Secret things to the Lord our God:
things that are manifest, to us and to our children forever,
that we may do all the words of this law. (Deut. 29:29)
There has never been a Pope, Council, or theologian that stated Baptism of Desire is a sacrament. Likewise no Pope, Council, or theologian has stated the Baptism of Desire incorporates one into the Catholic Church. Thus, without membership in Christ, one may have all things except salvation.
It must be recognized that the Catholic Church makes two important distinctions: that...
Character (Greek, engraving instrument), the mark or trait by which the personality of one person is distinguished from that of another. The word is used to express the spiritual and indelible sign imprinted on the soul by the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders.
The Sacramental Character marks the soul . . . as distinct from those who have it not; as obliged to perform certain duties; as conformed to the image of God; as disposed for God’s grace.
Baptism marks the soul as a subject of Christ and His Church; Confirmation, as a warrior of the Church Militant; Holy Orders, as a minister of its Divine worship.
-- from the Catholic Encyclopedia
In its proper meaning, this consists of an act of perfect contrition or perfect love (that is Charity, which necessarily implies that one has the True Faith), and the simultaneous desire for baptism. It does not imprint an indelible character on the soul and the obligation to receive Baptism by water remains.
-- from the Catholic Concise Encyclopedia
-- Imprimatur by Fancis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, August 31, 1956
In Volume I of The Sacraments by Pohle-Preuss, first published in 1915, the author, Monsignor Joseph Pohle, elaborates on these four functions of the sacramental character — to distinguish, to oblige, to conform, and to dispose. We will take from his text those comments which pertain only to the baptismal character.
Since God does nothing without a purpose, we must first ask: Why did He institute the baptismal character? Monsignor Pohle answers:
The Baptismal Character implies on the part of the recipient a sort of "consecration" in the sense of objective sanctification, not subjective holiness. Saint Augustine, compelled to emphasize not only the distinction between, but the actual separability of, grace and character (sanctification and consecration) insisted that heretics may receive and sinners retain the Baptismal Character without grace. Saint Thomas went a long step further by defining consecration as a bestowal of the spiritual power necessary to perform acts of divine worship. In Baptism, the passive receptivity which the Sacrament confers is really an active power: the power to receive the other Sacraments, to participate in all the rights and duties of a child of the true Church, and to be a member of the Mystical Body of Christ. These functions constitute necessary parts of Christian worship.
The very name "Character," and its description as a stamp or seal, indicate that it may be a threefold sign:The impress of a seal or stamp produces a triple effect: it renders an object recognizable; it marks the object as part of one’s property; and it produces in it a likeness of the owner. The Baptismal Character exercises all these functions, and in addition to them a fourth, namely, to dispose the soul for the reception of grace.
- a mark to distinguish various objects;
- a mark to denote a duty;
- a mark to indicate similarity.
Jesus answered: 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.
-- see comments by Leo XIII
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall he condemned.
-- note that Faith and Works are required
-- whereas, desire is "faith-alone"
...What shall we do, men and brethren? But Peter said to them: Do penance, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins: and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying: Arise, go towards the south, to the way that goeth down from Jerusalem into Gaza: this is desert.
27 And rising up, he went. And behold a man of Ethiopia,
...
36 And as they went on their way, they came to a certain water; and the eunuch said: See, here is water: what doth hinder me from being baptized?
...
38 ... and he baptized him.
39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more.
-- God provides for the "man on the deserted island"
22 Who said: Cornelius, a centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and having good testimony from all the nation of the Jews, received an answer of an holy angel, to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.
...
47 Then Peter answered: Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Ghost, as well as we?
Commentary: Such may be the grace of God occasionally towards men, and such their great charity and contrition, that they may have remission, justification, and sanctification, before the external sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and penance be received... but here we also learn one necessary lesson, that such, notwithstanding, must needs receive the sacraments appointed by Christ, which whosoever contemneth, can never be justified.
-- Saint Augustine, Sup. Levit. q. 84, T. 4.
...in the days of Noe... eight souls, were saved by water. Whereunto baptism, being of the like form, now saveth you also.
What of those who "desired" to be in the ark... they perished!
One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
Thus, there are not three Lords, three faiths or three baptisms.
And there are three that give testimony on earth: the spirit and the water and the blood. And these three are one.
The spirit, and the water, and the blood... As the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, all bear witness to Christ’s divinity; so the spirit, which he yielded up, crying out with a loud voice upon the cross; and the water and blood that issued from his side, bear witness to his humanity, and are one; that is, all agree in one testimony.
I believe in one God...
We acknowledge one baptism...
