Baptism is the first of the three sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist). Being baptized makes one a Catholic and initiates one into the life of grace. Upon being baptized, the Christian receives the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Although people ought to grow in these virtues after receiving them, they cannot acquire them first on their own in any way. They are (as all grace is) an unmerited, free gift from God. However, receiving other types of virtues involves our cooperation with God’s grace. Receiving the theological virtues by cooperation is impossible. They are the Lord’s total gift. We say these virtues are infused (infudere) into the soul at Baptism.
Baptism removes the eternal effect of Original Sin (Hell), though the temporal effect remains (concupiscence – a tendency to commit sin). Baptism saves and it is of utmost importance that people are baptized in order to receive salvation.
Ordinarily, a priest or deacon would confer the sacrament. He is the ordinary minister of it. However, in exceptional circumstances, a lay Catholic, man or woman, may confer the sacrament by using the proper formula: “N., I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” This may happen in situations such as when someone may be on the verge of death and may not live long enough to see a priest.
For a Baptism to be valid, the celebrant must immerse the recipient in water, or pour water over the head of the baptizee, or sprinkle the baptizee with water, three times, while reciting the formula in the preceding paragraph. But what if there is no water nearby, or if someone desires to be baptized but nobody else is around? There are two other modes of the Sacrament of Baptism which would clear up issues in these situations.
The first alternative method of receiving the sacrament is referred to as “Baptism by Blood.” This means that one who dies a martyr’s death (for the sake of the Faith) would receive the graces of Baptism (and so be saved since they would have no chance to sin afterwards). The second alternative method is “Baptism by Desire.” This is if one ardently desires to be baptized, though there is no other Christian and/or water where he or she is. Both of these methods are not the primary mode of receiving the sacrament. Both of them imply that the baptizee could not receive Baptism according to the regular rite (water and the formula and a valid minister) before they died. If one ardently desiring Baptism survives to be able to receive Baptism according to the optimal manner, he ought to. (Acting otherwise would question whether he genuinely desired Baptism in the first place.)
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Provisional Baptism
Anyone baptized in any Christian community, according to the proper formula and immersion/pouring water, the Church recognizes them as having received the sacrament. However, non-Catholic Christians converting to Catholic Christianity in more recent times are unsure if they have been validly baptized. Even such a seemingly small change as using “we” instead of “I” in the formula would invalidate the sacrament. Thus, those Protestant and non-Catholic Christians of other denominations, seeking to enter the Catholic Church, must receive a Provisional Baptism. The formula would add “If you are not yet baptized” before the normal formula. This is done to ensure that a person does not receive the Sacrament of Baptism more than once.
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Baptism leaves an indelible mark on the soul, meaning that the baptizee will forever be “baptized,” even if he or she becomes a mass murderer. However, the person can still lose his or her salvation if he commits mortal sin and remains unrepentant to death.
Because of the sacrament’s indelible mark, the person cannot be baptized again. A second Baptism is sacrilegious because it assumes that the first, valid Baptism was not a true Baptism. Therefore, to make sure one is not “re-baptized,” they are provisionally baptized.
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Objections
Some people will object to Baptism by pouring because they think that Scripture forbids it. In the New Testament, the Greek word baptizo is used for Baptism. This word can mean “to immerse,” leading some to say that Baptism by immersion is the only valid form of Baptism. But while several centuries before Christ became man, baptizo strictly or at least mostly implied immersion, by New Testament times it could meaning immersing or pouring/washing. Therefore, Baptism by pouring is a valid form of Baptism.
There are also groups, such as the Baptists, who believe receiving multiple baptisms is good. We have already discussed why being baptized more than once is impermissible.
Others will claim that infant Baptism (paedobaptism) is impermissible because there is no biblical precedent for it. In fact, there is precedent, such as in Acts 16:31-33. However, we also know from Sacred Tradition that paedobaptism is not only permissible, but is a great good. Depriving an infant of Baptism is potentially depriving him of eternal salvation. Moreover, all the Church fathers (saints from the 1st through 8th centuries who clarified much about the Faith) agree that paedobaptism is permissible. We also have no records of conflicts regarding the practice within the early Church. From the beginning of Christianity, Christians practiced infant Baptism.
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Other Situations
What happens to people who live a moral life, but who never encounter Christianity, and who thus are never baptized? Can they be saved? The Church says they can be saved, provided they lived a saintly life in accordance with the graces they received. If, through no fault of their own, they were never exposed to the Faith, their never receiving the Sacrament of Baptism will not be held against them. As in all these and similar situations, we cannot judge a person’s soul, but must leave all judgment to God.
What about unborn and newborn babies or month-old children who die before receiving Baptism. They are innocent, yet they have Original Sin on their soul. Additionally, though they did not do anything bad, neither did they do anything good. They never cooperated with God’s grace, but they never had an opportunity to do so. Catholics have wrestled with this question throughout the millennia, but the Church has never issued any formal statement regarding these innocents. Many saintly Catholics have held that “Limbo” exists – a place where such children go, where they cannot receive the Beatific Vision because they were not baptized, but where they do not suffer because they are innocent. However, an infinity not in full communion with God does indeed seem to be a Hell of sorts. Other Catholics hold, therefore, that these souls do go to Heaven. On this side of the veil between Heaven and Earth, we will never know for sure, but neither should the question vex us too much. Rather, we must commend it into God’s hands, trusting that He will make everything work for the best.