I Want To Repent and be baptized

[RobinLaf]

Hi there. I’m new to this forum. I was born & raised Catholic. I’ve always wondered why we Catholics are not baptized as adults. I know that families were baptized in Jesus’ day which I’m sure included babies. Or did it? We need to repent and be baptized. How can we repent as a baby? Didn’t Jesus say “Truly I Tell You, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”. To me this is telling us that children do not need to be baptized. I want to be baptized as an adult in the Catholic Church. I want to do this the correct way. How do adult converts to the Catholic Church get baptized?

Thanks for your replies

 

[bsroufek]

In the Nicene Creed, we Catholics state our belief in “one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins”, as St. Paul describes.

If you are already once baptized with water in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, even as a child, you should not be baptized again.

 

[RobinLaf]

Thank you for your reply. How do new converts get baptized into the church? Are they submerged or sprinkled upon? There are just to many writings in the bible about repenting and then being baptized.

 

[babochka]

Hi there. I’m new to this forum. I was born & raised Catholic. I’ve always wondered why we Catholics are not baptized as adults. I know that families were baptized in Jesus’ day which I’m sure included babies. Or did it? We need to repent and be baptized. How can we repent as a baby? Didn’t Jesus say “Truly I Tell You, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”. To me this is telling us that children do not need to be baptized. I want to be baptized as an adult in the Catholic Church. I want to do this the correct way. How do adult converts to the Catholic Church get baptized?

Thanks for your replies

I understand the emotional desire for baptism, but we believe that baptism can only be done once. When you were baptized as an infant, your soul was changed and that cannot be undone. But, of course, we all have an ongoing need for repentance. Thankfully, God gave us another sacrament for that - Confession.

 

[Zekariya]

Hi there. I’m new to this forum. I was born & raised Catholic. I’ve always wondered why we Catholics are not baptized as adults. I know that families were baptized in Jesus’ day which I’m sure included babies. Or did it? We need to repent and be baptized. How can we repent as a baby? Didn’t Jesus say “Truly I Tell You, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”. To me this is telling us that children do not need to be baptized. I want to be baptized as an adult in the Catholic Church. I want to do this the correct way. How do adult converts to the Catholic Church get baptized?

Thanks for your replies

Peter spoke to the Jews (who shouted, “Crucify him!”) in Jerusalem telling them to repent of that sin. He also says that the promise is for them and their children.
Acts 2:38-39 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

 

[Rete]

You can try this:

catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=1094

 

[Dorothy]

Hi there. I’m new to this forum. I was born & raised Catholic. I’ve always wondered why we Catholics are not baptized as adults. I know that families were baptized in Jesus’ day which I’m sure included babies. Or did it? We need to repent and be baptized. How can we repent as a baby? Didn’t Jesus say “Truly I Tell You, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”. To me this is telling us that children do not need to be baptized. I want to be baptized as an adult in the Catholic Church. I want to do this the correct way. How do adult converts to the Catholic Church get baptized?

Thanks for your replies ������

Your Baptism as an infant was valid. Since you were born to Catholic parents and they promise to bring you up
Catholic, seeing to it that you are taught to pray, be instructed, and receive the sacraments,…that is why you were baptized as an infant. Baptism places sanctifying grace in your soul, and your parents nurture that in you.

Every year at Easter time we Catholics renew our baptismal vows as a congregation. You can do this privately as well.

The scripture is not telling you that children do not need to be baptized. The Lord pointed out the children to the disciples because they thought they were being a bother. Jesus pointed out their innocence, and their eagerness to learn.

 

[Ad_Orientem]

To repent means to turn away, in this case from sin, that is from doing things our way instead of God’s. God set up a Church, so if we are going to do things God’s way, we should do them the Church’s way, and not ours. We should read the Scriptures the way the Church does, not stick stubbornly to our own interpretation.

Maybe this will help: Infant Baptism (Catholic Answers)

 

[Allegra]

Thank you for your reply. How do new converts get baptized into the church? Are they submerged or sprinkled upon? There are just to many writings in the bible about repenting and then being baptized.

It actually doesn’t matter whether the water is sprinkled, poured, etc, as long as it touches the Baptized persons’ skin and the person doing the Baptizing says, “I Baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” I think the method of water distribution mostly has to do with the type of Baptismal font the parish has. In most cases of adults, I’ve seen water poured over their heads.

