|
Another important distinction regarding Catholic baptism/christening is that it is "washing away" the original sin that the Roman Catholic church believes we are born with (because of Adam and Eve). That is why they feel it is important for infants to be baptized. That way, if they pass away before willingly committing themselves to a Christian/Catholic life, they are still accepting into heaven. As others have said, Confirmation is when the person is old enough to accept the Holy Spirit into their lives being knowledgable about what they are doing.
The "original sin" idea is controversial and is one of the things that people can't fathom. How can an innocent baby be sinful?
I was baptized Catholic but wasn't raised Catholic and chose to go through the sacraments of Reconciliation, Communion and Confirmation after I graduated from college. I had gone to every church I could find while in college to find where I felt most comfortable and chose Catholicism. I admit though, I don't believe that God would send a baby to Hell because it wasn't Baptized.
Also, Catholics repeat the ritual with water each time they enter the church. There are fountains or bowls of Holy Water and we "cross ourselves" with the water each time to remind us of our Baptisms. There are also other times during the year, particularly at Easter where the Priest dips a broom type thing into Holy Water and shakes it over each row in the church to remind us of our Baptism.
There were several people in my RCIA (Ritual for Christian Initiation of Adults.. the Catholic conversion process) who were baptized into other faiths and the Catholic church recognizes those Baptisms. The reason that others cannot take Communion in the Catholic church is because most other denominations (all?) take Communion as symbolic whereas Catholics believe that the bread and wine are transfigured into the body and blood of Christ during the mass. They feel it is important that the recipient of the Eucharist understands and believes this.
Dee
|
Threaded Mode