inwardly).

***Note 3: As the exact moment of the separation of body and soul is unknown, (unless the body is already decomposed) if anyone, whether infant, child or adult, is declared clinically dead (to science) and had not been baptized, he or she can be baptized CONDITIONALLY (when it is known that they would have asked to receive the sacrament or is not against their will) as follows: “If thou art alive I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

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Source of information: Blog CATOLICIDAD, http://www.catolicidad.com/2011/01/bautismo-de-ninos-en-caso-de-necesidad.html