1259 For catechumens who die before their Baptism, their explicit desire to receive it, together with repentance for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation that they were not able to receive through the sacrament.
This one is really weak. It wiggles more than Jell-O.
I guess I'm really dumb and actually I'm quite sure I should not be venturing into these waters, no pun intended.
However, if any of you experts would be so kind perhaps you can firm this up for me.
Since when has the Church been in the business of assuring salvation to anyone outside of canonized Saints?
What is the definition for repentance? I'm assuming this is a repentance that does not include the Sacrament of Penance. I could go on and on here, but let's just picture an 18 year old who doesn't even have a clue about what constitutes sin and just joined the RCIA program because a friend convinced him or her to join without giving a whole lot of thought to the matter.
Charity is pretty understandable. But what is charity without works? Are we ditching that one too. As it is written in the Gospel of St. Luke:
Let your loins be girt, and lamps burning in your hands.
Read the sermon by Saint Gregory in the Common of Confessors in the Breviary. There are so many Confessors in the Liturgical Year that this one has been drilled in my head.
St. Gregory said,
The Lord saith: Let your loins be girded about. We gird our loins about when by continency we master the lustful inclination of the flesh. But it is of small profit to abstain from evil unless we also strive right earnestly to do good works. Therefore the Lord added that we should keep our lights burning, that is, by good works should give a good example to our neighbour; concerning which the Lord saith: Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Certainly the Apostle talks about Faith being dead without Works. Of course he also says that Faith and Works are dead without Charity. With Charity being most important. But again, Charity like Repentance, is not sufficiently defined.
Isn't Baptism only a means to Salvation that really only wipes away Original Sin and results in Justification? And if that is true, why is there such a concept as Baptism of Desire in the first place? The definition itself is lacking and seems to be used in a way that really means something quite different and that would be using the words 'Baptism of Desire' to truly mean Salvation of Desire.
Of course this definition is completely inadequate. However, it does use Church of Nice speak to give the impression that one of the best possible statuses to insure eternity in Heaven is to be a Catechumen who dies immediately following registration in some modernist RCIA class.
And as I pointed out it denies the necessity of every Sacrament the Church dispenses; Baptism, Penance, Eucharist, and possibly marriage in the case of those seeking Baptism after a marriage that is not recognized.
Silly me, I seem to be way too worried about maintaining Final Perseverance in the Holy Catholic Faith and pray that I have a death bed to partake of the Sacraments and have Last Rites.
The Feeneyites are right. It gets dicey around Baptism with Blood. And it's a damn shame they couldn't finesse their position to keep doing the works they were doing in converting Harvard elites.
Like I always said, life isn't fair and if anyone of us dies with a mortal sin on our soul we don't make it. We are owed nothing, even though we have been given everything. This line from the Catechism sounds exactly like Father Baron saying we can have a reasonable hope that no one goes to Hell.
Topic: Source Lists for Baptism of Desire (Read 2993 times)