**Faith and Baptism **
1253 Baptism is the sacrament of faith. But faith needs the community of believers. It is only within the faith of the Church that each of the faithful can believe. The faith required for Baptism is not a perfect and mature faith, but a beginning that is called to develop. The catechumen or the godparent is asked: “What do you ask of God’s Church?” The response is: “Faith!”
1254 For all the baptized, children or adults, faith must grow after Baptism. For this reason the Church celebrates each year at the Easter Vigil the renewal of baptismal promises. Preparation for Baptism leads only to the threshold of new life. Baptism is the source of that new life in Christ from which the entire Christian life springs forth.
1255 For the grace of Baptism to unfold, the parents’ help is important. So too is the role of the godfather and godmother, who must be firm believers, able and ready to help the newly baptized - child or adult on the road of Christian life. Their task is a truly ecclesial function (officium). The whole ecclesial community bears some responsibility for the development and safeguarding of the grace given at Baptism.
Why do you assume an infant cannot respond to God’s grace and call? God even says that we must be as children to enter heaven. Did John the Baptist not respond to God’s grace even in the womb?According to Catholic teaching on justification we intitally receive justification by grace through faith. But we also believe that we receive justification in the sacrament of baptism. How is faith involved in the justification of an infant. An infant cannot chose to respond to God’s grace and call. If we are initially justified by grace through faith, how can this be reconciled with infant baptism?
Also, if I am not mistaken, what precedes baptism in the adult is not the supernatural virtue of faith, but only natural faith. The theological virtue of faith is infused, along with hope and charity, in baptism. Thus, it would seem that the supernatural virtue of faith is implanted into an infant at baptism as a seed, that must be helped to grow and develop by parents, godparents etc. over the life of the person.Infants receive the grace of justification in baptism through the faith of their parents. If you look in the Old Testament, male infants were circumcised and at that time admitted into a covenant relationship with God. This was through the faith of their parents.