"Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the
Holy Ghost, he can not enter into the kingdom of God" (_John_ iii 5).
WHILE most Christians admit the necessity of Baptism for adults, the
Catholic Church is alone in insisting upon the practice of infant
Baptism. This practice is in accordance with the teaching of St. John,
quoted above. It is also in accordance with apostolic teaching and
practice.
We read in the 16th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles that St. Paul
baptized Lydia "and her household," and that the keeper of the prison
was converted and "was baptized and presently all his family." Among
these families it is but reasonable to suppose that there were some
infants.
Infant Baptism was the practice of the apostles; it was the practice of
the Christians of the early Church, as Origen tells us. The Church
received the tradition from the apostles to give Baptism to infants, and
it has been the practice of the Church from the time of Christ until the
present.
St. Paul tells us that Adam's sin was transmitted to all his posterity.
"Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death,
and so death passed unto all men in whom all have sinned" (_Rom_. v.
12). Every infant, according to St. Paul, is born to sin--original sin.
But as Baptism takes away original sin, and as nothing defiled can enter
heaven (_Apoc_. xxi.), Baptism of infants is necessary to open for them
the gates of heaven.
Baptism may be validly administered by dipping, sprinkling, or pouring.
The method practised in this part of Christendom is pouring the water on
the head of the person to be baptized, saying at the same time: "I
baptize thee in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Ghost."
The reasonableness of the practice of baptizing infants will be evident
if we remember that Christ taught the necessity of baptism for all when
He said: "Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he can
not enter into the kingdom of God"; and that He declared little children
capable of entering into the kingdom of God when He said: "Suffer little
children to come unto Me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom
of heaven."
Now, if infants are capable of entering heaven (and Christ so declares),
they must be capable of receiving Baptism, without which Christ says no
one can enter the kingdom of God.
While in adults faith and sorrow for sin are required before receiving
Baptism, no disposition is required in infants.
They contracted original sin without their knowledge; without their
knowledge they are freed from it.
By Baptism they are made heirs of the kingdom of heaven.
They can be made heirs of property, of a kingdom on earth without their
consent; why not also of the kingdom of heaven?
Baptism is the first of the seven sacraments which the Church confers
upon man. It cleanses us from original sin (actual sin also if the
recipient be guilty of any), makes us Christians, children of God, and
heirs of heaven. It prepares us for the reception of the other
sacraments. By Baptism we all contracted the obligation of believing and
practising the doctrines of Jesus Christ as taught us by the true
Church. We fulfil this obligation by _leading a truly Christian life_.