Life is an extraordinary gift from Almighty God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God deserves our greatest esteem and loving response by practicing the fullness of the faith under any circumstances. Through the steadfast love and care of my beloved parents, I was blessed to receive the next extraordinary gift, that of Infant Baptism under the auspices of the pre-conciliar Church and the old pre-1955 Roman rite. The font of graces that flow from this powerful Sacrament sets a person immediately on the path toward Salvation through Christ. But it’s up to us to maintain our good standing. So, hold on tight to what you were taught in Christ. Always keep in mind the powerful spiritual gifts imbued in our soul from Baptism, that of the “indelible mark of Christ”– a protective gift from God that cannot be removed, purifies us of the stain of original sin, opens the proverbial Church doors to welcome a new member and also gifts us as adopted children of God. A truly indispensable Sacrament, similar to the other essential Sacraments.

Interestingly enough, Jean Piaget (1896–1980), a psychologist famous for his theory on the cognitive development of human intelligence and problem-solving readiness of children, described the importance of infants and children from birth to 2 years old to learn about the perceived existence of that (object or thing) which is unseen referred to as “object permanence”. The purifying graces of Baptism exact that very thing through the reception of the “indelible mark of Christ”. Piaget appeared to keep his faith close to his chest, though raised by a Christian mother. The field of psychology can use a major facelift in today’s world by recognizing the close connection between our psychology and spirituality.

The beginning of hope and faith in the existence of that which is unseen begins and ends with the fire of God’s love, giving us the gift of life and through the grace-filled Sacraments of the Church. Infant Baptism gets a child off to the greatest start in life, which helps to preserve and protect him with an indelible mark and introduces the divine lesson of objective permanence of which Piaget spoke. Without God we are nothing.