00:00Hello, dear brothers and sisters. We're back with you again in this section we've developed for each of you.
00:08To know is to love. We cannot love what we do not know, said Saint Augustine.
00:13And that's why I want to answer many of the questions that have come to me over time.
00:19And I think they are important not only for the person who sent them to me, but for all of us Catholic Christians.
00:27I have an interesting question here from Jesús Fuentes of Veracruz.
00:32He says, "Father, what is baptism like in other religions?"
00:37And what is the relationship like there between God and people who belong to another religion?
00:43Well, this is quite an interesting question.
00:57The first thing I would like to do is focus the topic solely on the Christian religion,
01:10Well, there are other religions that are not Christian, since they do not accept that Jesus Christ is God.
01:16and therefore they do not follow or accept it, especially the theology and faith concerning the Holy Trinity.
01:24So, let's set this aside for a bit so we can really focus on what religions are that are properly Christian.
01:35Now, then, baptism is given in all Christian churches.
01:41It may differ in some cases regarding the age at which it is received
01:46or to the catechetical requirements that must be met to receive it,
01:50But the result in all cases is always to remove or eliminate original sin.
01:57and through baptism be incorporated into the body of Christ.
02:03As the catechism in the church clearly states, it says
02:07The fruit of baptism or baptismal grace is a rich reality that includes the forgiveness of original sin
02:16and from all personal sins, the birth to new life by which man is made
02:23adopted son of the Father, member of Christ and temple of the Holy Spirit.
02:29Through the very act of baptism, the baptized person is incorporated into the church, the body of Christ, and made a partaker of the priesthood of Christ.
02:41For the baptism to be valid, it must be performed with natural water and say
02:46The person's name and then
02:50I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
02:55If the baptism is performed in this way, it will be valid regardless of which Christian church it was performed in.
03:04However, even people who have not been baptized can love God,
03:10This is inherent in man because he has a spiritual soul which, as Saint Augustine says,
03:17Having been created by God, she remains restless until she rests in him.
03:22Another related topic is the forgiveness of sins.
03:27Here we must distinguish between personal sins and original sin.
03:32Original sin is forgiven through participation in baptism, as we just said a moment ago.
03:40And personal sins through the action of the sacrament of reconciliation.
03:45That in baptism, when a person is baptized as an adult, having had personal sins, these are also forgiven.
03:57It is true that only the Catholic Church recognizes the sacrament of reconciliation as such.
04:03However, we cannot deny the merciful action of God who wants all men to be saved.
04:10and that they find other ways for man to return to friendship with him.
04:16The Catholic Church acknowledges that these would be extraordinary paths,
04:22The ordinary way is through the sacrament of reconciliation.
04:26And the minister of the sacrament is the priest, as Jesus indicated to his apostles.
04:32You can read about this in the text of John 20, where it clearly refers to him in verse 23.
04:40This is reflected in the catechism of the Catholic Church in number 1461.
04:46Finally, the relationship that God maintains with people of other religions
04:51It is always warm and full of love, for it cannot deny itself.
04:57The problem is people's relationship with God.
05:00In this regard, we will say that to the extent that man, including the Christian,
05:06seeks to enter into the mystery and mercy of God,
05:10God does not close the door on him, quite the contrary.
05:14Therefore, to the extent that man sincerely seeks it, he will certainly find it.
05:22Perhaps, in any case, we could speak of intensity or perfection,
05:28which will be subject to the faith, charity, and hope that the believer has.
05:35However, I have always believed that in our church, because of all the resources it offers us,
05:42It provides us with all the elements to make our relationship full, open, and complete.
05:50as perhaps I cannot do in any other church that does not have all these elements that we have.
05:57Despite this, there are so many brothers who remain far from him,
06:03despite having all the resources that Jesus wanted to leave us in the sacraments.
06:10They do not value it and do not seek the Lord to become holy.
06:15Judge them yourself, Jesus.
06:17Judge for yourself, since you are listening to me.
06:19We have a great wealth in our church.
06:23Everyone finds, or we find, a way to relate to God.
06:27But nobody like us.
06:30Jesus wanted to leave us a great treasure in our church.
06:33that need to be known and valued.
06:37Thank you very much for your attention.
06:39And we'll see you in our next "Knowledge to Love" segment.
06:43God bless you.
06:45See you later.
