Valid Baptism

In an earlier post, I looked at the differences between validity and liceity. Namely, one must have form & matter and disposition. Form & matter can be thought of as the 'substance' of the Sacrament, while disposition has a multi-faceted aspect to it. In this post I want to look at Baptism and what makes a baptism valid (i.e. what fulfills the form & matter and disposition requirements).

Form: The Church has consistently ruled that the form for Baptism is "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." It's not "In the name of the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer," nor "In the name of God." This is the version that Jesus gave us in Matthew 28:19 when He told the Apostles to "go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Many groups have tried to change this formula, and the Church has consistently shot 'em down. This is all that's needed to satisfy the form. Those names, however, must be meant to be similar to the Catholic Trinitarian dogma. So the names cannot be said as three names for the same person (which is why Mormon baptism, done in the Trinitarian formula, is not valid).

Matter: This is the physical element to Baptism, so can you guess what it is? Yeah, it's water. You can't Baptize someone with sand, and you can't Baptize someone with milk. You've got to use water. That water can be somewhat diluted, like with salt (which was common pre-Vatican II and still continues at some parishes). Just as water does not invalidate the Eucharistic wine, because one can still tell that it is wine, so too salt does not invalidate the Baptismal water, because one can still tell that it is water. When the water ceases to be water is when it should not be used for Baptism, just as when wine ceases to be wine it should not be used for Mass.

This water must also flow over the person's head, whether by immersion (getting dunked) or affusion (having the water poured over the head). Sprinkling, or aspersion, also counts if the water flows over the persons head- which is basically affusion.

Disposition: Normally, a person has to of had some Sacraments, like Holy Orders or Baptism, in order to confect a Sacrament on someone. Baptism is such an important Sacrament, however, that anyone can confect it. A Catholic, a Baptist, an Atheist. What do they have in common? They can all Baptize someone (assuming that they satisfy the form & matter and disposition).

There is still an important disposition that must be fulfilled for a valid Baptism: intent. The person doing the Baptizing must intend to do as the Church does. There is quite a debate about what this means. Catholic Answers is of the opinion (one that I agree with) that the intent to do as the Church does only means that you must intend to do whatever the Church intends, whether you actually know what that is or not. This debate usually centers around the Eucharist and priests that don't believe in the Real Presence. For the current discussion, one can point to Protestant Churches. Many (not all) believe that Baptism is only a symbol, which is obviously not what the Church intends during the Sacrament. Their Baptisms are still valid, however, because they intend to do as the Church does (it's just that the Church intends something different from what they do).

Furthermore, disposition for Baptism also relates to the acceptance of the Baptism by the individual being Baptized, whether as an adult or on behalf of the baby accepted by the parents.

The requirements for a valid Baptism are pretty simply, mainly because it is such a vital Sacrament. Baptism opens up the other Sacraments, and so it must be readily available and easy to confect/attain. As a result, the requirements for a valid Baptism are five-fold: 1. Water; 2. Said "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit"; 3. Water touching the head; 4. Intent to do as the Church does; and 5. Acceptance by, or an behalf of, the individual.