...
So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet there are not three Gods, but one God.
So likewise, the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Ghost is Lord. And yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord.
...
...
There is to us one, and but one, baptism; as well according to the Lord's Gospel as according to the apostle's letters.
...
When thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find Him, yet so if thou seek Him with all thy heart.
...for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the thoughts of minds. If thou seek him, thou shalt find him: but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
That was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world.
..to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, NOR OF THE WILL OF MAN, but of God.
In the eighth book of Augustine's City of God, where among other things it is written, 'Baptism is ministered invisibly to one whom not contempt of religion but death excludes.' --Quote from: Innocent II
The Blessed Virgin Mary received water baptized from Jesus.
Saint Peter received water baptized from Jesus.
The Apostles were baptized with water by Saint Peter.
If the Immaculate Conception required baptism (to become a child of God), can you still say that others do not require it?
I think that the first (the animal or bestial, according to whether they are foolish or wicked) will have to suffer punishment, not only for their other sins, but also for their contempt of Baptism. The second group (no reverence for Baptism) will also be punished, but less because it was not through wickedness as much as through foolishness that they brought about their own failure. The third group (honor Baptism but delay, though they desire it) will be neither glorified nor punished by the just Judge; for though unsealed they are not wicked. They are not so much wrong-doers as person who have suffered a loss... If you are able to judge a man who intends to commit murder solely by his intention and without there having been any act of murder, then you can likewise reckon as baptized one who desired Baptism wihtout having received Baptism. But if you cannot do the former, how the latter? I cannot see it. If you prefer, we will put it like this: if in your opinion desire has equal power with actual Baptism, then make the same judgement in regard to glory. You will then be satisfied to long for glory, as if that longing itself were glory. Do you suffer any damage by not attaining the actual glory, as long as you have a desire for it?
-- The Faith of the Early Fathers, #1012
"Well enough," some will say, "for those who ask for Baptism; but what do you have to say about those who are still children, and aware neither of loss nor of grace? Shall we baptize them too?" Certainly, if there is any pressing danger. Better that they be sanctified unaware, than they depart unsealed and uninitiated.
-- The Faith of the Early Fathers, 1012a
Whoever is not loosed by the waters of rebirth remains bound by the first chain of guilt.
-- Moralia, 4
In Baptism, two things are always and necessarily required, namely: the words [Matt. 28:19] and the element [water]... You ought not to doubt that they do not have true Baptism in which one of them is missing.
-- Non ut Apponeres
We believe the way of salvation to be open only to those who are baptized... Men are bound to those things without which they cannot attain salvation... Consequently, it is clear that everyone is bound to be baptized, and that without Baptism there is no salvation.
-- Exposition of the Apostles Creed artical 10.
It firmly believes, professes, and proclaims that those not living within the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews, and heretics and schismatics cannot become participants in eternal life, but will depart "into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels" [Matt. 25:41], unless before the end of life the same have been added to the flock; and that the ecclesiastical body is so strong that only to those remaining in it are the sacraments of the Church of benefit for salvation, and do fastings, almsgiving, and other functions of piety and exercises of Christian service produce eternal reward, and that no one, whatever almsgiving he has practiced, even if he has shed blood for the name of Christ, can be saved, unless he has remained in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church.
-- Denz. #714
Thus, before shedding his blood (Baptism of Blood) he must be Catholic for that act to be rewarded with salvation.
You ask how I prove this (John 3:5)? From the words of the Lord! We can make no exceptions where no distinction is made.
If we, for whatever reason, deny the absoluteness of God's Law concerning the necessity of water Baptism for salvation, or any other defined dogma, then we to excommunicate ourselves by our heresy from Paradise, the Church.
-- Apostolic Exhortation on the Fifth Anniversary of the Closing of Vatican II (1970)
Besides, one baptism which regenerates all who are baptized in Christ must be faithfully confessed by all just as "one God and one faith" (Eph. 4:5), which celebrated in water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit we believe to be commonly the perfect remedy for salvation for adults as for children.
-- #482
Holy baptism, which is the gateway to the spiritual life, holds the first place among all the sacraments; through it we are made members of Christ and of the body of the Church. ... The matter of this sacrament is real and natural water...
-- #696
If anyone shall say that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary for salvation, but are superfluous, and that, although all are not necessary for every individual, without them or without the desire of them through faith alone men obtain from God the grace of justification; let him be anathema.
-- #847 (Session 7, Canon 2 - Sacrament in General)
If anyone says that true and natural water is not necessary for baptism and thus twists into some metaphor the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: 'Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost', let him be anathema.
