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Fundamentals of Catholicism, Vol. 3: Grace, the Church, the Sacraments, Eschatology
A complete course in Catholicism by the well-known editor of Homiletic and Pastoral Review that presents Catholic teaching on all important points of doctrine and morals. This volume covers the Church, Grace and the Sacraments.
388 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1983
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About the author
Kenneth A. Baker
15 books1 followerFr. Kenneth Baker, S.J. is a Roman Catholic priest in the Society of Jesus. Besides his pastoral duties as a priest he has served as a professor of theology and a university president. He has also worked to bring the message of the Roman Catholic Church into more forms of communication media, most notably as editor-in-chief in the magazine the Homiletic and Pastoral Review which has been called "one of the most important magazines for priests in the English speaking world".
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September 21, 2024
THE FINAL VOLUME OF A THREE-VOLUME SET
Rev. Kenneth Baker, S.J. served for thirty years as editor of the Homiletic & Pastoral Review. In 1975 he became president of Catholic Views Broadcasts, Inc., which produces a weekly 15-minute radio program that airs on 50 stations across the United States; he has also built and run three community television stations. The other volumes in this series are Fundamentals of Catholicism, Vol. 1: Creed, Commandments and Fundamentals of Catholicism, Vol. 2: God, Trinity, Creation, Christ, Mary.
He explains, "Predestination ... formally exists in the divine mind and will... The traditional doctrine that God has predestined certain men to eternal salvation is proposed by the ordinary and universal teaching of the Church as a truth of revelation. This doctrine has been taught by numerous councils of the Church, including the Council of Trent... The problem of divine predestination is a great mystery. On the one hand, we know that God knows all things---past, present and future. Before he creates each one of us he knows infallibly whether we will be saved or lost for all eternity...
"The main difficulty in the doctrine of predestination is whether God's eternal decree has been taken with or without consideration of human freedom. If it is taken in view of his foreknowledge of a person's merits or free response to grace, it seems to make God dependent on the actions of creatures. If it is taken independently of the preknown merits of a particular person, then it seems to imply that God not only positively wills the salvation of the elect, but also that he positively wills the damnation of certain persons---a false doctrine that was taught by John Calvin and has been repudiated by the Church as heresy. Numerous theories have been worked out... in the attempt to reconcile God's goodness and omnipotence with human freedom. All of them admit, however... that predestination is an unfathomable mystery." (Pg. 45-47)
He also acknowledges, "The fact is that some grace is successful and some is not. The obstacle is the perverse human will. But, one might ask, if God is omnipotent and if he knows all things, why does He not give only efficacious grace and so bring it about that no one goes to hell and all go to heaven? I cannot give a clear answer to that question; I wish I could. The reason is that it involves the mystery of human free will." (Pg. 51)
He states, "there is no higher spiritual judge on earth than the pope. He has the right to decide all Church disputes. For the same reason, there is no right of appeal from a decision of the Holy Father to a higher court. No such court exists, not even a General Council. These points were all clearly spelled out by the First Vatican Council in 1870." (Pg. 116)
He again deals with Limbo: "since 1900 there have been a number of Catholic theologians who have proposed ways in which unbaptized infants might be saved... Not satisfied with Limbo as a solution to the problem... They respect the necessity of Baptism, but at the same time they deny the existence of Limbo... This whole matter is still very much an open question with regard to the doctrine of the Church.
"The Church has never officially endorsed the existence of Limbo, even though it has appeared often in Catholic catechisms. On the other hand, there are those who want to hold for the eternal salvation of all unbaptized infants who die without Baptism. This solution... was sharply rebuked by Pope Pius XII... Accordingly the common solution still remains: Such infants are in Limbo, a place where they suffer the pain of loss because of original sin but are immune from the pain of sense." (Pg. 207)
Baker’s book is an excellent “mainstream” (relatively conservative) and clear presentation of Catholic teachings.
Rev. Kenneth Baker, S.J. served for thirty years as editor of the Homiletic & Pastoral Review. In 1975 he became president of Catholic Views Broadcasts, Inc., which produces a weekly 15-minute radio program that airs on 50 stations across the United States; he has also built and run three community television stations. The other volumes in this series are Fundamentals of Catholicism, Vol. 1: Creed, Commandments and Fundamentals of Catholicism, Vol. 2: God, Trinity, Creation, Christ, Mary.
He explains, "Predestination ... formally exists in the divine mind and will... The traditional doctrine that God has predestined certain men to eternal salvation is proposed by the ordinary and universal teaching of the Church as a truth of revelation. This doctrine has been taught by numerous councils of the Church, including the Council of Trent... The problem of divine predestination is a great mystery. On the one hand, we know that God knows all things---past, present and future. Before he creates each one of us he knows infallibly whether we will be saved or lost for all eternity...
"The main difficulty in the doctrine of predestination is whether God's eternal decree has been taken with or without consideration of human freedom. If it is taken in view of his foreknowledge of a person's merits or free response to grace, it seems to make God dependent on the actions of creatures. If it is taken independently of the preknown merits of a particular person, then it seems to imply that God not only positively wills the salvation of the elect, but also that he positively wills the damnation of certain persons---a false doctrine that was taught by John Calvin and has been repudiated by the Church as heresy. Numerous theories have been worked out... in the attempt to reconcile God's goodness and omnipotence with human freedom. All of them admit, however... that predestination is an unfathomable mystery." (Pg. 45-47)
He also acknowledges, "The fact is that some grace is successful and some is not. The obstacle is the perverse human will. But, one might ask, if God is omnipotent and if he knows all things, why does He not give only efficacious grace and so bring it about that no one goes to hell and all go to heaven? I cannot give a clear answer to that question; I wish I could. The reason is that it involves the mystery of human free will." (Pg. 51)
He states, "there is no higher spiritual judge on earth than the pope. He has the right to decide all Church disputes. For the same reason, there is no right of appeal from a decision of the Holy Father to a higher court. No such court exists, not even a General Council. These points were all clearly spelled out by the First Vatican Council in 1870." (Pg. 116)
He again deals with Limbo: "since 1900 there have been a number of Catholic theologians who have proposed ways in which unbaptized infants might be saved... Not satisfied with Limbo as a solution to the problem... They respect the necessity of Baptism, but at the same time they deny the existence of Limbo... This whole matter is still very much an open question with regard to the doctrine of the Church.
"The Church has never officially endorsed the existence of Limbo, even though it has appeared often in Catholic catechisms. On the other hand, there are those who want to hold for the eternal salvation of all unbaptized infants who die without Baptism. This solution... was sharply rebuked by Pope Pius XII... Accordingly the common solution still remains: Such infants are in Limbo, a place where they suffer the pain of loss because of original sin but are immune from the pain of sense." (Pg. 207)
Baker’s book is an excellent “mainstream” (relatively conservative) and clear presentation of Catholic teachings.
Want to read
December 14, 2009Recommended by James Schall in Another Sort of Learning, Chapter 19, as one of Sixteen Books on Belief and Disbelief.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews