Is This an "Emergency" Baptism Situation?

[El_PAso]

Hi,

A good friend is in a rather dark toned heavy metal rock music band. He has never been Baptized.

He is living a “glorified” life of drugs alcohol and sex and if he died today I fear for his soul.

He is 25 and always been receptive to my gentle mention of Christ and Catholicism in particular saying he’d become a Catholic before a protestant!

At this stage of life there is no way he is going to enroll in RCIA and be baptized in the Church. I imagine him doing this one day but until then is living a very perilous life. In a sense is like a fatal car crash in slow motion; while the impact is down the road and not certain he is aimed towards a drastic fall.

I know if the car already crashed as it were I could do such thing but what about in this circumstance? Well over 100,00 people died directly from such lifestyles in 2014 and this number does not include secondary deaths (passengers in the car etc…)

Even if he doesn’t quite “get it” neither does an infant…

Thanks,

E P

 

[ComplineSanFran]

Hi,

A good friend is in a rather dark toned heavy metal rock music band. He has never been Baptized.

He is living a “glorified” life of drugs alcohol and sex and if he died today I fear for his soul.

He is 25 and always been receptive to my gentle mention of Christ and Catholicism in particular saying he’d become a Catholic before a protestant!

At this stage of life there is no way he is going to enroll in RCIA and be baptized in the Church. I imagine him doing this one day but until then is living a very perilous life. In a sense is like a fatal car crash in slow motion; while the impact is down the road and not certain he is aimed towards a drastic fall.

I know if the car already crashed as it were I could do such thing but what about in this circumstance? Well over 100,00 people died directly from such lifestyles in 2014 and this number does not include secondary deaths (passengers in the car etc…)

Even if he doesn’t quite “get it” neither does an infant…

Thanks,

E P

I believe that for an adult to be baptized, there has to be consent. That is overridden in extremis.

 

[Gorgias]

I know if the car already crashed as it were I could do such thing but what about in this circumstance? Well over 100,00 people died directly from such lifestyles in 2014 and this number does not include secondary deaths (passengers in the car etc…)

Even if he doesn’t quite “get it” neither does an infant…

EP,

No, it isn’t an ‘emergency baptism’ situation. An adult must explicitly desire baptism; one cannot desire it for him. Even if he “doesn’t quite get it”…

 

[Lou2U]

Hi,

A good friend is in a rather dark toned heavy metal rock music band. He has never been Baptized.

He is living a “glorified” life of drugs alcohol and sex and if he died today I fear for his soul.

He is 25 and always been receptive to my gentle mention of Christ and Catholicism in particular saying he’d become a Catholic before a protestant!

At this stage of life there is no way he is going to enroll in RCIA and be baptized in the Church. I imagine him doing this one day but until then is living a very perilous life. In a sense is like a fatal car crash in slow motion; while the impact is down the road and not certain he is aimed towards a drastic fall.

I know if the car already crashed as it were I could do such thing but what about in this circumstance? Well over 100,00 people died directly from such lifestyles in 2014 and this number does not include secondary deaths (passengers in the car etc…)

Even if he doesn’t quite “get it” neither does an infant…

Thanks,

E P

No, it isn’t. Emergency baptisms can only be performed when there is an imminent danger of death - as in, someone is in hospital and it’s not certain they will live. Yes, people can die from this lifestyle but “can die” is not the same as “imminent danger of dying”.

Your friend is an adult, not an infant. An infant is brought up to “get it”. As an adult, it is his choice whether or not to become Catholic. If he wants to do so, he will have to go through RCIA. If he doesn’t want to, that’s his choice and you need to respect that. There’s a big difference between saying “I would become Catholic instead of Protestant” and “I want to become Catholic”.

Lou

 

[Lily_Bernans]

Hi,

A good friend is in a rather dark toned heavy metal rock music band. He has never been Baptized.

He is living a “glorified” life of drugs alcohol and sex and if he died today I fear for his soul.

He is 25 and always been receptive to my gentle mention of Christ and Catholicism in particular saying he’d become a Catholic before a protestant!

At this stage of life there is no way he is going to enroll in RCIA and be baptized in the Church. I imagine him doing this one day but until then is living a very perilous life. In a sense is like a fatal car crash in slow motion; while the impact is down the road and not certain he is aimed towards a drastic fall.

I know if the car already crashed as it were I could do such thing but what about in this circumstance? Well over 100,00 people died directly from such lifestyles in 2014 and this number does not include secondary deaths (passengers in the car etc…)

Even if he doesn’t quite “get it” neither does an infant…

Thanks,

E P

You got very good answers. Since he is not in immediate danger of death, he must consent, and since priests are readily available, a priest or deacon must do the baptizing. However, if he ever is in danger of death, and you are around, please DO baptize him. All you need is water to pour over his forehead, and say, “NAME, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” You must use water (the matter) and the form must be correct (Trinitarian).