-- #858 (Session 7, Canon 2 - Sacrament of Baptism)
If anyone says that baptism is optional, that is, not necessary for salvation, let him be anathema.
-- #861 (Session 7, Canon 5 - Sacrament of Baptism)
“The faith which God has revealed has not been proposed like a theory of philosophy, to be elaborated upon by human understanding, but as a divine deposit to be faithfully guarded and infallibly declared. Therefore, that sense of sacred dogmas is to be kept forever which Holy Mother Church has once declared, and it must never be deviated from on the specious pretext of a more profound understanding. Let intelligence, and science, and wisdom increase, but only according to the same dogma, the same sense, the same meaning. If anyone shall have said that there may ever be attributed to the doctrines proposed by the Church a sense which is different from the sense which the Church has once understood and now understands: let him be anathema.”
Dei Filius
When, however, John the Baptist says (Acts 1:5) that the Lord will come who will baptize in the Holy Ghost, and in fire, that is by no means to be understood of the matter of Baptism; but should be applied either to the interior operation of the Holy Ghost, or at least to the miracle performed on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost descended on the Apostles in the form of fire, as was foretold by Christ our Lord in these words: John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence.
It is to be remembered that when saints spoke in favor of Baptism of Desire the time their statements were made was BEFORE they were solemnly defined. Before a doctrine is "codified", or mandated for the faithful to believe, it is open for discussion. In no way does this freedom assume the doctrine was not held by the Church, but that it is being CLEARLY stated for all to understand. Henceforth, no one may believe or theorize otherwise.
...this seems very bold language, but I only say that it is the Lord's, not mine. In confirmation of it, consider the story of Cornelius ... the Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius and his friends, just as He had fallen on the Apostles at Pentecost: they began praising God in tongues and prophesying. Yet, notice: even though they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit, Peter gave orders that they were to be baptized with water, so that they would be incorporated into the Body of Christ, which is His Church... Everyone who desires to be saved must receive Baptism.
-- In his Catechetical Lectures (III, pg:33)
How, then, are we to be made like to God? For, what is being a Christian but being made like to God, even as far as nature can receive the likeness? But how can you put on Christ unless you receive the mark of Christ, unless you receive His Baptism?
-- In his Oration on the Word Made Flesh (page 46)
It is obvious that we must grieve for our own catechumens should they, either through their own unbelief or through the neglect of their neighbors, depart this life without the saving grace of Baptism.
-- On the Consolation of Death (II, SS IV: 363, col.2)
Occasionally the grace of God towards men may be such that ... they may have remission, justification, and sanctification prior to the external reception of the Sacraments. However ... such persons must necessarily receive the Sacraments.
-- On Christian Doctinre (II)
God does not abandon the Just unless they first abandon Him.
-- Blessing at Final Profession - Poor sisters of Nazareth, London: Webberly, Ltd., Ecclesiastical Printers, 1985, p7
Those who are sanctified in the womb indeed receive grace which cleanses them from Original Sin, but they do not therefore receive the Character by which they are conformed to Christ. Consequently, if anyone were sanctified in the womb now, they would need to be baptized in order to be conformed to the other members of Christ by receiving the Character.
-- Summa Theologica (Q.68, art.1, obj.3)
In the country of Neyll, a King Echu allowed St. Patrick to receive his beloved daughter Cynnia as a nun, though he bewailed the fact that his royal line would thereby end without issue. The king exacted a promise from Patrick not to insist that he be baptized, yet to promise him the heavenly kingdom. Patrick agreed, and left the matter in the hands of God. Sometime later King Echu lay dying. He sent a messenger to St. Patrick to tell him he desired Baptism and the heavenly kingdom. To those around him the King gave an order that he not be buried until Patrick came. Patrick, then in the monastery of Saballum, two days' journey away, knew of the situation through the Holy Spirit before the messenger even arrived. He left to go to the King, but arrived to find Echu dead. St. Patrick revived the King, instructed him, and baptized him. He asked Echu to relate what he had seen of the joys of the just and the pains of the wicked, so that his account could be used for the proving of Patrick's preaching. Echu told of many other-world wonders and of how, in the heavenly country, he had seen the place that Patrick promised him. But the King could not enter in because he was unbaptized. Then St. Patrick asked Echu if he would rather live longer in this world, or go to the place prepared for him in the heavenly kingdom. The King answered that all the world had was emptiest smoke compared to the celestial joys. Then having received the Eucharist, he fell asleep in the Lord.
-- Raised from the Dead, True Stories of 400 Resurrection Miracles, by Fr. Albert J. Hebert, S. M.
