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I am a Catholic and still in the process of
learning more. I have read your answers about
Baptism and have another question.
Why do Catholics say that one should be baptized eight days after birth?
In Christ,
Monica
{
Why do Catholics say that one should be baptized eight days after birth? }
Mike replied:
Hi Monica,
We don't!
What you assert in your question (that one should be baptized eight days after birth) was condemned at the Council of Carthage by St. Cyprian of Carthage in 252 A.D.
Catholics, like all Christians, should baptize their infants very soon after birth because Our
Lord has revealed to us, the necessity of Baptism for salvation. (Mark 16:16) Baptism transforms
an infant from the Old Adam with original sin to the New Adam:
Jesus. Baptism removes original sin from the soul of the baptized [person or infant] and makes them a child of God.
Because of the grave importance and necessity of Baptism and the inability for the
infant to speak for itself, the parent's faith and love for each other, manifested
in the child, is imputed into the child.
This means the parents speak for the child at birth. Later, at Confirmation, the
child ratifies that decision and says,
"Yes to God, and No to Satan." on [his/her] own.
I have appended some additional Scripture passages that support this Catholic teaching. You may also be interested in my Scripture Passages page here:
Some non-Catholic Christians believe that Baptism is necessary and sets
us free from sin. Many others think it is merely a symbol of one's desire
to follow Christ, having no real effect upon the soul. The Catholic Church
teaches that Baptism is both necessary for salvation and regenerative,
causing us to be reborn as children of God. Through Baptism we receive
the life-giving, sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit. This grace wipes
away Original Sin that stains each soul because of the fallen nature we
inherited from Adam and Eve. The Church prescribes Baptism by water in
the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as the normative gateway
to God and his family, the Church. While most Protestants agree the Baptism
is a good idea, many do not believe it is really necessary; and many think
is un-biblical to baptize babies. The Church has baptized
infants from the earliest times and continues to do so today. The Church
also teaches that catechesis must follow Baptism to properly assist the
baptized on his Christian journey. Some fundamentalists believe that the
only acceptable Baptism is by immersion. Both immersion and sprinkling
are acceptable forms of Baptism in the Catholic Church. To learn more about
the Church's teaching on Baptism, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church CCC 1213-1284.
"The Church is the extension of Christ's incarnation,
and that extension takes place through the sacraments" (Scott Hahn
, Swear to God, Page 22)
So by our baptism into his death we were buried
with him, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father's
glorious power, we too should begin living a new life.
So as we go in, let us be sincere in heart and filled
with faith, our hearts sprinkled and free from any trace of bad conscience,
and our bodies washed with pure water.
"It is the baptism corresponding to this water which
saves you now — not the washing off of physical dirt but the pledge of
a good conscience given to God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."
"Baptize first the children; and
if they can speak for themselves, let them do so. Otherwise, let their
parents or other relatives speak for them."
(The Apostolic Tradition
21)
Origen (post 244 A.D.)
"The Church received from the Apostles the tradition
of giving baptism also to infants."
(Commentary on Romans 5, 9)
St. Cyprian of Carthage (252 A.D.)
This council [Council of Carthage] condemned the opinion that infants must wait until the eighth day after
birth to be baptized, as was the case with circumcision.
(St. Cyprian
of Carthage, Letter 64 (59), 2)
Hope this helps,
Mike Humphrey
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