 

[His_helpmeet]

Catholics are baptized as babies for a number of reasons:

1. Baptism gets rid of original sin and instills sanctifying grace. It is necessary for salvation. As Catholics, we desire that children should share in God’s grace and become a part of His family as soon as possible after birth.
2. Baptism as infants also emphasizes that salvation is a free gift; it cannot be merited or earned.

Baptism, properly conferred, places an indelible mark on the soul, as the others have pointed out. However, if you have not been confirmed, you would be eligible for Confirmation. In some parishes, adults seeking Confirmation are invited to join RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults; this is the program for adults seeking to join the Catholic Church). It sounds as if you have already made your First Confession and First Communion. Therefore, to “rejoin the Church”, seeking the Sacrament of Reconciliation is all that is required. If you have been away from the Church for some time, you may prefer to book an appointment with the priest as your confession may be lengthy.

 

[Shin]

You can renew the baptismal vows which your parents would have offered for you when you were an infant, and incapable of making them yourself – and so spiritually renew and reenter into the graces of your baptism – which has always been with you and helped you, since you were an infant.

Be full of gratitude for your baptism!

Baptism is what make one a Christian, what allows you to go to Confession, and partake of all the Holy Sacraments. I think of desire to be baptised again as an adult as perhaps truly a desire to fully realize the graces given in the past – to make a good confession and act of contrition, perhaps feeling the weight of sin, venial or worse mortal, and so spiritually fulfill the more the baptism one has already received and partake of sanctifying grace.

You cannot be baptized again, but you can draw on the graces, perhaps long neglected anew.

‘Every Christian has renounced the world and its pomps at baptism. This vow does not oblige you to live like a hermit, but it certainly obliges you to something. It is not an empty promise.’

St. Claude de la Colombiere

'Before holy baptism, grace encourages the soul towards good from the outside, while Satan lurks in its depths, trying to block all the intellect’s ways of approach to the divine. But from the moment that we are reborn through baptism, the demon is outside, grace is within.

Thus, whereas before baptism error ruled the soul, after baptism truth rules it.

Nevertheless, even after baptism Satan still acts on the soul, often, indeed, to a greater degree than before. This is not because he is present in the soul together with grace; on the contrary, it is because he uses the body’s humors to befog the intellect with the delight of mindless pleasures. God allows him to do this, so that a man, after passing through a trial of storm and fire, may come in the end to the full enjoyment of divine blessings. For it is written: “We went through fire and water, and Thou hast brought us out into a place where the soul is refreshed” (Ps. 66.12).’

St. Diadochos of Photiki

‘What were you before Baptism but the unhappy slave of Satan, and subject like him to eternal punishment? But by Baptism you have been delivered from this unhappy subjection, through the divine alliance which you have contracted with Jesus Christ, which procures you the enjoyment of eternal happiness, if you observe all its conditions.’

St. Jean Eudes

‘Repentance is the renewal of baptism. Repentance is a contract with God for a second life. A penitent is a buyer of humility. Repentance is constant distrust of bodily comfort. Repentance is self-condemning reflection, and carefree self-care. Repentance is the daughter of hope and the renunciation of despair. A penitent is an undisgraced convict. Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord by the practice of good deeds contrary to the sins. Repentance is purification of conscience. Repentance is the voluntary endurance of all afflictions. A penitent is the inflicter of his own punishments. Repentance is a mighty persecution of the stomach, and a striking of the soul into vigorous awareness.’

St. John Climacus

‘We who have received baptism offer good works, not by way of repayment, but to preserve the purity given to us.’

St. Mark the Ascetic

'Baptism is the sacrament of Christ’s death and Passion, according as a man is born anew in Christ in virtue of His Passion; but the Eucharist is the sacrament of Christ’s Passion according as a man is made perfect in union with Christ Who suffered.

Hence, as Baptism is called the sacrament of Faith, which is the foundation of the spiritual life, so the Eucharist is termed the sacrament of Charity, which is “the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:14).’

St. Thomas Aquinas

 

[WordHeavy]

please read this and it should clear up things for you. Thank you for asking and keep seeking answers to your questions so that you may come to truly know the faith.