A person was raised from the dead just to be baptized. Story from the life of St. Peter Claver."The affair of the slave Augustina, who served in the house of Captain Vincente de Villalobos, was one of the strangest in the life of Claver...When Augustina was in her last agony Villalobos went in search of Claver. When the latter arrived the body was already being prepared for the shroud and he found it cold to the touch. His expresion suddenly changed and he amazed everyone by crying aloud, "Augustina, Augustina." He sprinkled her with holy water, he knelt by her, and prayed for an hour. Suddenly the supposedly dead woman began to move...All fell on their knees. Augustina stared at Claver, and as if awakening from a deep sleep said, "Jesus, Jesus, how tired I am!" Claver told her to pray with all her heart and repent her sins, but those standing by, moved by curiosity, begged him to ask her where she came from. He did so, and she said these words: "I am come from journeying along a long road. It was a beautiful road, and after I had gone a long way down it I met a white man of great beauty who stood before me and said, 'Stop, you cannot go further.' I asked him what I should do, and he replied, 'Go back the way you have come, to the house you have left.' This I have done, but I cannot tell how." On hearing this Claver told them all to leave the room and leave him alone with her because he wished to hear her confession. He prepared her and told her that complete confession of her sins was of immense importance if she wanted to enter that paradise of which she had had a glimpse. She obeyed him, and as he heard her confession it became clear to Claver that she was not baptized. He straightway ordered water to be brought, and a candle and a crucifix. Her owners answered that they had had Augustina in their house for twenty years and that she behaved in all things like themselves. She had gone to confession, to Mass, and performed all her Christian duties, and therefore she did not need Baptism, nor could she receive it. But Claver was certain that they were wrong and insisted, baptizing her in the presence of all, to the great delight of her soul and his, for a few minutes after she had received the sacraments she died in the presence of the whole family."
-- Peter Claver: Saint of the Slaves, Fr. Angel Valltiera, S.J., Burns and Oates, London, 1960, pp. 221,222.
A story of St. Martin of Tours and the catechumen, as told by his disciple Suplicius Severus:
"Near Poitiers he installed himself in an anchorite's cell and was at once joined by a catechumen who was anxious to improve himself by the teaching of such a holy man. A few days later this catechumen fell sick of a violent attack of fever. It fell out that Martin was then absent. On his return at the end of three days he found a corpse. Death had come so suddenly that the unhappy man had not been able to receive Baptism before departing out of this world. Around the dead body the brethren were sadly employed in celebrating the funeral rites, when Martin hurriedly approached weping and lamenting. Inspired by the Holy Ghost, he causes all present to leave the cell in which the body lies. As soon as the door is close, he stretches himself upon the lifeless body of his dead brother. Absorbed for a long time in prayer, he feels the mercy of God is active by the intervention of the Holy Ghost. He raises himself slightly, his eyes fixed on the face of the dead man, awaiting with confidence the results of his prayer and of the mercy of the Lord. Hardly two hours have passed, when he sees the dead man slightly stir in all his limbs and with half-opened eyes blinked at the light. Then, with a loud voice did Martin render thanks to the Lord; the sound of his thanksgiving filled the cell. On hearing him, those who were waiting outside the door rushed in to behold a wonderful sight, for they saw alive the one whom they had left a corpse."
"Thus restored to life the catechumen at once received Baptism and lived several years longer. He was the first among us to experience the might of Martin's virtue, and to bear witness to the same. Above all he loved to relate how, when free of the body, he had been led before the tribunal of the Judge. There he heard pronounced over him the dismal sentence relegating him to the infernal regions with the unredeemed; at which two angels interceded for him with the Judge, saying that this was the man for whom Martin was praying."
"As a consequence, these same angels were commanded to conduct him back to earth; they therefore restored him to Martin and re-established him in his former existence. From thenceforth glory shone round the name of the Blessed One, who indeed was already holy the the sight of all, but was now seen to be also powerful and truly apostolic."
-- St. Martin of Tours. The Chronicles of Suplicius Severus, done into English from the French of Paul Monceaux by Mary Caroline Watt, Benziger Brothers, New York, pp. 105, 106.
I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart on your reception into the Catholic Church, outside which there is no salvation. . . . The Church is only one, and this one true Church is the congregation of men bound together by the profession of the same Christian Faith, and by the communion of the same Sacraments, under the rule of the legitimate pastors and especially under the one Vicar of Christ on earth, the Roman Pontiff. From this definition, it can easily be ascertained which men belong to the Church and which do not. For there are three parts to this definition:
- the profession of the true Faith,
- the communion of the Sacraments,
- and subjection to the legitimate Pastor, the Pope.
