Why do catholics baptize babies

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Email Address:. Why do the catholics baptize the little children by aspersion. If you follow the examples of Jesus, you have to practice baptism by immersion when you are an adult. Jesus was baptized when he was adult. This is really two questions in one: What are the proper methods to administer baptisms; and at what age can one be validly baptized?

But before we go any further, it must also be pointed out that infant baptism is not a strictly Catholic Tradition. The Eastern Orthodox also participate in this ancient practice, as do the Oriental Orthodox, the Church of the East, and many Protestant denominations.

In fact, I myself was baptized at three weeks old in the Presbyterian Church. It has only historically been Baptist ironic right?

John was sent by the Holy Spirit to preach this message of repentance and preparation for the coming of the Messiah. This was foretold by the prophets, especially the prophet Isaiah, and was readily accepted by the people of Judea. They had been awaiting this coming Messiah for generations, and had anticipated His arrival by living out the Covenantal relationship with God that was laid out by the Patriarchs.

It was the same as many prophets before him, and the people responded as such. The Jews of that time, and even in many circumstances today, would use a ritual public bath called a Mikveh. This ritual immersion would make one ceremonially clean, so they could participate in either temple or synagogue worship. I declaration that one was going to follow God, and not the world. So they would enter into this Mikveh of sorts, and be symbolically cleanse themselves. This is one of the things that those opposed to infant baptism will hang their entire argument on, but it is a very thin proof and argument.

He was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully confuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus. There he found some disciples. That difference makes all the difference. Turning to the Catholic understanding of baptism, however, we bear witness to several beautiful truths that are fundamental to the Catholic faith.

This is why the Church encourages baptism of even the smallest infants, for it is by being baptized into the Church that we are able to fully receive grace in the time afterward. Baptism is thus the necessary precursor to all other sacraments.

Since Catholics believe that all mankind has been stained with original sin through the sin of Adam and Eve, it is necessary to remove this original sin through the grace of baptism even in the case of those who have not been able to commit actual sin.

Why did Christ, then, place such great importance on His own baptism even though there was no sin to wash away? The answer involves the foundation of Catholicism, namely the reason that Christ became man, died and then rose from the dead. Christ chose to be baptized not out of personal necessity, but rather because He thought it fitting to be baptized on behalf of the humanity whose sins He was choosing to take on.

His baptism was a fulfillment of righteousness, but not of His own; in the baptism in the Jordan, Christ fulfilled the righteousness of everyone who would ever be born. We can remember the importance of baptizing infants specifically by remembering the importance of the sacrament as we understand it: baptism is not a mere symbol of gaining a new life in Christ, but rather is the actual conferral of grace by which mankind is able to be a part of the Body of Christ.

These two ideas are, in a sense, two sides of the same coin. On the one side, the innocence of a newborn child shows to us the goodness that is still present in the world despite the fall of Adam and Eve. In fact, in all of Sacred Scripture, there is not a single place that says babies should not be baptized, not one. Listen to St Irenaeus A.

He passed through every age, becoming an infant for infants, sanctifying infants; a child for children, sanctifying those who are of that age". In his A. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them. Allow sin no opportunity; rather, let the infant be sanctified from childhood. From his most tender age let him be consecrated by the Spirit.

Graham Osborne. Catholic Graham Osborne is a professional nature photographer and biologist. He has spent the last twenty years studying Sacred Scripture and Church teaching and teaches Scripture and apologetics classes for the Archdiocese of Vancouver's Office of Catechetics' quarterly Institutes.

He also teaches adult faith education courses and gives retreats and conferences at parishes around the Archdiocese.

Graham makes his home in Wynndel, B. His website is here.