Hell, Limbo and Holy Baptism  

As Catholics, our beautiful journey of faith begins with the first sacrament we receive, which is Baptism. On the day we are baptized we enter into a wonderful relationship with our loving Creator. Freed from the sin of our first parents, we begin a lifelong journey as God's adopted sons and daughters. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, God's own life, sanctifying grace, pours into our soul, and we become "a new creation."

"Therefore if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold the new has come." (2 Cor 5:17-18)

Baptism is truly an awe-inspiring moment in our lives.

"Baptism is God's most beautiful and magnificent gift...We call it gift, grace, anointing, enlightenment, garment of immortality, bath of rebirth, seal and most precious gift. It is called gift because it is conferred on those who bring nothing of their own.; grace since it is given even to the guilty; Baptism because sin is buried in the water; anointing for it is priestly and royal as are those who are anointed; enlightenment because it radiates light; clothing since it veils our shame; bath because it washes; and seal as it is our guard and the sign of God's Lordship." (St Gregory of Nazianzus)

Baptism is known as 'the gateway to the sacraments' because Baptism is necessary before we can receive any other sacrament. The word Baptism is derived from the Greek word baptizein, which means to 'plunge' or 'immerse', a reference to the use of water during the ceremony. In most cases in the Roman Catholic, or Latin rite, Baptism is performed by infusion; that is, by pouring water on the head of the candidate. The water signifies the washing away of original sin, the sin we inherited from our first parents.

Through this sacrament of faith, justification is conferred upon us; that is, the remission of our sins, and the "sanctification of the inner man." (Catechism: 1989). Justification has been obtained for us through the redemptive act of Jesus Christ:
"Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ who offered himself on the cross as a living victim, holy and pleasing to God, and whose blood has become the instrument of atonement for the sins of all men...It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy." (Catechism:1992).

For those of us baptized as infants, we begin to receive the seed of our Catholic faith when the priest asks our parents during the baptismal ceremony: "What do you ask of God's Church?", and our parents answer on our behalf: "Faith" (or "Baptism"). The seed of that faith must then mature and grow through catechetical instruction at home, church, and school, and through the grace-assisted efforts of the one who is baptized. Once the baptized person reaches the age of reason, he or she is required to nurture this gift from God. In this way our faith becomes our response to God, a "free assent to the whole truth God has revealed." (Catechism: 150).

We must respond to God's gift by putting our faith into action through works of charity. "Charity," states the Catechism, "is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbour as ourselves for the love of God." (1822). Charity is what Jesus refers to as the 'new commandment' when he tells the apostles: "Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:13). It is the greatest of the virtues, says St. Paul.
                       
Jesus provided his disciples with very practical examples of charity, and underlined its paramount importance, when he identified those who will "take possession of the kingdom" on the day of judgement:
"Come, you that have received a blessing from my Father, take possession of the kingdom which has been prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me food, thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you brought me home, naked, and you clothed me, sick, and you cared for me, a prisoner, and you came to me. Whereupon the just will answer, Lord, when was it that we saw thee hungry, and fed thee, or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When was it that we saw thee a stranger, and brought thee home, or naked, and clothed thee? And the King will answer them, Believe me, when you did it to one of the least of my brethren here, you did it to me." (Matthew: 25: 34-41)

Sometimes we fall short in responding to our Baptismal calling, and our relationship with Jesus becomes distant through sin and neglect. Although original sin and personal sin are removed at Baptism, we are not immune from the inclination to sin. God's invitation at Baptism is a free gift, and as such it can be accepted or refused, for God wants us to enter freely into the communion of love with him. A grave sin, committed with full knowledge and full consent, is a turning of the heart away from God and a refusal to share in his life. In short, a grave or 'mortal' sin deprives us of sanctifying grace. When lost through serious sin, the sanctifying grace we receive at Baptism can be restored through the Sacrament of Penance. Our loving God wants nothing to damage our Baptismal relationship with him, or to impede our entry into his kingdom, and so he generously provides the beautiful sacrament of forgiveness.

