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Dear Father Angelo, good morning.
My name is Leonardo, I’m from Rome, but live in Brazil and I’m writing to ask for clarification regarding baptism.
In Sacred Scripture, Peter says: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Act 2:38). And Paul says the same thing: “Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling upon his name.” (Act 22,16).
“But once they began to believe Philip as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, men and women alike were baptized.” (Act 8,12). 
Isn’t it strange to find these passages where it says that the apostles baptized “in the name of Jesus” or “in the name of the Lord Jesus”?
Jesus says to baptize in the name of the Holiest Trinity, so why do these passages say that the apostles did the opposite?
I would also like to ask you something else: it it said in Sacred Scripture that in order to be baptized one has to believe and repent, but a newborn, only a few days old, cannot do that: I know that the Church baptizes in its faith (the Church’s faith, from what I’ve read), but how does that work in regards to the part about repentance?
Numerous other fathers say that baptism in the name of Jesus wasn’t valid. That it was valid only for a time, but then it stopped being valid.
Could you give me an answer? 

Priest’s answer

Dearest,
1. Since Jesus Christ was the one who instituted baptism, we have to abide by what He prescribed.
Now, Christ gave instruction to baptize in the name of the Holiest Trinity, meaning in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
No other formula is correct.

2. We read in Acts that Peter said: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Act 2:38) and that Peter and John found in Samaria some people who “had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Act 8:16) and that Peter “ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” (Act 10:48). Because of this, some, such as Saint Ambrose, Saint Maximus of Turin, Saint Hilary and Saint Basil, thought that in the Early Church people were also baptized in the name of Jesus.
Other theologians, the most illustrious of which was Cajetan, adhered to this position. On the other hand, theologians such as St. Albertus Magnus and St. Bonaventure, were of the opinion that, for a short period of time, it had been licit to baptize exclusively in the name of Jesus. Finally, saints such as Melchor Cano and Robert Bellarmin, say that, in Acts, it is specified that the baptism described is in the name of Jesus in order to differentiate from the baptism of John or pagan baptism. 

3. We read in the Didache, which is a Christian writing dating back to the second half of the First Century: “And concerning baptism, baptize this way: Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit in living water” (ch. 7,10).
Saint Justin says that catechumens “are brought by us where there is water, and are regenerated in the same manner in which we were ourselves regenerated. For, in the name of God, the Father and Lord of the universe, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, they then receive the washing with water.” (Apology, 1,61). 

4. According to Saint Thomas there’s no doubt: baptism has always been administered in the name of the Holiest Trinity since this is what Jesus Christ wanted and is attested by the Early Church.
Saint Ambrose says that, if baptism was administered by uttering only the name of Jesus, this was because of a unique dispensation. 

5. There’s a very ancient opinion, supported by Origen (Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, 5,8), that argues that, when baptism in the name of Jesus is referenced in Acts, that isn’t to specify the form of the baptism, meaning the words that have to accompany the act, rather it simply means that the baptism was being administered on the mandate and by the virtue of Jesus Christ. 

6. Here’s what Saint Thomas says: “the sacraments derive their efficacy from Christ’s institution. Consequently, if any of those things be omitted which Christ instituted in regard to a sacrament, it is invalid; save by special dispensation of Him Who did not bind His power to the sacraments. Now Christ commanded the sacrament of Baptism to be given with the invocation of the Trinity. And consequently whatever is lacking to the full invocation of the Trinity, destroys the integrity of Baptism. Nor does it matter that in the name of one Person another is implied, as the name of the Son is implied in that of the Father, or that he who mentions the name of only one Person may believe aright in the Three; because just as a sacrament requires sensible matter, so does it require a sensible form. Hence, for the validity of the sacrament it is not enough to imply or to believe in the Trinity, unless the Trinity be expressed in sensible words. For this reason at Christ’s Baptism, wherein was the source of the sanctification of our Baptism, the Trinity was present in sensible signs: viz. the Father in the voice, the Son in the human nature, the Holy Ghost in the dove.” (Summa Theologiae, III 66, 6).

7. Then, without taking a stance on the meaning of the words used in Acts, taking as legitimate Saint Ambrose’s interpretation, he adds: “It was by a special revelation from Christ that in the primitive Church the apostles baptized in the name of Christ; in order that the name of Christ, which was hateful to Jews and Gentiles, might become an object of veneration, in that the Holy Ghost was given in Baptism at the invocation of that Name.” (Ib., ad 1)
And: “Ambrose here gives this reason why exception could, without inconsistency, be allowed in the primitive Church; namely, because the whole Trinity is implied in the name of Christ, and therefore the form prescribed by Christ in the Gospel was observed in its integrity, at least implicitly.” (Ib., ad 2).

8. Regarding repentance being necessary to receive baptism, here’s what Saint Thomas says: “A man may be said to be a sinner in two ways. First, on account of the stain and the debt of punishment incurred in the past: and on sinners in this sense the sacrament of Baptism should be conferred, since it is instituted specially for this purpose, that by it the uncleanness of sin may be washed away, according to Ephesians 5:26: “Cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life. Secondly, a man may be called a sinner because he wills to sin and purposes to remain in sin: and on sinners in this sense the sacrament of Baptism should not be conferred.” (Summa Theologiae, III, 68, 4).
This means that, by asking for children to be baptized, one is asking at the same time for their original sin to be remitted and for the infusion of grace that certainly helps in avoiding sin. 

I bless you, I remember you in prayer and wish you the best.
Father Angelo