Baptism is the sacrament through which we become member's of Christ's church and are incorporated into the death and Resurrection of Jesus. The baptismal washing, whether by immersion or by the pouring of water, cleanses us from original sin and is necessary for eternal life (John 3:3-6).
OBJECTION TO INFANT BAPTISM
Some Protestant churches oppose infant baptism because they believe that every baptism should be accompanied by a personal act of faith. According to this reasoning, an infant isn't capable of this kind of faith and, therefore, should wait until he or she is older. They say Saint Paul and the other early Christian missionaries were only interested in the conversion of adults who could make a mature act of faith. Surely, I would say the preaching of the disciples was indeed directed to adults; but that doesn't mean they didn't baptize infants, too.
SCRIPTURE SAYS 'WHOLE FAMILIES'
Saint Paul and the disciples grew up as Jews and were accustomed to admitting babies into the community of faith. Jesus himself was circumcised as a Jew when he was eight days old, initiating him into the covenant of the Jewish people.
At Phillipi, Saint Paul baptized Lydia and her household (Acts 16:15); and later, the jailer with his whole family (Acts 16:33). Scripture makes no distinction between adults, children and babies; but says whole families were baptized.
The early church remembered that Jesus said, "Let the children come tome and do not hinder them. It is to just such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs" (Mark 10:14). So, infants were baptized through the centuries of Christianity -- by all but a handful of small dissident groups -- until the 16th century reformation, when some Protestants decided against it.
INFANTS COUNT, TOO
The Catholic Church celebrates infant baptism because it is in accord with the both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. When children are born they are accepted completely as members into their natural family. In the plan of God, children are initiated immediately -- through baptism -- to share the life of grace by membership in the church, their spiritual family. Besides, the church is the people of God. Who ever heard of a people without infants!
Everyone accepts the fact that parents bestow citizenship in an earthly nation upon their children when those children are born. Why, then, not bestow citizenship in the heavenly kingdom upon their children at the same time? Through baptism, we become members of the church, citizens of God's kingdom. And that is the most important citizenship we can claim.
PLACE OF PARENTS
It is essential to note that the faith of the parents is very important to the concept of infant baptism. The parents supply the act of faith for their infants until such a time as they can profess mature Christian faith on their own. The faith and consent of parents are essential because it is from them, first of all, that their children will learn the ways of Jesus. Children should only be brought to the church for baptism when their parents have every intention of raising those children in a practicing Catholic household.
SALVATION AS A GIFT
The baptism of infants is a powerful symbol of one of the basic truths of our faith; namely, that salvation is a gift from God. There is nothing we can do to earn salvation, we can only gratefully accept it through faith; which is, of course, another gift from God. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works . . ." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
The fact that the baby is baptized into the conversion process, the journey to salvation, without performing any "works" -- saying any special words or doing any special deeds -- clearly shows that God's love is freely given to all who come to him.
Traditional Christian teaching says that every human being is born with original sin, a kind of inward alienation from God. This sin must be taken away before eternal life can be attained. Baptism removes original sin and so it is important to receive it at the earliest possible moment in order to draw closer to God.
IMMERSION OR POURING
Some Protestants object that we don't always baptize by immersion. The Catholic Church sees immersion -- going under and coming out of the water -- as the most complete sign of dying and rising with Jesus through baptism. But we also understand there are circumstances that make immersion less desirable than the pouring of water over the head. The wisdom of our church gives us the option of immersion or the pouring of water. The quantity of water used is not the important thing. The baptismal grace the water signifies is what is important. Scriptural teaching on baptism doesn't set requirements about the amount of water used.
RENEWAL OF BAPTISMAL VOWS
Other objections to the practice of infant baptism should be answered by the fact that the baptized of all ages are called to a renewal of their baptisms every year at Easter. Through this renewal we all -- adults or children -- recall our need for continuing repentance, continuing conversion to the way of Jesus.
Whether one is fortunate enough to have been baptized as an infant or whether one comes into the church at a later point with adult baptism, the important business at hand is that of living out our baptismal commitment and of sharing our faith with others in love and joy.