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What if someone has an active intention to receive baptism and yet still chooses to persist in or cling to a sin?Can such a person be baptized? The answer depends on what we mean by “can.” If by “can” we mean, “Will the person be validly baptized?”, then the answer is yes. Aquinas teaches that such a baptism would be valid insofar as it communicates the “seal” or “indelible mark” mentioned in previous chapters (cf. CCC 1 …

Grandparents often find themselves wondering if they are permitted to baptize their grandchild when his parent doesn’t want him baptized. And not just grandparents, but also caring individuals. I’ve had folks ask me this question countless times. It demands a thorough response. Let’s start with what we shouldn’t do: baptize the child in secret. The Code of Canon Law (CIC) states that “for an infant to be baptized licitly . . . the pare …

Let's take a look at the differences between the Catholic and Protestant understanding of the Sacrament of Confession. If Protestantism is true, the power that Jesus gave men to forgive sins died with the apostles.  For Protestants, it seems clear from the New Testament that God forgives sin directly, without agents or intermediaries. The whole point of Jesus’ becoming man, after all, was to reveal to us that we now had direct access to God. Matthew’s Gospel describes …

The Leadership Roles in the Old Covenant In establishing his covenant with the Israelites, God also established three different leadership roles: priests, prophets, and kings. The role of the Israelite priests was to offer sacrifices as God described to Moses and his brother Aaron; Aaron and his descendants were to be the priests. The prophets were God’s spokesmen; he commissioned them to proclaim his laws and to warn the Israelites of the consequences when they violated these laws Beginn …

The vast majority of Christians believe that baptism is a means of salvation—Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, and even some Calvinists. Only Baptists and those springing from the radical side of the Reformation reject this.On the part of Catholics, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that baptism is “necessary for salvation” because “God has bound salvation to the sacrament” and that the Church “does not know of any means other than bapti …