The mother of a recently married young woman came to the parish house to request the Sacrament of Baptism for her newlyborn grandchild.
From somewhere inside of me, my wisdom figure spoke ‘for’ me! “Do the parents wish that their child to be baptised?”
Silence!
“They do not go to Church,” the mother acknowledged into the silence.
“If the parents wish that their child is baptised we can set a date” I suggested. “Invite the parents to call and make an appointment.”
“They are not interested!” exclaimed the mother (of the bride), “what if the baby dies?”
I replied with genuine honesty, “God will meet the child with open arms!”
The Gospel today makes for uncomfortable listening, especially the line, “the doctrines they teach are nothing but human commandments.” (Mark 7:7)
In a tradition as old, as rich and as broad as the Catholic Church, there are bound to be some “only human regulations.”
A clear example would be the traditional teaching about Limbo, where the unbaptised babies supposedly went.
It caused a great deal of pain and distress, as parents and grandparents and other family members concluded their deceased babies would never, ever enjoy the presence of God.
St Augustine believed in Limbo.
Pope Benedict XVI set it firmly aside. Still, it took fifteen centuries…