1. INFANT JUSTIFICATION

Roman Catholicism teaches that the soul of each child entering this world is spiritually dead because of Adam's sin. It was to remedy this problem that Jesus died on the cross. The benefits of Christ's death says the Church, are initially imparted to infants through the sacrament of baptism. It removes original sin, the sin inherited from Adam, and pours, or infuses, sanctifying grace into the soul. By this action the child is brought into a state of grace, born again, made a temple of the Holy Spirit, and enrolled as a member of the Roman Catholic Church. The term used by the Church to describe this transformation is justification. Each year the Roman Catholic Church baptizes about 16 million children. Most are only a few days old.

2. ADULT JUSTIFICATION

Unlike infants, who are to be baptized without delay, an adult converting to Roman Catholicism must undergo extensive preparation. The process begins with God, who freely bestows first actual grace upon the individual. Should the person choose to cooperate with this grace, he will begin to perform salutary acts. These are human actions leading to justification. The first response is faith, defined in Roman Catholicism as the firm acceptance of the major doctrines of the Church as summarized in creeds. The second response is the performance of good works such as love of God and neighbor, self-renunciation, and obedience to the commandments. When the Church judges that a candidate is properly prepared, it declares the person to be among the elect and fit to take part in the Sacrament of baptism. The Roman Catholic Church annually prepares almost two million adults and children over the age of seven for baptismal justification. This is normally accomplished in a program called the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (R.C.I.A).

3. INCREASING AND PRESERVING JUSTIFICATION

According to Roman Catholicism, initial justification through baptism is only the first step on a long road. If a Catholic hopes to one day enter the gates of heaven, he must diligently seek to increase and preserve grace in his soul. This is accomplished in a process called sanctification, the chief feature of which is participation in sacraments. The Church teaches that Christ formally established seven sacraments to serve as the primary channels of God's grace to Catholics: baptism, penance, eucharist, confirmation, matrimony, holy orders, and anointing of the sick. Through the proper performance of a ritual, each sacrament is said to increase sanctifying grace in the souls of prepared Catholics. From the sacraments Catholics can also obtain actual grace, which enables them to avoid sin and thereby preserve the grace that they already possess. Actual grace also helps Catholics to do good works by which they earn yet more grace. By the increase of grace received through the sacraments and merited by good works, Catholics are said to be further justified.

4. REJUSTIFICATION

The Church teaches that there are two kinds of sin. Venial sins are minor infractions of God's law such as petty theft or lying about something small. Venial sins weaken a person's spiritual vitality and make the individual more susceptible to temptation. These sins can be forgiven by confessing them in prayer to God with sincere repentance. Mortal sins are serious, conscious, and deliberate violations of God's law. Mortal sins kill the life of grace in the soul and result in eternal punishment. In order to be rejustified, or restored to the state of grace, the sinner must repent and confess all his mortal sins to a priest in the sacrament of penance. Additionally, according to the Church, each sin, whether venial or mortal, stores up temporal punishment for which the individual must personally make reparation through acts of penance.

5. FINAL DESTINY

For a Catholic, death is the moment of truth. This is when he or she must stand before God in the particular judgment and learn of his eternal destiny. To pass this test and obtain eternal life as a reward for good works performed on earth, the Catholic must be found to have died with sanctifying grace in his soul. In such a case, the person is said to have achieved final perseverance. Even then, however, before the Catholic can enter heaven, the individual may need to make additional reparation for his sins by suffering in purgatory. There he pays for the temporal punishment of sins not previously atoned for by acts of penance or canceled by indulgences, special credits obtained from the Church by performing religious acts. At the end of the world, the Lord will review the Catholic's life a second time in the general judgment. This is when Christ determines the magnitude of each person's glory in heaven, or, if he died without grace in his soul, the degree of his eternal punishment in hell.