Posted on 06/29/2012 4:31:04 PM PDT by NYer
Following the ancient tradition of the first christians, the priest greets the parents and child at the door of the church (the unbaptized were not allowed into the main body of the church), and began with a Prayer Over The Mother, acknowledging the presentation of her son and asking the Holy Spirit to descend upon her. He then prays over the candidate. He lays his right hand on his head, saying:
O Lord and mighty God, Lord of lords and God of gods, I beseech You on behalf of Your creature, the work of Your hands, this little child who comes to Your holy temple, in order to show forth the mystery You have revealed to us, through the human body You took from our nature as old Semeon held You in his arms;] O Jesus Christ, our Lord, now extend Your divine right hand along with my own hand as Your humble servant and priest, and bless this child. By Your invisible power, sign him with the glorious mark of Your holy cross. Accompany him with Your grace all the days of his life. Enable him to enter Your holy temple and to receive the glorious seal of the holy myron, the pleasant aroma, through which, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and according to Your true promises to us, we become children of God and heirs of His kingdom. For You are our God, to whom we offer glory, now and forever.
The priest then invites the mother to enter the church; he takes the child from her and carrying the child in his arms, enters the church. At this point, Father, with child in arms, knelt before the altar. He then stood up and placed the child on the altar.
The service continues with prayers, hymns, the Trisagion, and readings. Following the reading of the Gospel, the priest seals the candidate with the hand cross, as the Godfather carries him and faces the East.
+ In the great fearsome name of God "I am who I am" who creates and provides for all, + in the wonderful, ever-reigning name of God Almighty, who became man and vanquished the dominion of Satan, who humbled Himself by His own will, embraced death on the wooden cross and redeemed Adam and his children from the slavery of sin, I sign and seal this lamb, who came to be a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Then, the celebrant asks the candidate and sponsors to face West and to renounce Satan. After this, the congregation is then asked to face East, as the profess their faith. Following this ceremony, the child is then anointed with the Oil of Catechumens. After this. the child is then baptized "a lamb in the flock of Christ."
Lastly, the child receives the Mystery of Anointing (Confirmation).
With the myron of Christ our God,
sweet fragrance of the true faith,
seal and fullness of the grace
of the heavenly Spirit.
N., the servant of God, is sealed
in the name of the + Father,
and of the + Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
AmenIn the Concluding Prayer, the priest asks God to enlighten the heart of His servant who has just been received in baptism. He also asks the Lord to "show compassion, to redeem and save all those who turn to You."In his homily, the priest admonished the parents and godparents, reminding them that on the day of Judgement, they will not be asked to which school they sent their child or what brand of car was gifted to him but rather, how they upheld and instructed the child in his faith.
Baptist(because we are mentioned) ping
As my 9 year old taught me, the thief on the cross was never baptized and yet He went to paradise that day with Jesus.
A PERFECT Act of Contrition. Or I have heard some call it a Baptism of Blood.
"Baptism Now Saves You" - Nuts & Bolts - Tim Staples
Catholic Biblical Apologetics: Baptism: Initiation and Regeneration
Are Catholics “Born Again?”
Baptizing infants, Pope speaks of 'adventure of being disciples'
Celebrate Your Birthday in the Church
Infant Baptism
Once a Catholic . . . (and part 2) . . . The Chicken's Questions
How Soon Should a Baby be Baptized?
Baptismal Complexes- The Sacrament of Baptism, Part 2
The Catechism of St. Thomas Aquinas BAPTISM
Beginning Catholic: The Sacrament of Baptism: Gateway to New Life [Ecumenical]
Converted Muslim Tells Story Behind Papal Baptism
What You [Catholics] Need to Know: Baptism [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 20: The Sacrament of Baptism
Baptism and the Usus Antiquior (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
Justified by Baptism (fallout from the Beckwith conversion grows)
The Million-Dollar Infant Baptism
Mystical Baptism and Limbo
The Early Church Fathers on Baptism - Catholic/Orthodox Caucus
A Critique of a Critique (On Baptism by Immersion)
Catholics, Reformed Christian Churches sign document recognizing common baptism
The baby stays on the altar all that time? Doesn’t it cry or roll over or anything?
Kathleen was baptized at three weeks old, and there was another baby at the same Mass. It turned out the other couple had an older child baptized the same day as Frank, our previous one!
All my children have been baptised as infants, and my 2 oldest so far have chosen to be baptised again. This is their public display of faith and obedience to God thru Christ.
As for the rest of this article, it's the usual Catholic rubbish that I'm seen on this issue dozens of times before. Appealing to 3rd century authorities (which we don't even know were really majority viewpoints, anywise) as if they were apostolic, while taking verses of Scripture completely out of context while redacting later Catholic doctrine back into them.
Might convince those who are already Catholic, but not very persuasive to anyone who actually knows anything about the Scriptures.
There is no biblical instance of child baptism. All the baptisms that were done were done for willing believers. The author quotes Luke chapter 18 to claim that Jesus was baptizing babies, but let’s quote it and also passages from the other gospels regarding the same incident.
