The faith of our fathers - Carmel Apologetics

312 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS.God s decrees. The province of reason consists inascertaining that God has spoken. When we knowthat He has spoken, then our investigation ceases,and faith and obedience begin. Instead of impiously criticising the divine decree, we should exclaim with the "Apostle O the : !depth of theriches of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! howincomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways!For, who hath known themind of the Lord ? or who hath been His counsellor?"1Let us remember that heaven is a place to whichnone of us has any inherent right or natural claim,but that it ispromised to us by tne pure favor ofGod. He can reject and adopt whom He pleases,and can, without injustice, prescribe His own conditions for accepting His proffered boon. If yourchild is deprived of heaven by being deprived ofBaptism, God does it no wrong, because He infringesno right to which your child had any inalienabletitle. If your child obtains the grace of Baptism,be thankful for the gift.It isproper here to state briefly what the Churchactually teaches regarding the future state of unbaptizedinfants. Though the Church, in obedienceto God s Word, declares that uiibaptizedinfants areexcluded from the kingdom of heaven, itshould nothence be concluded that they are consigned to theplace of the reprobate.None are condemned to the1 Eom. xi. 33, 34