y decrying a practice which was universally
held as sacred and essential? In judging between the teachings of
Apostolical antiquity on the one hand and of the Anabaptists on the other,
it is not hard to determine on which side lies the truth; for, what
becomes of the Christian Church, if it has erred on so vital a point as
that of Baptism during the entire period of its existence?

Original sin, as St. Paul has told us, is universal. Every child is,
therefore, defiled at its birth with the taint of Adam's disobedience.
Now, the Scripture says that nothing defiled can enter the kingdom of
heaven.(344) Hence Baptism, which washes away original sin, is as
essential for the infant as for the full grown man, in order to attain the
kingdom of heaven.

I said that regeneration is necessary for all. But it is important to
observe that if a man is heartily sorry for his sins, if he loves God with
his whole heart, if he desires to comply with all the Divine ordinances,
including Baptism, but has no opportunity of receiving it, or is not
sufficiently instructed as to its necessity, God, in this case, accepts
the will for the deed. Should this man die in these dispositions, he is
saved by the _baptism of __ desire_, as happened to the Emperor
Valentinian who died a Catechuman: "I lost him whom I was about to
regenerate," says St. Ambrose, "but he did not lose that grace he sought
for." Or, if an unbaptized person lays down his life for Christ, his death
is accepted as more than an equivalent for baptism; for he dies not only
sanctified, but he will wear a martyr's crown. _He is baptized in his own
blood._

But is not that a cruel and heartless doctrine which excludes from heaven
so many harmless babes that have never committed any actual fault? To this
I reply: Has not God declared that Baptism is necessary for all? And is
not God the supreme Wisdom and Justice and Mercy? I am sure, then, that
there can be nothing cruel or unjust in God's decrees. The province of
reason consists in ascertaining that God has spoken. When we know that He
has spoken, then our investigation ceases, and faith and obedience begin.
Instead of impiously criticising the Divine decree, we should exclaim with
the Apostle: "O! the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of
God! how incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His
ways! For, who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His
counsellor?"(345)

Let us remember that