 

[1ke]

Is This an “Emergency” Baptism Situation?

No.

 

[Brandon_Cal]

You got very good answers. Since he is not in immediate danger of death, he must consent, and since priests are readily available, a priest or deacon must do the baptizing. However, if he ever is in danger of death, and you are around, please DO baptize him. All you need is water to pour over his forehead, and say, “NAME, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” You must use water (the matter) and the form must be correct (Trinitarian).

What about the number of pours, must they be three?

 

[Lily_Bernans]

What about the number of pours, must they be three?

One is sufficient.

 

[zab]

Hi,

A good friend is in a rather dark toned heavy metal rock music band. He has never been Baptized.

He is living a “glorified” life of drugs alcohol and sex and if he died today I fear for his soul.

He is 25 and always been receptive to my gentle mention of Christ and Catholicism in particular saying he’d become a Catholic before a protestant!

At this stage of life there is no way he is going to enroll in RCIA and be baptized in the Church. I imagine him doing this one day but until then is living a very perilous life. In a sense is like a fatal car crash in slow motion; while the impact is down the road and not certain he is aimed towards a drastic fall.

I know if the car already crashed as it were I could do such thing but what about in this circumstance? Well over 100,00 people died directly from such lifestyles in 2014 and this number does not include secondary deaths (passengers in the car etc…)

Even if he doesn’t quite “get it” neither does an infant…

Thanks,

E P

We must remember that God loves each one of us. We are not more loving, more forgiving nor more merciful than God. How some people will be baptized before entering heaven is up to the love and mercy of God. Even if your friend were to be baptized by water, he would still have to choose God rather than reject Him.
All my babies were baptized. Now that they are adults, some have wondered away and some are living lives that really worry me. All I can do is pray for them and entrust them to Our Blessed Mother and to the love and mercy of God. And that is no small thing.

 

[Gorgias]

Brandon Cal:

What about the number of pours, must they be three?

One is sufficient.

Interestingly, the ritual doesn’t say “one is sufficient.” In the Rite of Baptism for Children, in the section entitled “rite of baptism for children in danger of death when no priest or deacon is available,” the ritual states:

"Then the minister baptizes the child, saying:

N., I baptize you in the name of the Father,

The minister pours water upon the child.

and of the Son,

The minister pours water upon the child a second time.

and of the Holy Spirit.

The minister pours water upon the child a third time.

(See Baptism for Children, #160. If you have the book The Rites, Volume One, it’s on p 434.)

In the ritual book “Pastoral Care of the Sick,” in the section discussing Christian initiation of the dying, the ritual includes triple pouring (see #287). In the introduction to the section, it states that “when a person is at the point of death or when time is pressing because death is imminent, the minister, omitting everything else, pours natural water (even if not blessed) on the head of the sick person, while saying the usual sacramental form,” without mentioning the number of times he pours water.

One would think that this means that, in general, three immersions or pourings (corresponding to the three parts of the trinitarian formula) are normative; however, in an extreme emergency, no one would suggest that God would look at a single pouring and declare, “sorry, not valid; gotta be three times.”

That is, given the opportunity, “one is sufficient” seems deficient.

 

[Brandon_Cal]

So three pours are idea, but one is sufficient?

 

[bardegaulois]

Hi,

A good friend is in a rather dark toned heavy metal rock music band. He has never been Baptized.

He is living a “glorified” life of drugs alcohol and sex and if he died today I fear for his soul.

He is 25 and always been receptive to my gentle mention of Christ and Catholicism in particular saying he’d become a Catholic before a protestant!

At this stage of life there is no way he is going to enroll in RCIA and be baptized in the Church. I imagine him doing this one day but until then is living a very perilous life. In a sense is like a fatal car crash in slow motion; while the impact is down the road and not certain he is aimed towards a drastic fall.

I know if the car already crashed as it were I could do such thing but what about in this circumstance? Well over 100,00 people died directly from such lifestyles in 2014 and this number does not include secondary deaths (passengers in the car etc…)

Even if he doesn’t quite “get it” neither does an infant…

Thanks,

E P

No it is not. An adult of sound mind must request baptism freely.

 

[Gorgias]

So three pours are idea, but one is sufficient?

Three pourings (or immersions) of water are the norm. In the case of an emergency (i.e., imminent death), I don’t think anyone’s gonna say “oh, sorry – it wasn’t a valid baptism, since you only poured once.”