As much as I esteem Mother Teresa for all the good she has done, she is not a theologian and she was clearly mistaken in stating that “it doesn’t matter…” what religion a person belongs to.
Mother Teresa is indeed up for canonization, but this is no guarantee that she spoke correctly in every single case.
In truth, I have not resolved this phrase of Mother Teresa for myself yet and have some personal discomfort with it still. I am working on it still.I am also remnded of Mother Teresa who said to her sisters, “It does not matter whether a person is a Christian, Muslim, Jew or Hindu as long as they are good Christians, Muslims, Jews or Hindus.” If this were heresy, why are we canonizing her?
JR
It is important to take things IN CONTEXT. Complete her thought:
James, re Mother Teresa, in context, she said:In truth, I have not resolved this phrase of Mother Teresa for myself yet and have some personal discomfort with it still. I am working on it still.
I don’t know where the Church currently stands on the Medjugorje apparitions either. But some of the old messages I recollect reading over 15 years ago were that only Man made the distinctions between religions where as God did not make the same distinctions and saw mostly the soul. Of course without the grace present through the Catholic Church sacraments I have to assume that with all those sacramental graces Catholic souls probably look a whole lot better on the average than most others. But we Catholics are also held to a higher expectation given the truth we possess and the access to grace we have.
This is the key thing here. God’s Justice holds those that have the truth to a much higher standard than he does those who do not have the full truth. But there is implicit in the greater gifts and graces the possibility for a greater heavenly spiritual reward too (but its always been a fuzzy risk-reward concept to me that makes me uncomfortable).
Sometimes I really do wonder if ignorance is bliss or not? I still say that the best bet for a non-Catholic is to have a few good Catholic friends to hang around with and ask them to please not try and op[en their mouths to teach too much (making the non-Catholic culpable) and to instead pray a lot for them.
But I read somwhere that malicious ignorance is not excusable either - and in fact is a grave sin - especially in a modern society where there is ample opportunity to know better. Protestants who lurk in these forums and learn a lot about Catholicism but still reject us really need to take this to heart and start some serious soul searching.
I also read somwhere in one of the saint’s private revelations that Jesus gives each (unperfected) soul a few moments after death (2 minutes earth time) to petition His Mercy. It’s a bit dangerous for me to state this here though without a handy reference. So I want to emphasise that this is NOT reliable information but may give somone the motivation to go research it. If true this implies that God still extends a universal grace up to the time of judgement a few moments post death. That may be sufficient time for souls to still be saved since after death their spiritual eyes are opened and they see clearly what the state of their own soul is (just liked Adam felt naked after eating the forbidden fruit). But at the instant God strips universal grace away a soul in grave sin hates God since it has no capacity to love God. Such a soul would actually rather consciously cast itself into Hell than suffer God’s magnificence and His wrath just like Satan did when faced with His own certain knowledge of the consequence of rejecting God for anything less than equality with Him. Satan is so consumed with hatred and jealousy of God the he still would not lower his pride to ask for mercy if God granted him another opportunity to repent and be restored to his original rank (now held by our most magnificent Prince of The Church - St. Michael).
Also if its true that God does grant a last moment to petition His Mercy after death, it probably means that Jesus’ Mercy is so unfathomable that we probably have a lot more souls going to purgatory rather than Hell; since purgatory is all about Mercy that is consistent with God’s Justice. Again, after reading the accounts of the saints I suspect any of those saved in a final act of Mercy are often sentenced to a long time in purgatory - perhaps till the end of time/second coming. I base this on other saints accounts of souls being held in purgatory for dieing impenitent for less grave things than most of us ourselves have committed in our lives (but hopefully repented for). Which means we really need to increase the prayers for those in purgatory.
My own policy is - we just can’t know anything for certain. So this uncertainty means we all should pray often for everyone. As well we should work really hard to keep ourselves in a state of grace so that our prayers and intercessions are more quickly and more often heard. We need to think of ourselves as ‘spiritual warriors for Jesus’. We need to constantly exercise, train, advance and become more spiritually able to use the precious grace God loans us to help save souls. That means too we need to go to confession often and receive Eucharist often.
It really comes down to giving up time for somone else. Since we are mortal in this life - giving up time for somone else in prayer is like giving a very precious gift of a part of our own life to another. I imagine good mothers who live for their children and families and nurture them through adulthood get a HUGE grace and a huge loving merit before God. Giving loving time to another (prayer or nurturing etc.) is a form of the greatest love a person can give another human being since one is giving a part of their life. So many of us who were not blessed by nature with the most gregarious and loving personality types or whom are not yet responding to all the graces we are praying for can actually love through conscious and deliberate acts of intercessory prayer or service.