By reason of the first part, all infidels are excluded, as well as those who have never been in the Church, such as Jews, Mohammedans, and pagans, and such as have been in the Church but fallen away, such as heretics and apostates.
By reason of the second part, catechumens and excommunicates are excluded, because the former are not to be admitted to the communion of the Sacraments and the latter have been cut off from them.
By reason of the third part, schismatics are excluded, who have faith and sacraments, but are not subject to the lawful Pastor, the Roman Pontiff; therefore, they profess faith and receive Sacraments outside the Church.
-- taken from Fr. Claude Williamson's book Letters From The Saints
A Not-So-Ignorant Native"They held council, in the Huron fashion, and each of the natives who sought baptism was called upon to argue his position.
"Ahatsistari addressed them thus: 'I have the Faith deep down in my heart... In two days, I am departing on the warpath. If I am killed in the battle, tell me: where will my soul go if you refuse me baptism? If you saw into my heart as clearly as the great Master of our lives, I would already be numbered among the Christians; and the fear of the flames of hell would not accompany me, now that I am about to face death. I cannot baptize myself. All that I can do is to declare with utmost honesty the desire that I have for it. After I do that, if my soul be burned in hell, you will bear the guilt of it. Whatever you may decide to do, however, I will always pray to God, since I know him. Perhaps He will have mercy on me, for you say that He is wiser than you are.'
"'What made you first think of believing in God,' one of the Fathers questioned him.
"'Even before you came into this country,' Ahatsistari responded, 'I had escaped from a great many perils in which my comrades were killed. I saw very clearly that it was not I who saved myself from these dangers. I had the thought that some spirit, most powerful and unknown to me, was favorable to me and aided me. We peoples attribute all of our good fortune to dreams. But I was convinced that all that was only nonsense. Still, I did not know much about it. When I heard of the greatness of the God whom you preach, and of what Jesus Christ had done while He was on earth, I recognized him as the being who had preserved me. I was resolved to honor Him all my life. When I went to war, I recommended myself to Him night and morning. It is to Him that all my victories are due. He it is in whom I believe. I ask you for baptism so that He may have pity on me after my death.'" (Ahatsistari was solemnly baptized and was given the name Eustace.)
-- Fr. Francis Talbot S. J. Saint Among Savages, pp. 185-6
The Catechism of Trent teaches that the Sacrament of Baptism is necessary for everyone without any exception, and that it can never be confected of any matter other than natural water on account whatever.
-- CAW
We must be fully persuaded that, in order to obtain eternal salvation, it is not sufficient to wish to be saved; but we must use the means which have been left us by Jesus Christ.
-- PFD 407
A Baptism-of-Desire Catholic is not a member of the Church. He cannot be prayed for after death as one of "the faithful departed." Were he to be revived immediately after death — were he to come to life again — he would not be allowed to receive the Holy Eucharist or any of the other Sacraments until he was baptized by water. Now, if he can get into the Church Triumphant without Baptism of Water, it is strange that he cannot get into the Church Militant without it.
Baptism of desire and of blood are called such by analogy because they resemble Baptism of water in some ways but not in others. They may infuse sanctifying grace, but they do not impress the baptismal character upon the soul. Thus, they do not incorporate the recipient with Christ or make him a member of the Catholic Church, outside of which there is no salvation.
In the Old Testament, Baptism was pre-figured by circumcision.
-- Denz. #410
If there is salvation outside the Church, it automatically follows that...Therefore, why would anyone want or need to be a Catholic? The visible, incarnational Church of Christ — the "City on a Hill" — will have outlived her usefulness for all men, and will, like an old soldier, just fade away.
- the Pope is not infallible, because the three Popes who solemnly defined the dogma were in error; therefore,
- all past Papal and Conciliar teachings and definitions are not infallible and may be accepted or rejected at will, thus stripping the Church of her authority; therefore,
- the sacraments of the Church are not necessary for salvation, but may be accepted or rejected at will, thus plunging the world deeper and deeper into sin; therefore,
- the sacrament of Baptism is not necessary for salvation but may be accepted or rejected at will, thus depriving the visible Church of her only means for maintaining organic growth in membership and structure; and
- an ordained priesthood is not necessary to confect and administer the sacraments because they are not only invisible, but are available to everybody by "desire." therefore,
- neither an ordained clergy nor a hierarchical structure are necessary because the "Church" is now an invisible entity and membership by Baptism in the visible Church is not necessary for salvation; the need for an authoritarian, hierarchical structure no longer exists!