22. THE QUESTION WAS:
St. Augustine said Baptism destroys:
THE ANSWER IS…. C….All Sins (original, mortal and venial sins were all
removed in Baptism)
Here is one of St. Augustine’s many comments on Baptism:
"When
you shall have been baptized, keep to a good life in the commandments of God so
that you may preserve your baptism to the very end. I do not tell you that you
will live here without sin, but they are venial sins which this life is never
without. Baptism was instituted for all sins. For light sins, without which we
cannot live, prayer was instituted. . . . But do not commit those sins on
account of which you would have to be separated from the body of Christ. Perish
the thought! For those whom you see doing penance have committed crimes, either
adultery or some other enormities. That is why they are doing penance. If their
sins were light, daily prayer would suffice to blot them out. . . . In the
Church, therefore, there are three ways in which sins are forgiven: in
baptisms, in prayer, and in the greater humility of penance" (Sermon to
Catechumens on the Creed 7:15, 8:16 [A.D. 395]).
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