To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell." (Catechism of the Catholic Church: 1033)

A survey taken in ten European countries not long ago revealed that while 52% of the population believed in heaven, only 29% believed in hell. Despite clear Biblical evidence for the existence of hell, including several references to "the unquenchable fire" by Jesus himself, many people reject the notion on the grounds that an all-loving God could never condemn anyone to eternal suffering. However, as John Paul the Great has stated, God does not condemn, but it is the sinner himself who freely chooses eternal separation from God.

"Eternal damnation, therefore, is not attributed to God's initiative because in his merciful love he can only desire the salvation of the beings he created. In reality, it is the creature who closes himself to his love. Damnation consists precisely in definitive separation from God, freely chosen by the human person and confirmed with death that seals his choice for ever. God’s judgement ratifies this state." (General Audience, July 28, 1999)

Even those who die free of serious sin may still require a period of purification, of 'temporal punishment' in purgatory. Temporal, in this sense, means lasting for a time only, as opposed to eternal. Although our sins are forgiven in confession, and we are strengthened by grace, at the core we often remain habituated to, or attached to, sin. Before we can be with God in heaven, therefore, we must atone for our sins; that is, make up for the damage they have caused, and root out our sins at the core.

There seems to be a consensus among holy writers that this purification is a painful process or state, and some among us might find the idea of punishment for a forgiven sin a little disconcerting, perceiving it solely as a form of Divine retribution. Instead we should regard purgatory as both a time of spiritual growth, and an assurance of our eternal salvation. Indeed the Church speaks of this punishment as a grace, a gift of our loving God, through which we shed the darkness of our sinful nature, until our perfected soul is worthy to live in the eternal light with our Father in heaven.

Although purgatory is the final purification after death, our time there can be reduced or even eliminated in this life through acts of devotion, charity, and penance; by striving in this life for the kind of holiness exemplified by the saints; and after our death, through the prayers of our friends and relatives on earth. "It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins" (2 Mac 12:46).

Questions often arise about the afterlife destiny of those who never receive the Sacrament of Baptism at all, such as young children who die in an unbaptized state. Over the years, the 'limbo of children' as it was called, was thought by many theologians to be the destination (the place or state) of the souls of children who died before receiving Baptism. Theologians realized that, strictly speaking, unbaptized children could not enter heaven because of the stain of original sin, but that, never having reached the age of accountability and therefore being incapable of actual sin, such children could hardly be destined for hell. Today, many theologians still use the word limbo to describe a place or state of perfect natural happiness outside of the supernatural joys of heaven. (The word limbo comes from the Latin lumbus, meaning a fringe or border).

The concept of limbo arose naturally from the Church's teaching on Baptism. As the Catechism states: "The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation...The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude...God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism." (1257) This reference to Our Lord affirming the importance of Baptism relates to the words of Jesus: "I tell you most solemnly, unless a man is born through water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (John 3:5)

This notion of young children being denied heaven through no fault of their own has sometimes caused distress in families who have had a child die before receiving the Sacrament of Baptism. It should be stated clearly that God, as a loving Father, would never condemn an innocent baby to suffer in the afterlife. While the Catholic Church does not take an official position on the fate of unbaptized children, "the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God... who desires that all men be saved," and to "Jesus' tenderness toward children which caused him to say, 'Let the children come to me, do not hinder them'..." (1261) It is, therefore, most prudent and appropriate that parents should approach the Church promptly to have their children baptized without delay.

Although Jesus spoke of Baptism 'through water and the spirit', it is worth noting that the Church teaches the validity of two other forms of Baptism. If for some reason a person cannot receive the Baptism of water, the same graces can be supplied by 'Baptism of blood' (suffering death for the sake of the faith), or 'Baptism of desire' (a desire for Baptism, accompanied by sorrow for one's sins). Baptism of desire also applies to those persons who might be ignorant of Christ and his Church, provided they do the will of God to the best of their understanding.

"For God our Saviour desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim 2: 3-4)