Baptism: Seems unfair

[JMJ1111]

Surely you mean Purgatory? If he was baptized without being repentant of his sins the baptism wouldn’t convey any grace, right? Unrepentant attachment to mortal sin is an obstacle to the grace of the sacraments, isn’t it?

Edwin

I would think that unrepentance would be an obstacle to sanctifying grace, and while the person would be baptized, he would not, were he to die before commiting any other sins, go straight to heaven.

A person who has perfect contition may not presume after sacramental confession that were he to die he would go straight to heaven. And from what I understand it is very rare to receive a full pleanary indulgence due to imperfect disposition, and so in justice, the plenary indulgences become partial, only partially remiting temporal punishement due to sin, which again means the soul will be purified in purgatory.

It is unsettling to me that God, who we know tempers justice with mercy and reads our hearts, would consign the fate of a soul, whether immediate entrance to heaven or the sufferings of purgatory, based on happenstance.

Here is another example:

An adult who has never been baptized, realizes he is imminently in danger of death with no time to find a priest. He asks his friend to baptise him, recalling that anyone can baptize in danger of death. The friend does not remember the exact words and says, “I baptize you in the name of God and through Jesus Christ” while pouring water over the head of the person. What a difference in the fate of this individual since this is not a valid baptism. I am more inclined to think that God considers our motives and intentions, and that there are no limits to His mercy.

 

[Returnee]

A person who is baptized has the grace to resist sin. Someone who is not baptized does not have this grace. So, it is perfectly reasonable to expect greater things from the baptized person than from the unbaptized person. It’s not fair, since they both committed the same sins, but it is reasonable.

Well done jmcrae; I was searching this thread to see if anyone had posted exactly what you did already. If not, I would have.

It’s the perfect answer to the original question. As Scripture tells us, “To those whom much is given, much is asked”, this is the case here, in Baptism. With Baptism, we are given the grace to resist sin; unbaptised people do not have this, thus, if the unbaptized mobster resists sin (ultimately) then of COURSE his reward will be greater.

I would only amend what jmcrae said to say even more boldly, it’s not only reasonable, but also quite JUST.

 

[Usagi]

Here is another example:

An adult who has never been baptized, realizes he is imminently in danger of death with no time to find a priest. He asks his friend to baptise him, recalling that anyone can baptize in danger of death. The friend does not remember the exact words and says, “I baptize you in the name of God and through Jesus Christ” while pouring water over the head of the person. What a difference in the fate of this individual since this is not a valid baptism. I am more inclined to think that God considers our motives and intentions, and that there are no limits to His mercy.

Despite the invalid sacramental baptism, the baptism of desire would presumably be present in that case. Just as you say, God does not decide one’s eternal fate based on happenstance, independent of the person’s motives and attitudes toward God’s grace.

The Church has recognized that as true early on, since catechumens who died before receiving baptism were still regarded as Christians through their sincere desire for baptism.

Usagi

 

[Ron_Conte]

Assuming such a person were contrite, I can understand that he would be forgiven. However, let us suppose he had a partner in crime who WAS already baptized as an infant, was also contrite and made a sacramental confession. He is forgiven his sins, but if this man were to die, he would still incur temporal punishment. Why should one person suffer in purgatory and not the other? This does not seem just to me! Can you explain?

One cannot merit prior to baptism (either a baptism of desire or a formal baptism). If one is not in a state of sanctifying grace, one does not acquire any merits on earth.

So if someone were baptized on his death bed, the advantage of having remitted temporal punishment for sin would be outweighed by the disadvantage of having not been able to merit any good works for the eternal bliss of Heaven. The Blessed in Heaven rejoice not only in the Beatific Vision of God, but in all the good ever done on earth.

Those who have earned merits on earth can also intercede from Heaven:

The intercession of the saints. “Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness… They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus… So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped.” (CCC, 956).

So in the hypothetical example that you gave, the man who went to confession and then went to heaven had a greater happiness for Eternity than the other man who was baptised after his crime and then died and went to heaven. For the former man had been able to acquire merits since baptism, but the other man could not.

 

[Usagi]

Also, remember that in your original hypothetical situation, the final act of each man’s life is not the whole story.

God would have given each man countless graces throughout life. The unbaptized man had been led to embrace baptism many times before the final chance he actually took. The baptized man had all the graces of that and subsequent sacraments to enable him to avoid sin. That he did not is his own doing, and the cleansing he now requires in purgatory is entirely just.

Yes, the man who put off baptism to the end gains a slight advantage in that the temporal consequences of his sins are remitted along with the eternal ones. On the other hand, that man could very well have refused the final grace as well and gone to hell. At least the other fellow had the sacraments to help him stay on the road to heaven, even if his actions made it a winding and uncertain one.

The man in purgatory will no doubt rejoice that his new Christian brother was admitted to the ranks of the saints before he died, and the new saint will undoubtedly be praying hard for his counterpart in purgatory, who led such a similar life.

Usagi

 

[JMJ1111]

Also, remember that in your original hypothetical situation, the final act of each man’s life is not the whole story.

God would have given each man countless graces throughout life. The unbaptized man had been led to embrace baptism many times before the final chance he actually took. The baptized man had all the graces of that and subsequent sacraments to enable him to avoid sin. That he did not is his own doing, and the cleansing he now requires in purgatory is entirely just.

Yes, the man who put off baptism to the end gains a slight advantage in that the temporal consequences of his sins are remitted along with the eternal ones. On the other hand, that man could very well have refused the final grace as well and gone to hell. At least the other fellow had the sacraments to help him stay on the road to heaven, even if his actions made it a winding and uncertain one.

The man in purgatory will no doubt rejoice that his new Christian brother was admitted to the ranks of the saints before he died, and the new saint will undoubtedly be praying hard for his counterpart in purgatory, who led such a similar life.

Usagi

Thank you for sharing your insights and comments. It makes sense that “the final act of each man’s life is not the whole story” I have always thought it too simplistic to believe that so-called deathbed conversations were spontaneous total changes of heart, but rather the final act of cooperation with grace was the culmination of a much longer process.