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Expert: Fr. Timothy Johnson - 10/31/2008


Question
ok i know where it says in the new testament that the jailor and his family were baptized and saved..but it states that all who BELIEVED were saved... of course you and i both know an infant "baby" cannot comprehend believing in God or Christ. so if scripture says that all who BELIEVED were saved it therefore can not be said this is talking about infants in his household. now why is it catholics believe in baptizing infants "biblicaly"?

Answer
Hi, Connor:
Thanks for the question.
The household of babies believe, and it is based upon this faith that the child is brought into the New Covenant.  In the Old Testament, Abraham believed, and received the sign of the Faith Covenant through circumcision.  The Hebrew People circumcised their sons based upon the Faith of being members of the Household of God.  This is why the passage from Acts to which you make allusion is so important, as it speaks of the household of the jailor.  Words throughout the Scriptures are used very specifically and deliberately.  The context of the Tradition received, then, gives the hereneutic for interpreting the written Scriptural Tradition of the Catholic Church.

Fr. Timothy Johnson

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Fr. Timothy Johnson

Expertise

A Traditional Catholic Priest, validly and licitly ordained, incardinated legally and canonically in the Diocese of Fargo, and in good-standing with my Local Ordinary (Bishop) on active assignment at a rural Tri-Parish. I can provide honest and balanced answers to questions on topics pertaining to Traditional Roman Catholicism of the Latin Church (Councils of Trent and Vatican II)and a lot about the Eastern Catholic Churches, including the Sacred Liturgy, Sacred Scripture, Church History, the use of the Latin language, the tradition of Sacred Music, and current events in the Catholic Church from a traditional, historical and balanced perspective.

Experience

I have been ordained a Roman Catholic Priest since June 2001.

Organizations
Knights of Columbus; Church Music Association of America (CMAA)

Education/Credentials
Ordained Priest, 02 JUN 2001; Ordained Deacon, 27 JAN 2001; MA - Dogmatic/Systematic Theology; MDiv - Professional Degree from Seminary; 2-Years formation with Canons Regular of Premontre including studies and experience in Sacred Liturgy, Chant, Latin, Sacraments, Spirituality. BA - Scholastic/Thomistic Philosophy; BA - Liberal Arts; AA - General Studies.

Past/Present Clients
I serve 3-small, rural Parish Communities in Easter North Dakota
I converted to the Roman Catholic Church in 1981, at the age of 15. Over the years I have done work as an organist, cantor, and choir director for the Latin Rite (English & Latin) Mass (Liturgy of the Eucharist), and even for the Hours of the Divine Office. I have worked as a cantor for a Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church. Presently my pastoral and administrative duties as a Catholic Priest do not allow me as much time as I used to have to devote to Sacred Music; but for my weekend Masses and Solemnities within my Tri-Parish, I offer High Sung Mass in English. Weekday Mass is typically Low Mass (recited Mass) in English, though on occasion I will offer the "Tridentine Mass" in Latin, which I usually offer on my "Day Off", as well. And now, in light of the "Motu Proprio" by his Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI placing the extraordinary usage of the Roman Rite back into the mainstream of the Catholic Church, I have been offering a regularly scheduled SUN, 2:00 PM Tridentine Latin Mass with a community of the faithful that has a stable existence.

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