Having your baby baptized in the Catholic Church is not optional. It is essential to baptize your baby to remove original sin from his soul, restore him to God's friendship, allow God to dwell in Him, restore sanctifying grace in the soul, and make Heaven possible. There are 5 key reasons to have your baby baptized as soon as possible after birth.
While Baptism was instituted by Christ at His own Baptism by St. John, it was not yet made necessary for salvation until after Our Redeemer’s triumphant Resurrection. At that time, it became necessary for salvation as the Roman Catechism explains: “Holy writers are unanimous in saying that after the Resurrection of our Lord, when He gave to His Apostles the command to go and teach all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost [Matt. 28:19], the law of Baptism became obligatory on all who were to be saved."
The Council of Trent in the 16th century infallibly stated that Baptism is necessary for salvation: "If anyone says that baptism is optional, that is, not necessary for salvation, let him be anathema" (Canons On Baptism, Session VII, Council of Trent). We also hear from Our Lord: "'Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). He is speaking of Baptism.
But can't unbaptized babies still go to Heaven? Unfortunately no because Christ our Lord taught us while yet walking on this earth that it was necessary going forward. The Baltimore Catechism teaches: "Persons, such as infants, who have not committed actual sin and who, through no fault of theirs, die without baptism, cannot enter heaven; but it is the common belief they will go to some place similar to Limbo, where they will be free from suffering, though deprived of the happiness of heaven" (Q. 632).
The Church has always taught that the Sacrament of Baptism can and should be conferred on children. In Baptism we are “born again”; it is the start of the life that continues in the next. Since Baptism is the start of life, a child should be baptized as soon as possible that they might have a share in divine sonship. As Jesus says, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:14). In the Gospel Jesus instructs us to go forth and baptize the whole world – not just adults. St. Paul baptized whole families and it is most likely there was at least one child in those families (Acts 16:15; 1 Cor. 1:16).
The Third Council of Carthage (253 AD) with St. Cyprian taught that infants should be baptized as soon as possible after birth. The Council of Milevis in 416 AD taught the necessity of baptism for infants. This same position has been reaffirmed at the Fourth Lateran Council as well as the Councils of Vienne, Florence, and Trent.
Baptism first and foremost clears all sin from our soul. This is why we are baptized – we want the sin of Adam (original sin) washed away. Every human person aside from the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived with original sin. Note: Our Blessed Lord was also conceived without original sin but He was a divine person, not a human person.
Since original sin on a person's soul would prevent him from entering Heaven, it is absolutely essential for your baby to be baptized as soon as possible to remove this sin. For this reason, if an infant is in danger of death in the hospital, a priest will perform an emergency Baptism. And after baptism, your child has santifying grace in his/her soul and at that moment is a child of God.
Do you want to set your child up for success? Then you must start with Baptism. The Catechism of the Council of Trent states, “…it should be taught that by virtue of this Sacrament we are not only delivered from what are justly deemed the greatest of all evils, but [we] are also enriched with invaluable goods and blessings. Our souls are replenished with divine grace, by which we are rendered just and children of God and are made heirs to eternal salvation."
Further illustrating the importance of having your baby baptized, the Church makes it clear that having your child baptized is a required and failing to do so is a very serious sin. The Baltimore Catechism teaches: "It is wrong to defer the baptism of an infant, because we thereby expose the child to the danger of dying without the Sacrament" (Q. 642). And, the 1917 Code of Canon Law stated, "Infants should be baptized as soon as possible; pastors and preachers should frequently stress with the faithful the gravity of their obligation" (Canon 770).
Aware of this extremely important opportunity, the Church ordinarily requires parents and godparents to undergo a brief preparation class to understand the importance of Baptism. At CatechismClass.com, we are happy to offer a class to fulfill this purpose that is conveniently offered online. Please explore our course and if we can answer any questions, please reach out to us. The Baptism of your child is absoultely essential and we will do whatever we can to help you acheive this. Please do not neglect to baptize their child. The state of their soul for all of eternity might depend on this!