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Defend the Faith

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, scriptures said that “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned (Mk 16:16)

CCC 1257 The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation.60 He also commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them.61 Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament.62 The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are “reborn of water and the Spirit.” God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.

1 Tim 2:4-6 “God will all men to be saved and come to know the truth”
That is why the Church also taught that those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, yet sincerely seek God, and moved by grace, strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of their conscience, may attain eternal salvation (LG16)

This teaching should not make us complacent but rather be burdened to go and make disciples of all nation and baptized them in the name of the Father, Son and Spirit!

(CCC 1250) Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by original sin, children also have need of the new birth in Baptism to be freed from the power of darkness and brought into the realm of the freedom of the children of God, to which all men are called.”

Protestants often criticize the Catholic Church’s practice of baptizing infants. According to them, baptism is for adults and older children, because it is to be administered only after one has undergone a “born again” experience—that is, after one has “accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior.”

The problem is that they see baptism not as sacrament, but an ordinance. It does not in any way convey the grace it symbolizes; rather, it is merely a public manifestation of the person’s conversion. Since only an adult or older child can be converted, baptism is inappropriate for infants or for children who have not yet reached the age of reason (generally considered to be age seven).

But we believe that infants should be baptized because they are children of believers who stand in surety for them until they “come of age” and are bound to the same requirements of repentance and faith as adults. We always understood that children should not be deprived of Baptism because they are being baptized in the faith of their parents, the faith of the Church (CCC1250-52). That is why parents and godparents have a serious obligation to see that the baptized infant is formed in the faith as they grow.

Because we know that only Baptism cleans us from original sin, we entrust to the mercy of God infants who dies before receiving baptism. (CCC 1261)

The priest is the usual minister of Baptism, but if there is danger that someone will die without Baptism, anyone else may and should baptize, even non-baptized person. (CCC1256)

Because Baptism is a prerequisite to enter heaven, when an unbaptized person is in danger of death, and no priest is available, anyone may baptize. However, it would be very wrong to do it without serious reason.

Both! The Sacrament of Confirmation completes the grace given to us in our baptism.

(CCC 1285) Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the “sacraments of Christian initiation,” whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. For, “by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence, they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.”

Age of Discretion – moving away from childish ways they can now take the step to personally choose and affirm their faith.
(CCC 1446) Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of his Church: above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded ecclesial communion. It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification. The Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as “the second plank [of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace.”

(CCC 1441) Only God forgives sins. Since he is the Son of God, Jesus says of himself, “The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins” and exercises this divine power: “Your sins are forgiven.” Further, by virtue of his divine authority he gives this power to men to exercise in his name.

(CCC 1444) In imparting to his apostles his own power to forgive sins the Lord also gives them the authority to reconcile sinners with the Church. This ecclesial dimension of their task is expressed most notably in Christ’s solemn words to Simon Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”45 “The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of the apostles united to its head.”

(CCC 1445) The words bind and loose mean: whomever you exclude from your communion, will be excluded from communion with God; whomever you receive anew into your communion, God will welcome back into his. Reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God.

Catholics don’t just confess their sins to a priest. The priest is an “alter Christus”; that is, he stands in for Christ. When a Catholic confesses his sins in the presence of a priest, it’s Christ he’s talking to through the priest, and Christ who is offering forgiveness. So, when you confess your sin to the priest you are really confessing your sins to God.

Also, since sin cuts off our relationship not only to God but also to the Church, we need to restore that relationship as well.

(CCC 1440) Sin is before all else an offense against God, a rupture of communion with him. At the same time, it damages communion with the Church. For this reason, conversion entails both God’s forgiveness and reconciliation with the Church.

Our sins separate us from God and to the Church and so to restore both relationships we need to receive the sacrament.

Since God made a way for us to get reconciled with Him and the Church, we must embrace it! Let us now allow our pride to prevent us from receiving this grace. Since God can hear us in the confessional box, He wants us to comfort us by using the priest as the visible representation of His love and mercy for you because God know that you need to hear it!

James 5:16 “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

CCC 1457 According to the Church’s command, “after having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year.” Anyone who is aware of having committed a mortal sin must not receive Holy Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition, without having first received sacramental absolution, unless he has a grave reason for receiving Communion and there is no possibility of going to confession. Children must go to the sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion for the first time.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, each faithful of right discerning age is “bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year.” (CCC 1457) Some might be tempted to just do the minimum. The Church allows it at one per year after all. But diligent self-examination will reveal that almost each one of us, if not all, sin several times- making a yearly Confession simply not enough.

