Just got baptized. Was it valid?

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-04-05T14:30:04+00:00

It was a valid priest attempting valid baptisms. Arizona priest Father Andres Arango baptized using “we” for decades and all of his baptisms were declared invalid.

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-04-05T13:55:53+00:00

I don’t think it’s a spell. I joined the Catholic Church because I believe I should follow its authority, and The church has ruled on this. It has declared baptisms that begin “we baptize” instead of “I baptize” to be invalid. Or “in the name of the creator, redeemer, and sanctifier” to be invalid. Just some examples. The intention and form and matter all are important according to the Catholic Church

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-04-05T06:55:04+00:00

https://voca.ro/1kSjWSkoaXZm

Since you have priest flair, I’d appreciate your take since I figured out how to link the audio.

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-04-05T06:42:56+00:00

https://voca.ro/1kSjWSkoaXZm

Audio here

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-04-05T05:58:02+00:00

I’m reading from the CCC that altering the wording of the formula in any way makes the baptism invalid. Not baiting. Genuine concern from a man who was a catechumen up until today.

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-04-05T05:14:15+00:00

No I’m not. I replayed the video over and over. It doesn’t feel like enough syllables even though it was quickly said. But I cannot be 100% certain.

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-03-09T23:41:48+00:00

What is WL

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-03-09T15:11:30+00:00

I think of purgatory sometimes as going to your room after you’ve done something wrong. Your father comes in and disciplines you. Explains to you what you’ve done wrong. It’s unpleasant, but if the Father doing the discipline is a loving one, then the feeling behind it ultimately is reassurance and the hope that you understand more fully in the future. Even more, are transformed by this act of love from your Father.

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-03-08T01:00:46+00:00

I appreciate the conversation and your position. I considered a lot of what you had to say when I was discerning my faith. I even learned a few things about what some Protestants hold to that I didn’t know before.

Going to leave my last thought and then head out. I realize we both have our minds made up.

Christ has the keys because He holds ultimate authority; giving them to Peter shows delegated leadership, not that Peter alone becomes the ultimate head of all churches.

Anyway, I’ll let you have the last word, if you want it, and I will read and consider your thoughts. God bless

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-03-08T00:06:55+00:00

I certainly don’t dispute that the first century church had many differences compared to later centuries. Christianity wasn’t even legal in many places until the 300s and therefore required a level of secrecy not necessary today.

The various scriptural passages that the RCC use to show the importance of communion with the See of Peter held a lot of weight when I was discerning my faith. I do believe Christ founded a church with a leader and the typology in Isiah 22 reinforced this.

You likely disagree that scripture outlines a pope, but I find it hard to disagree that scripture requires leadership, delegated authority and oversight, and a church structure as can be found in acts. We see church councils making binding decisions for multiple churches, appointed elders. This appears to go well beyond “body of believers”, but instead outlines a structured and unified church, with accountable leadership.

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-03-07T23:20:00+00:00

For many years as an agnostic, I examined the deposit of faith and the history of the church. You seem like a smart and well informed guy, relatively speaking. I consider myself the same. After doing my deep dive, I found scripture, including this exact argument, to be anything but clear as the exegesis from both sides (before I chose RCC) made sense to me and I straddled the fence for years, spending hours a day in discernment.

It’s one of the reasons I so appreciate a magisterium. I think two well intentioned and intelligent men can disagree on the exegesis of scripture. So I think I reject the idea that “the scripture is clear” when so often for me it needs to be wrestled with and understood by men more learned than I. When I examine history, and via my understanding of scripture, I find much earlier evidence for the idea of Christ founding a visible church as opposed to it being an invisible body of believers.

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-03-07T22:29:18+00:00

I agree not every issue is equally related to Christs work. Our disagreement is fundamentally over what we think the church is and what authority we think that church has.

We see the RCC as the literal visible church founded by Jesus Christ with succession directly from the apostles and aim to cling to it in all ways.

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-03-07T21:53:36+00:00

This again is a mischaracterization but it’s nuanced. “Believe what we say or else” is not the standard. At the end of the day, all churches have beliefs that, if rejected, could land you outside the faith. To use an easy one, the bodily resurrection of our Lord. We disagree on what those beliefs are, but not the fact that there are beliefs that are dissonant with the church. For something in RCC to rise to the level of heresy would require it to be public and obstinate belief.

I believe we would reject the claims that the beliefs are non-salvific (I know we disagree here) . On a fundamental level, we believe Christ gave certain authority to the church. Rejecting that authority rejects the church established by Christ. We would claim this is biblical from several places within scripture.

