Although baptized, we still fall ill. Although baptized, we feel the relentless attacks of concupiscence. Although baptized, we suffer the vicissitudes of a life subjected to sin. And, most importantly, although baptized, we are subject to death. If Adam and Eve, before the fall, were not touched by any of the evils of this life, how can we say that, through the Holy Sacrament of Baptism, “We are somewhat already in Paradise”? It is time to answer, as much as possible, this challenging question.

In order to do this, we need to reflect, using as vivid and expressive imagery as possible, on the human condition before the fall, so that we can contemplate our situation after the fall. Only when these aspects are clarified, can we revisit the topic of Holy Baptism and discuss the effects it has on those saved “by the laver of regeneration” (Titus 3:5).

Pius XII’s Humani Generis from 1950 was the last major encyclical warning Catholics about the dangers facing the Church prior to Vatican II. In it, he denounced what he termed the “imprudent zeal for souls” that led some Catholics to question the necessity of belonging to the Catholic Church:

“Some say they are not bound by the doctrine, explained in Our Encyclical Letter of a few years ago, and based on the Sources of Revelation, which teaches that the Mystical Body of Christ and the Roman Catholic Church are one and the same thing. Some reduce to a meaningless formula the necessity of belonging to the true Church in order to gain eternal salvation. Others finally belittle the reasonable character of the credibility of Christian faith. These and like errors, it is clear, have crept in among certain of Our sons who are deceived by imprudent zeal for souls or by false science.”

At this point in Francis’s Synod on Synodality, most rational Catholics who have paid attention have seen enough to know that it is a deliberate attack from hell on the Catholic Church. In hindsight, this ought to have been clear from Francis’s opening address of the Synod over two years ago, when he announced his intention to create a different church:

“Father Congar, of blessed memory, once said: ‘There is no need to create another Church, but to create a different Church’ (True and False Reform in the Church). That is the challenge. For a ‘different Church,’ a Church open to the newness that God wants to suggest, let us with greater fervour and frequency invoke the Holy Spirit and humbly listen to him, journeying together as he, the source of communion and mission, desires: with docility and courage.”

“Faith of our Fathers! Holy Faith! We will be true to thee till death.” (Faith of Our Fathers, Fr. Frederick William Faber)

The sign of Jonah

The confrontations of Our Lord Jesus Christ with the priests became all the more intense as His earthly life approached its end. After presenting Him as a dangerous sorcerer who performed exorcisms with the help of demons (Luke 11:15), they began to continuously tempt Him with questions designed to give his adversaries the opportunity to incriminate Him. Mockingly, they even asked Him for miracles: “Master, we would see a sign from thee.” (Matthew 12:38) However, knowing the hardness of their hearts, the Savior only offered them one sign: “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.” (Matthew 12:39)