CCC 1514 The Anointing of the Sick “is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death. Hence, as soon as anyone of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived.”

The Anointing of the Sick “is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death. Hence, as soon as anyone of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived.

This sacrament can be repeated and must be minister by priest.

(CCC 1663) Since marriage establishes the couple in a public state of life in the Church, it is fitting that its celebration be public, in the framework of a liturgical celebration, before the priest (or a witness authorized by the Church), the witnesses, and the assembly of the faithful. In the Catholic faith, the church is considered a sacred place where Christ is present, and since matrimony is believed to be a covenant with God, the only place a wedding ceremony can be administered is indoors, inside a church “to emphasize the sanctity of the ceremony itself,”

Because it is a sacrament and a covenant with God.

(CCC 1639 -1640) The consent by which the spouses mutually give and receive one another is sealed by God himself. From their covenant arises “an institution, confirmed by the divine law, . . . even in the eyes of society.” The covenant between the spouses is integrated into God’s covenant with man: “Authentic married love is caught up into divine love. Thus, the marriage bond has been established by God himself in such a way that a marriage concluded and consummated between baptized persons can never be dissolved. This bond, which results from the free human act of the spouses and their consummation of the marriage, is a reality, henceforth irrevocable, and gives rise to a covenant guaranteed by God’s fidelity. The Church does not have the power to contravene this disposition of divine wisdom.

Yes, but in specific situations. CCC 1649 Yet there are some situations in which living together becomes practically impossible for a variety of reasons. In such cases the Church permits the physical separation of the couple and their living apart. The spouses do not cease to be husband and wife before God and so are not free to contract a new union. In this difficult situation, the best solution would be, if possible, reconciliation. The Christian community is called to help these persons live out their situation in a Christian manner and in fidelity to their marriage bond which remains indissoluble.
No, if your spouse is still alive CCC 1650 Today there are numerous Catholics in many countries who have recourse to civil divorce and contract new civil unions. In fidelity to the words of Jesus Christ – “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery” the Church maintains that a new union cannot be recognized as valid, if the first marriage was. If the divorced are remarried civilly, they find themselves in a situation that objectively contravenes God’s law. Consequently, they cannot receive Eucharistic communion if this situation persists. For the same reason, they cannot exercise certain ecclesial responsibilities. Reconciliation through the sacrament of Penance can be granted only to those who have repented for having violated the sign of the covenant and of fidelity to Christ, and who are committed to living in complete continence. CCC 1651 Toward Christians who live in this situation, and who often keep the faith and desire to bring up their children in a Christian manner, priests and the whole community must manifest an attentive solicitude, so that they do not consider themselves separated from the Church, in whose life they can and must participate as baptized persons: They should be encouraged to listen to the Word of God, to attend the Sacrifice of the Mass, to persevere in prayer, to contribute to works of charity and to community efforts for justice, to bring up their children in the Christian faith, to cultivate the spirit and practice of penance and thus implore, day by day, God’s grace.161
CCC 1547 The ministerial or hierarchical priesthood of bishops and priests, and the common priesthood of all the faithful participate, “each in its own proper way, in the one priesthood of Christ.” While being “ordered one to another,” they differ essentially.22 In what sense? While the common priesthood of the faithful is exercised by the unfolding of baptismal grace –a life of faith, hope, and charity, a life according to the Spirit–, the ministerial priesthood is at the service of the common priesthood. It is directed at the unfolding of the baptismal grace of all Christians. The ministerial priesthood is a means by which Christ unceasingly builds up and leads his Church. For this reason, it is transmitted by its own sacrament, the sacrament of Holy Orders.
Yes, but he will only lose his clerical state, but the grace given to him through ordination will never be taken away from him. This is because receiving the sacrament of Holy Orders just like Baptism and Confirmation leaves within a person a SACRAMENTAL CHARACTER or SEAL. It remains in them forever (CCC1121)
CCC 1577 “Only a baptized man validly receives sacred ordination. “The Lord Jesus chose men to form the college of the twelve apostles, and the apostles did the same when they chose collaborators to succeed them in their ministry.67 The college of bishops, with whom the priests are united in the priesthood, makes the college of the twelve an ever-present and ever-active reality until Christ’s return. The Church recognizes herself to be bound by this choice made by the Lord himself. For this reason, the ordination of women is not possible.

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