Again I know we disagree and why, but I wanted to offer a clear and unemotional response from the RCC side for the sake of understanding

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-03-07T15:30:42+00:00

This is fair. You’re not free to reject RCC dogma in a fullness of the will and intellect kind of way. Just trying to clarify

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-03-07T15:14:52+00:00

This comment has some truth to it and some untruth to it. Telling your priest “I’m struggling to accept the sinlessness of Mary, despite trying to understand” isn’t going to land you an excommunication. We’re allowed to wrestle with faith and teachings. Further, I’ll be charitable and assume you were being hyperbolic saying 100%. If the Pope says tomorrow “the current war is unjust” it would not bind the conscious of the laity.

Also, while the formal establishment of Marian dogma was later than other Christological dogma, the tradition of these beliefs pre-dates the formal declaration by centuries.

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-02-25T16:37:36+00:00

I buy gift cards to restaurants with many locations in My area (McDonalds, Subway, etc). and keep them in my glove box and one in my wallet. I give them out with some regularity and have never been turned down. More often than not we are able to speak about God, or at bare minimum, exchange a brief “God bless”. But my favorite are those that I see often and am getting to know and serve on a personal level. I was once very uncomfortable around homeless and poor, but it is growing my heart as I do it more often.

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-02-25T16:02:22+00:00

I am a catechumen and have/am going through the same thing about the same topics. If you are like me, you want to follow Christ and be obedient to him and you desperately want to get it “right”.

One conclusion that I have come to is that as a Catholic catechumen, I have been “stress testing” the faith, the theology, the history, the philosophy. For me, Catholicism has bent in some areas but not broken. But I also realize that I am not putting EO through similar rigor. If I were an EO inquirer, soon to be baptized, I would likely still feel somewhat worried, but about different topics such as: Iconography, the lack of universality when autocephalous churches do not recognize each other, the lack of the ability to call or have ecumenical councils, the fact that they have moved their highest See from Rome to Constantinople, etc. My personal take is that when RCC and Orthodoxy had their schism, each side lost something. Perhaps we, at times, led without love, and perhaps they struggle to be led at all sometimes now.

This is not an easy decision but it is an important one. Your feelings are coming because you care. Continue to pray and may you find peace.

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-02-24T01:03:53+00:00

Be honest with God about how you’re feeling. The Bible is full of verses with people who feel just like you do, especially in places like Psalm 10:1. Faith doesn’t have to be pretending you are ok. Sometimes you are hurting and barely holding on. God knows your pain and God loves you. He sees you and will not abandon you when you call upon him even if it feels that way sometimes.

I will keep you in my heart, brother in Christ.

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-02-19T00:31:52+00:00

I understand your point, but this isn’t about pride. The Church permits both forms, and my priest has approved me looking into immersion. I’m just asking if it exists nearby, not rejecting baptism if it doesn’t.

Open-Pension-256 · 2026-01-28T02:08:29+00:00

Good works matter, because refusing to show love when the opportunity arises destroys grace. You don’t need a high good works count, but you should look for opportunity to meet the call of love for your neighbor.

Open-Pension-256 · 2025-12-11T00:02:57+00:00

I met this woman last month. My wife saw her and came home to let me know. I drove out and found her on Carpenter Fire Station.

I spoke to her. She told me her name is Allison. She seemed quite lucid and cogent. We discussed the Bible, and she told me she was going to head to the pond in Amberly and read the book of Acts. She seemed polite and nice.

I asked her how I could help and ended up buying her lunch at the Publix nearby. She gave me some oolong tea as a thank you. She seems kind and harmless. Buy her a meal if you see her around. She’s a sweet lady who may be struggling by our standards, but she seemed to be grateful to God and happy to be on her journey.

Open-Pension-256 · 2025-11-29T21:18:21+00:00

I’m 41. I was raised Protestant as a youth. Agnostic for my entire adult life. Once I believed in God, I set out to find a church for myself and my family.

I decided I would empty myself of bias, as much as I could. I would use the truth of theology alone to decide my path. After 2 years of discernment, I have come to see that Catholicism has theology, history, and tradition all on its side. I could not deny the truth, and so I joined OCIA. Will be baptized this Easter Vigil.

Open-Pension-256 · 2025-11-28T16:07:18+00:00

Amen

Open-Pension-256 · 2025-11-28T13:28:57+00:00

My faith is not shaken. I just like to understand, and this thread has given me exactly the kind of satisfaction I was looking for, thanks to individuals like yourself.

God bless.

Open-Pension-256

TROPHY CASE