God Bless Always,
WordHeavy

catholic.com/tracts/infant-baptism

 

[Karen107]

An older person who is accountable to sin should repent and be baptized, which most people who were evangelized in the day they said it in the scriptures were older so that’s why it was said that way in the scriptures. But nowadays there’s plenty of infants who can and should be welcomed into the Kingdom of God and receive the graces of baptism with the blessings of their parents who agree to raise them in the faith. The scriptures also say that whole households were baptized. The scriptures never says to baptize everyone but infants or children. Jesus said let the children come to me! So no parent should keep them from becoming a child of God and member of the church.

As a family would welcome a child into their home right after being born, so should they welcome them into the Kingdom of God and make them part of the church. Let grace flow to them!!!

 

[bzkoss236]

Thank you for your reply. How do new converts get baptized into the church? Are they submerged or sprinkled upon? There are just to many writings in the bible about repenting and then being baptized.

Adults are typically submerged, and babies are sometimes too (depends on the parents or the parish).

The babies don’t need to repent because they have no sins on their soul, but we also read that we need to “believe and be baptized” and babies cannot consciously believe either, but their parents can believe for them and raise them to believe in the Faith. We see this exemplified by the man who came to Jesus seeking for him to heal his friend, and Jesus told him that because of his faith, his friend is saved/healed.

There is only one baptism, and you received that as an infant and so you do not need to be baptized again.

 

[Elizium23]

You say you were born and raised Catholic, but you have been listening far too much to Protestants lately and you have allowed their erroneous teachings to infect your understanding of the sacraments. I suggest that you read authentic Catholic sources on the way sacraments are performed in the Catholic Church and why they are quite valid and efficacious as they have been done essentially the same way for over 2000 years. You can start with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Thomas Aquinas’ writings are also quite good if you choose to go deeper.

And as has already been suggested, please consider Confession for your present need to repent and heal your soul. This is the sacrament for you.

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

Thank you for your reply. How do new converts get baptized into the church? Are they submerged or sprinkled upon? There are just to many writings in the bible about repenting and then being baptized.

Baptisms are valid either way, as long as water and the correct words are used: “I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The method of baptism depends on the church building. Some newer churches have a font where a person can be totally or partially immersed. Others have an area where water can be poured on the person. Older churches usually have a small font, over which one leans or is held while water is poured on the head. Catholics, however, generally do not use rivers or pools.

As others have said, you have already been baptized. Repentance is as simple as going to the nearest confessional.

 

[Cathoholic]

Infant Baptism Issue.

RobinLaf.

Welcome to Catholic Answers Forums (I think this was just your second post).

You stated:

We need to repent and be baptized. How can we repent as a baby?

This concerns Acts 2:38.

ACTS 2:38 38 And Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

But in Acts 2:38, St. Peter isn’t preaching to babies. He is preaching to adults.

You have wrongly concluded that St. Peter (in Acts 2:38) is giving a catechesis regarding who can and who cannot be Baptized. St. Peter is NOT doing this.

St. Peter is preaching and instructing HIS HEARERS of this preaching, what THEY are to do (repent, believe, and be Baptized).

ACTS 2:38 38 And Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Question:

In Acts 2:38, St. Peter is . . . .

A. Telling people who should and who should NOT be Baptized.
B. Preaching the Gospel telling his hearers WHAT THEY NEED TO DO.

The correct answer is B.

All that Acts 2:38 means is that St. Peter is preaching to adults (actually if you back up; the verses say he is preaching to “men”. Does this mean “woman” cannot be Baptized either? Of course not!).

The Catholic Church LIKEWISE tells adults who have never been Baptized they MUST repent of their sins first and THEN they can be Baptized.

This DENIAL of infant Baptism into this verse is an Anabaptist reading into the text that was invented after 1500 A.D. at least among Christians. Denying infants Baptism is a tradition of men that makes void the commandments of God.

Here is an excerpt from our local Bible study groups review on Infant Baptism:

Historically, some non-Trinitarian heretics denied infant Baptism, most notably the Waldensians and the Catharists. The Catharists (who were polytheists—they believed in two gods) were from what is now Northern Italy and Southern France, began in the 1000’s A.D. The Waldensians were invented in the 1200’s A.D. and started by the ex-Catholic Peter Waldo.

Denying infants the gift of Baptism is a theological invention that came around in the 1500’s from men called the Zwickau “prophets” (principally Nicholas Storch, Thomas Dreschel and Markus Stübner) as well as the politician Thomas Müntzer (1489-1525) in Germany, and “the Swiss Brethren” from 1525 (Felix Manz, Conrad Grebel, and ex-Catholic Priest George Blaurock) in Switzerland.

