Baptism and the Catechism

[TantumErgo90]

I have heard various interpretations regarding the Catechism’s paragraphs on Baptism. Specifically this one:

1260 "Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery."63 Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity.

One that I had not heard before was that God would, in some way, make sure that a person that “does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it” would have the Catholic Faith (because Faith is necessary for salvation), but that person might not know that baptism is necessary. Is this a correct interpretation? I had never heard that one before.

 

[Chipper]

I have heard various interpretations regarding the Catechism’s paragraphs on Baptism. Specifically this one: One that I had not heard before was that God would, in some way, make sure that a person that “does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it” would have the Catholic Faith (because Faith is necessary for salvation), but that person might not know that baptism is necessary. Is this a correct interpretation? I had never heard that one before.

Well I agree.

I think it comes down to “innocence”. God is not unjust toward the innocent.

 

[Texas_Roofer]

There are 3 forms of Baptism

1. Water - the cleansing of a soul in the name of the father, son, and Holy Spirit
2. Blood – martyred {killed} in god’s name
3. Fire - a burning desire to answer god’s call. See Natural {Moral] Law for more

Your reference is referring to baptism of fire

 

[TantumErgo90]

Well, according to the interpretation in the original post, it is more than wanting to do God’s will. For Baptism of Desire (Fire), you must have Supernatural Faith, Hope, and Charity and a desire to receive baptism. The given interpretation says that if a person does all he can according to what he knows, God will find a way for him to know the faith. The said person might not know that Baptism is necessary, so he would have his desire implicit in his supernatural act of love for God. The person who said this is rather orthodox, I just wanted to make sure it is a good interpretation.

A note on faith. You cannot have supernatural faith just by natural reasoning therefore faith in the natural providence of God is not enough alone. Believing in the essentials of Faith, the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Redemption are necessary for salvation.