Luk 18:15-16 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. (16) But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
Mat 19:13-14 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. (14) But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
Luk 18:15-16 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. (16) But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
It was a practice of the Jews to have their children touched and blessed by the Rabbi. Jesus was not baptizing babies like the Catholics do. He was touching and blessing them.
Now, as for the claim that baptism is required for salvation, the first thing that comes to mind is the Thief on the cross. The statement by Christ over and over again is that one must have faith in Him in order to be saved. This is a message reinforced constantly, from prayer to healings to even raising men from the dead. “Your faith has made thee whole.” Comparatively, there is no emphasis on Baptism as a means to salvation. One would think if it was absolutely necessary, it would be mentioned every time Christ brought the subject of salvation up. Instead, the emphasis is always on the inner man, the heart, and while baptism is a physical act and a sign, it does not spiritually cleanse you from sin. Salvation is an instantaneous act, and obedience a sign of that new born fruit within you.
John 11
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
Rom. 3:22, “even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction.”
Rom. 3:26, “for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
Rom. 3:28, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”
Rom. 4:5, “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness.”
Rom. 5:1, “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Gal. 3:8, “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham.”
Gal. 3:24 , “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.”
Eph. 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
1Co 1:17-18 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. (18) For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
Catholics make everything mechanical, as if by performing these rituals they are somehow making themselves holy. They ignore the core of the message and the real spirit of Christ which demands worshipers in spirit and in truth, not men who are obsessed with the outward appearance. “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel.”
As my 9 year old taught me, the thief on the cross was never baptized and yet He went to paradise that day with Jesus.
______________________________________________
Yes, the grace of our Lord is boundless, but did you explore with your daughter whether the thief may not have wound up on a cross if the Holy Spirit had been bestowed on him as a infant.
I can almost guarantee you that some Catholic will try to appeal to I Peter 3:21 to disprove you.
Which would only demonstrate how little they understand the verse, in context.
The verse makes it clear ("not the putting away of the filth of the flesh") that baptism doesn't "wash away sins" (flesh means more than just the body, but "fleshiness," contraposed to godliness or spirituality, as Paul often used it.)
Baptism is also referred to as a "figure" (the LIKE figure, indicating that both the example of Noah, as well as baptism, are types, or pictures, of the cleansing that comes through Christ) - it is a typology indicated to convey the efficacy of something else other than it, itself.
What baptism pictures is explicitly told to us - the resurrection of Christ, see also Romans 6:4, Col. 2:12. Baptism is a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ being played out or identified with in the life of the believer who has put his or her trust in Christ (note: this picture also suggests that the Scriptural pattern for baptism is bodily immersion, not sprinkling, anointing, christening, etc.) A person is saved by trusting in the the saving work of Christ. Baptism is a picture of this, just as Noah in the ark was a typological picture of the external demonstration of his faith in God - i.e., all the world can see Noah had faith, because he was the one God used to build the ark, and which god used to rescue him and his family. Likewise, a believer who submits to believer's baptism is showing openly their faith in God.
No offence, but how many Mafioso, Mexican cartel members, and other vicious criminal types were "baptised" as babies? So much for this bestowal of the Holy Spirit.
“Unless you are baptized by the Holy Spirit, you shall not enter the Kingdom of God>”
Not just a water baptism, but a baptism of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit just as recorded in Matthew when Jesus gave instruction to the apostles and disciples gathered before his Ascension into heaven.
**There is no biblical instance of child baptism. **
Paul baptized several households, Lydias is one I remember, and the children were also baptized. I’m sure there were infants.
There are a couple of other households for an example here...and it IS in the Bible!
“whether the thief may not have wound up on a cross if the Holy Spirit had been bestowed on him as a infant.”
That’s pretty hypothetical, since he was born long before Pentecost, isn’t it? Pretending he wasn’t, though, what is the point?
Does baptism keep us from sinning, or committing crimes? Are there no baptized Catholics or other Christians who end up in jail?
I can say for myself, I was baptized as an infant, in the Catholic Church, and I committed quite a few acts that might have landed me in the pokey if I had been caught. Maybe it was the baptism that helped me get away with it?
Nowadays, I’m not much of a criminal, except perhaps in a few instances of civil disobedience. What changed my ways wasn’t baptism, but faith in Christ.
From “I’m sure there were infants” to a dogma of the Catholic Church which contradicts scripture. That’s a strong leap.
Your post talked about children. Are you saying that Lydia didn’t have children in her household?
“Your post talked about children. Are you saying that Lydia didn’t have children in her household?”
And what does this have to do with proving by scripture that babies are sprinkled by water to receive the Holy Spirit? If there was a baby in the household, there is no reason to think it was baptized, as baptism was something that only occurred after a confession of Christ as Lord and Savior. It was the first act of obedience, but a baby cannot even make the first step. There are no scriptures which justify the idea that we are cleansed of sin by being baptized or sprinkled with water.
You are asking me to comment on babies being baptized which was never recorded in the scripture. How about you address MY scriptures and make a biblical case for child baptism?
Repent and be baptized. Not the other way around.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.