|
Hi Brady,
The are a few misperceptions your Protestants friends have and other reasons everyone should become Catholic.
Depending on the denomination that you and your father have come
from, there are some Protestant denominations
that do have valid Baptisms. There are three things that make a Baptism valid. The one baptizing has to have:
- the intent to do what the Catholic Church does
- use the correct matter: flowing water that he pours on the candidate's
head while saying:
- using the correct form (words):
I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
The Church has a list of Protestant denominations whose baptisms they accept. If the pastor, priest, or deacon baptizing is unsure the Church would administer a conditional baptism.
The priest will preface the words of Baptism as follows:
Brady, if you have not been baptized, I baptize you, in the
Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Your friends said:
Since the Catholic Church accepts
your baptism and considers you saved, why would you go to
the trouble of upsetting your life and joining the Catholics
since it's not a salvation issue?
They have a misunderstood of the teaching Outside the Church there is no salvation. It states:
- 846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated
by the Church Fathers?
Re-formulated positively, it means that
all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which
is his Body:
Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches
that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for
salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way
of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church.
He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith
and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the
necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through
a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that
the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ,
would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.
847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault
of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:
Those who, through no fault of their own, do
not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless
seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their
actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates
of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation. 848 "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those
who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel,
to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the
Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize
all men." (Vatican II, Ad Gentes 7; cf. Hebrews 11:6; 1 Corinthians 9:16) |
If your Protestant friends do all they can through the dictates
of their conscience, without bias, and look into the historical foundations
of their faith, they would see that their denomination was founded
by the traditions of men not by [God/Jesus] Himself.
Another issue that has to be addressed is the Blessed Sacrament
of the Eucharist. Protestants are rightly encouraged to accept Jesus into their heart as Personal Lord and Savior but Catholics go way beyond that. As Catholics we have the most personal relationship
with Our Lord than any other Protestant can have: we really receive his Body,
Blood, Soul and Divinity, and in doing so, partake in the divine nature
of Jesus Himself — really! It would be great of our Protestant brethren could partake in the divine nature of Jesus, as well, but this is impossible because there is no Protestant denomination that has valid Holy Orders. Holy Orders is the sacrament Our Lord instituted on Holy Thursday which makes a mere man a priest who can offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and, in doing so, consecrate Bread and Wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. Because no Protestant denomination has valid Holy Orders, there is no Real Presence in any of their congregations.
In addition, when we receive the Eucharist and say Amen (meaning so
be it) we are not only saying we believe in the Real Presence
of Jesus in the Eucharist, but we are also saying that we believe all the Catholic Church
teaches because it was founded on St. Peter and his successors by
Jesus, who is God, and God can neither deceive, nor be deceived.
Your friends appear to be falling into the eternal security salvation
theology. This basically states that once you proclaim Jesus as your
Lord and Savior, you cannot loose your salvation.
This is incorrect
theology. In most Protestant denominations, salvation
is a static, one time, imputed process.
In Catholic theology justification and salvation are dynamic on-going processes based solely on pure grace — a free gift from God that we receive. The
post-baptismal choices we make are choices that lead us to Heaven
or lead us to Hell.
- But what if we make a big mistake in our lives?
We get re-justified through the Sacrament of Confession Jesus established: (John 20:19-23)
This is what the Catechism states on Faith and Baptism:
Faith and Baptism
1253 Baptism is the sacrament of faith. (cf. Mark 16:16) But faith needs the
community of believers. It is only within the faith of the Church
that each of the faithful can believe. The faith required for Baptism
is not a perfect and mature faith, but a beginning that is called
to develop. The catechumen or the godparent is asked: "What
do you ask of God's Church?" The response is: "Faith!"
1254 For all the baptized, children or adults, faith must grow
after Baptism. For this reason the Church celebrates each year
at the Easter Vigil the renewal of baptismal promises. Preparation
for Baptism leads only to the threshold of new life. Baptism is
the source of that new life in Christ from which the entire Christian
life springs forth.
1255 For the grace of Baptism to unfold, the parents' help is
important. So too is the role of the godfather and godmother, who
must be firm believers, able and ready to help the newly baptized
- child or adult on the road of Christian life. (cf. Code of Canon Law, canons 872-874) Their task is
a truly ecclesial function (officium). (cf. Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium 67) The whole ecclesial community
bears some responsibility for the development and safeguarding
of the grace given at Baptism. |
Hope this helps,
Mike
|
