Why baptize small children? Isn't it better to wait until they can decide?

Baptism, a sociological fact

There are many decisions that parents make without waiting to consult with their children, in matters that will affect them in a decisive way in their lives.

They provide them with food, clothing, warmth and affection before they have the use of reason, without their having freely asked for it, but this is essential to keep them alive. But they also do things, in addition to covering basic subsistence needs, that will have a decisive impact on fundamental life issues.

Let us think, for example, of speaking to them in a specific language. The acquisition of the mother tongue responds to a parental decision that will shape the way children express themselves, their deepest cultural roots and even some very specific perspectives in their approach to reality. No reasonable parent would make the decision not to speak anything to their child until he/she grows up, listens to several languages and decides for him/herself which one he/she wants to learn. Language is a very important cultural element in the development of human life and delaying its acquisition until the age of majority would be a very serious damage to the intellectual development of the new human being.

Pero, ¿la decisión de bautizar y comenzar a formar en la fe tiene algún parecido con la de hablar a los niños en el propio idioma?

A person who does not have faith and does not know what the existence of God, his goodness, his way of acting in the world and in people means, and who does not know the deepest reality of baptism will think that it has nothing to do with it, that language is indispensable and faith is not. But this does not mean that his assessment is reasonable, but rather that it is due to his cultural deficiencies, or even to his prejudices, which prevent him from reasoning on the basis of all the real data.

Therefore, in order to rationally take charge of all the factors involved in this issue it is essential to know first what it means to receive Baptism, and then to assess the situation.

What Baptism entails

God has designed a love story for every human being, which is revealed little by little throughout life. To the extent that we have a close relationship with Him, that story will be revealed and take shape. And the first step for this closeness to be effective is Baptism.

The Christian faith considers the Baptism como el sacramento fundamental, ya que es condición previa para poder recibir cualquier otro sacramento. Nos une a Jesucristo, configurándonos con Él en su triunfo sobre el pecado y la muerte.
In ancient times it was administered by immersion. The one to be baptized was completely immersed in water. Just as Jesus Christ died, was buried and resurrected, the new Christian was symbolically introduced into a tomb of water, to divest himself of sin and its consequences, and be reborn to a new life.

Baptism is, in fact, the sacrament that unites us to Jesus Christ, introducing us to his saving death on the Cross. frees us from the power of original sin and from all personal sins, y nos permite resucitar con él a una vida sin fin. Desde el momento de su recepción, se participa de la vida divina mediante la gracia, que va ayudando a crecer en madurez espiritual.

In baptism we become members of the Body of Christ, brothers and sisters of our Savior, and children of God.

Somos liberados del pecado, arrancados de la muerte eterna, y destinados desde ese instante a una vida en la alegría de los redimidos. "Mediante el bautismo cada niño es admitido en un círculo de amigos que nunca le abandonará, ni en la vida ni en la muerte. Ese círculo de amigos, esta familia de Dios en la que el niño se integra desde ese momento, le acompaña continuamente, también en los días de dolor, en las noches oscuras de la vida; le dará consuelo, tranquilidad y luz" (Benedicto XVI, 8 de enero de 2006).

Why the Church maintains the practice of infant baptism

Esta práctica es de tiempo inmemorial. Cuando los primeros cristianos recibían la fe, y eran conscientes del gran don de Dios de que habían sido objeto, no querían privar a sus hijos de esos beneficios.

The Church continues to maintain the practice of infant baptism for a fundamental reason: before we opt for God, he has already opted for us. He has made us and called us to be happy. Baptism is not a burden, on the contrary, it is a grace, an undeserved gift that we receive from God.

Christian parents, from the earliest centuries, applied common sense. Just as the mother did not deliberate at length about whether she should breast-feed her newborn child, but fed it when the child required it, just as they washed it when it was soiled, clothed it and wrapped it up warmly to protect it from the rigors of the cold, just as they talked to it and gave it affection. 

También así, le proporcionaban la mejor ayuda que cualquiera criatura humana necesita para desarrollar la vida en plenitud: la limpieza del alma, la gracia de Dios, una gran familia sobrenatural, y una apertura al lenguaje de Dios, de modo que cuando vaya despertando su sensibilidad y su inteligencia contemplen el mundo con la luz de la fe, aquella que permite conocer la realidad tal y como es.