Limbus Infantium
by Father Richard M. Hogan & Father John M. LeVoir
from the Catechetical Teachings of Pope John Paul II
Notâre Bene -
Pope John Paul II has developed a new Theological Synthesis for presenting the Catholic Faith. This
Synthesis is called Phenomenology. Using this Synthesis, beginning about 1985, Pope John Paul II began a series of Weekly Catechetical
Addresses to cover the Central Tenets of Catholicism, following the Articles of the Nicene Creed. Fathers Hogan and LeVoir have compiled
the Pope's Teachings into Book format entitled 'Faith for Today'. The Treatise below is from their presentation on 'Sanctification: An
Act of Power, Wisdom, and Love'.
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Not only does the Holy Spirit (in union with the
Will of Christ and the Wills of the
Baptized) unite all the Baptized in the '
Communion of Persons' of the Church, but He also
unites all those who share the Divine Life in another 'Communion of
Persons', the Communion of Saints. The Communion of Saints
includes all the Baptized on Earth who possess the Divine Life.
(Some of the Baptized may have lost God's
Grace through serious Sin, and these, unless the Sin has
been Forgiven and Grace restored, are not members of the
Communion of Saints.) In addition, the Communion of Saints includes
even the non-baptized who have been given God's Grace.
Ordinarily, Baptism is the Primary Means of receiving God's
Grace. However, there are those who are not Baptized. Still, they must be able to
receive God's Grace because Christ satisfied
God's Love in the name of all Humanity. Since He, as the
'New Adam', wishes to bestow the Divine Love, i.e., Divine Life,
on every Human Being, all men and women must have an opportunity to receive God's Love
(Grace). God does give everyone a chance. For example, if
a non-baptized Aborigine, who has never heard of Christ, comes to believe that there is an Ultimate
Being, i.e., God, Who will Reward the
Good and Punish the Evil, he has received God's Grace.
Looking at a Waterfall or witnessing a Powerful Event of Nature could prepare one to receive Grace.
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Human Soul of Fetus
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Soul/Intelligence/
Superior Will/Reason
Mind/Intellect
Infused Knowledge/
Understanding
Heart/Conscience
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At some point in everyone's life, God gives a chance to receive
His Love, i.e., His Grace. Even those who die before birth
have an opportunity to embrace God's Love. One Theory holds that at the moment of
Death, or just before, God infuses an Understanding of Himself
into the Mind (Soul) of the child. Understanding something of
God, the child wishes to give himself to God, i.e., to
Love God. At that moment, God infuses
His Divine Grace, i.e., His Love, to empower the child to Love
Him. It is necessary that there be an 'Inclination' in the Will of the child towards
Love, because God always, and in every case,
respects our Free Will. Even at the Baptism of a child, there is
a 'Choice' for God made by the Parents and Godparents in the name of the child.
The Angels were Judged by God in the above
way.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen on 'Choice' at Baptism
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In Baptism, Infants are incorporated into
Christ, not through an Act of their own Will, but
through an Act of the Sponsor who represents the Church and assumes responsibility
for the Spiritual Education of the Infant. The Parents, of course, must consent to the
Baptism; the Church refuses to
Baptize anyone against his or her Will, or even to
Baptize an Infant unless there is some guarantee that the child will be raised in the
Faith. The Sponsors are representatives of the
Church, not representatives of the Parents. They witness the Incorporation
of the Infant into the Fellowship of Christ.
It may be asked why should a child be Baptized when he has nothing to say
about it? Well, why should a child be fed? Is he asked his advice before he is given the Family Name? If he receives the Name of
the Family, the Fortune of the Family, the Rank of the Family, the Inheritance of the Family, why should he not also receive
the Religion of the Family? In our own Country we do not wait until children are
Twenty-One (21) and then allow them to decide whether or not they want to become American citizens, or whether they
want to speak the English language. They are born Americans; so we in Baptism
are born Members of the
Mystical Body of Christ. If one
waits until he is Twenty-One (21) before learning something about his relation
to the Lord Who Redeemed him, he
will have already learned another Catechism, the Catechism of his Passions,
his Concupiscences, and his Lusts.
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An older view suggested that those who had Died without
Baptism, even though they had no opportunity to receive it, went to a place called Limbo
(Limbus Infantium). Limbo was not Heaven, but it was not Hell
either. The Souls in Limbo were relatively happy, i.e., they were not
Suffering. However, the Theory of Limbo does not seem to be a very satisfactory solution to the
problem of Salvation for the non-Baptized. If there were Souls in
Limbo, they would endure great Suffering because they would never be able fulfill themselves as Images of
God, i.e., they would never be able to come to Heaven.
Lastly, a Description by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824, Mystic, Stigmatist, Visionary, and Prophet) of
Jesus' Descent into Hell (from the Apostle's Creed - He
descended into Hell), contains a detailed description of Limbo, with no mention of Limbus Infantium. This
'Omission'
supports the above 'Speculation' that God Judges Unbaptized-Infants in the same
Loving manner that He Judged His Holy Angels.
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