This tradition of withholding Baptism from infants was later reaffirmed by others like ex-Catholic Priest Menno Simons (inventor of the Mennonite religion), and ex-Anglican Priest John Smyth (inventor of the “Baptist” religion) who Baptized himself because he didn’t think anyone else was worthy. Smyth’s actions drew contempt even from fellow Anabaptists of his day including Amsterdam separatist, Richard Bernard who disparagingly nick-named Smyth a “Se-Baptist” (short for Self-Baptist”). Smyth himself was eventually excommunicated from the Baptist religion he himself invented because he warmed up too much to the Mennonites and their theology.

Infants have original sin but they have no committed sins to repent of (just like profoundly mentally handicapped people have no sins to repent of). The “repent” does not apply to people who have not COMMITTED sins.

Don’t fall for the Zwickau “prophets”. Concerning Christian teachings (people who affirmed the Holy Trinity), denying infants Holy Baptism is a tradition of men which was not invented until the 1500’s.

Hope this all helps.

God bless.

Cathoholic

 

[Cathoholic]

RobinLaf.

You asked:

How do new converts get baptized into the church? Are they submerged or sprinkled upon?

Before answering that, here is what the King James (Protestant Bible translation) version says in Ezekiel:

EZEKIEL 36:25-28 (KJV) 25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Think “Repent and be Baptized, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit!” as we saw on our last post (Acts 2:28).

ACTS 2:38 38 And Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Do you affirm this prophecy in Ezekiel as being fulfilled as is (“sprinkling”)?

Anabaptist Protestants DENY this type of thing. There is an “anti-physical” mindset in these people that eventually leads some to deny the Incarnation!

Beware of this mindset that people will try to have you accept.

The Catholic Church affirms sprinkling or pouring or immersion as acceptable modes of Baptism.

Later on heretics began to deny this.

The Catholic Church has the fullness of truth.

 

[Cathoholic]

More on Infant Baptism issue. RobinLaf.

You stated:

I know that families were baptized in Jesus’ day which I’m sure included babies.

The Bible doesn’t state this explicitly, but implicitly what you have stated is without a doubt absolutely correct!

The era from Jesus’ Incarnation on, are all "the last days”. There will be no new Covenants because Jesus is the mediator of a perfect Covenant. In other words, we have been in “the last days” for 2000 years.

The “last days” = “New Covenant era” and not what “Rapturists” think “the last days” mean.

“Rapturists” think the “last days” refer to the end of the world such as “this is the last 30 days of the world” or “this is the last year of the world” or whatever. They almost always apply it to their own time is my point. Why do they do this?

Some people say they reflexively do this because everything revolves around them in their world. I don’t know if that is the case and I am not going to offer my opinion on WHY “Rapturists” always apply “the last days” to their own time period.

The “last days” are the New Covenant era.

Question: OK these are “the last days” but how does this concern Baptism of our children in Acts 2?

Again, the “last days” are the New Covenant era.

That’s WHY St. Peter can quote the Prophet Joel (who is talking about the future) and say (applying it to the present) . . .

**ACTS 2:17a **17 'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, . . .

But then WHAT is declared by God? How does St. Peter APPLY this Old Covenant prophecy to the New Covenant epoch? Fortunately the Bible tells us . . . .

ACTS 2:17-18, 32-33, 38-42 17 ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. . . . . 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and hear. . . . 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him.” 40 And he testified with many other words and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

The Anabaptist will try to say: “Well it DOES apply to your children, but not yet! Not till they hit about age twelve or so.”

This type of objection by them is non-sense and if you want, I can address it.

Beware. The Anabaptist will also (again wrongly) deny Baptismal regeneration. I won’t address that issue in this thread as it would be off-topic from what you asked for.

These Anabaptist inventions are traditions of men that make void God’s commandments.

If you are Baptized don’t be “re-Baptized”. DO Baptize your babies ASAP within reason.

This is what the Catholic Church teaches.

 

[Cider]

From the CCC

1282 Since the earliest times, Baptism has been administered to children, for it is a grace and a gift of God that does not presuppose any human merit; children are baptized in the faith of the Church. Entry into Christian life gives access to true freedom.