Is salvation by desire the same as baptism of desire?
A viewer asks whether the idea of salvation by desire lines up with the Church's teaching on baptism of desire.
Answer
Yes, they are exactly the same thing. The Council of Trent, in chapter 4, allowed baptism of desire, and in its section on confession it also allowed confession by desire. So the two most important sacraments as far as sin is concerned, baptism and confession, were each allowed by desire. That means when external or internal forces keep you from obtaining the graces of these sacraments by the normal means, being able to walk up to a priest in a church and ask for baptism, then God can give you the grace without the normal circumstances. If you cannot walk, if you do not know a priest, if you are sick and cannot get out of bed, God can give the grace. That is how much grace the Catholic Church has to give. As stern as God can be, he is like mush when it comes to people being humble and looking for salvation.