James
Unlike your many false assumptions, I’m safe in saying that Benedict would (does) agree that any who would take it upon himself or herself to pass God’s judgment on another soul is promoting the very antithesis of Christian faith. WE ARE CATHOLIC - AT LEAST THE HOLY FATHER AND I ARE CATHOLIC. WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PASS JUDGMENT ON THE SOUL OF ANOTHER. That’s NOT “new” news. Get used to it.
Not at all. Our Lord and the saints never attacked other people. They knew when to speak and what to say in the most clear way possible, without being militant.
Indeed. However, may I recommend ceasing this thread of discussion? Though I do not doubt your intent, you seem to be presenting our sister with quite an occasion to wrath.
WH, you seem to be some combination of wrathful and pathetic. However, I can’t recall if you’ve mentioned your religon. If you’re Catholic, you only need to say so.
Not at all. **Our Lord and the saints never attacked other people. ** They knew when to speak and what to say in the most clear way possible, without being militant.
I’ll tell you the problem that I have with many of these posts. It’s not the content, it’s the attitude that comes across. Maybe if we were in the same room having these discussions they would not sound so harsh. But when they are written and you can’t see the other person’s body language, all you can see are words that seem to be attacking you, rather than sharing.
Does that make sense?
For example, what you said above about feeding people without teaching the truth, etc.
The way that came across is that those, who like Mother, St. Francis, St. Vincent, St. Louise de Marillac, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and John Paul II who spent most of their adult lives doing more ministry than preaching were not doing God’s work.
If teaching truth is what is required as a sign of being a good Catholic over living according to the truth, how would we be able to justify contemplative life? Contemplatives are not allowed to go out into the world, not even to perform works of charity. They have made brought more graces into the Church than any other group of Catholics.
Do you see the problem that we can get into with over stating the importance of teaching truth? We run the risk of underestimating the life that is lived doing charity or in the quiet seclusion of a cloister where there is no ministry except to pray with the Church.
For example, if you look at certain religious orders, they tell you that they were founded for the sanctification of their members, not for the sake of any kind of ministry. These include: Carthusians, Franciscans, Cistercians, Poor Clares, some Benedictines, Trappists, Camaldalese, Carmelite nuns, Dominican nuns (not the sisters), and the Order of the Visitation. It is the belief of the Church that even though these orders were not founded to do ministry, but to live in community sanctifying their membes, not preaching or doing anything else in particular, whatever they do to sanctify themselves, will also sanctify the whole Body of Christ.
When anyone makes such a strong claim on preaching truth, without mentioning that truth can be lived without ever saying a word and it’s just as efficacious, it flies in the face of what the Church teaches concerning ministry and the perfection of charity.
In Perfectae Caritatis the Church makes it clear to religious that they are to live out the perfection of charity so that we the laity can immitate it.
When we look at someone like Mother, we should not only admire her, but also immitate her. This is why religious life exists, to teach the laity how to live the perfection of charity.
If we make blanket statements that teaching is the most important part of the faith, then we risk downplaying what the Church considers the most important part of the faith, the perfection of charity, the embrace of the cross and submission to the Gospel.
JR
Of course it’s all supernatural grace for each of us - and even every valid sacrament is supernatural - a miracle in itself - guaranteed by Christ Himself. But last minute death-bed conversions are in a class all by themselves. A roll of the dice gamble with eternity.
This is a good example of what I meant in my previous post to you. You are not teaching truth. You are bullying.
And how many opportunities come our way in life when we just live the love of Christ. It draws people, unlike constantly preaching or rebuking, which repels people.Not at all. Our Lord and the saints never attacked other people. They knew when to speak and what to say in the most clear way possible, without being militant.
I’ll tell you the problem that I have with many of these posts. It’s not the content, it’s the attitude that comes across. Maybe if we were in the same room having these discussions they would not sound so harsh. But when they are written and you can’t see the other person’s body language, all you can see are words that seem to be attacking you, rather than sharing.
Does that make sense?
For example, what you said above about feeding people without teaching the truth, etc.
The way that came across is that those, who like Mother, St. Francis, St. Vincent, St. Louise de Marillac, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and John Paul II who spent most of their adult lives doing more ministry than preaching were not doing God’s work.
If teaching truth is what is required as a sign of being a good Catholic over living according to the truth, how would we be able to justify contemplative life? Contemplatives are not allowed to go out into the world, not even to perform works of charity. They have made brought more graces into the Church than any other group of Catholics.
Do you see the problem that we can get into with over stating the importance of teaching truth? We run the risk of underestimating the life that is lived doing charity or in the quiet seclusion of a cloister where there is no ministry except to pray with the Church.
For example, if you look at certain religious orders, they tell you that they were founded for the sanctification of their members, not for the sake of any kind of ministry. These include: Carthusians, Franciscans, Cistercians, Poor Clares, some Benedictines, Trappists, Camaldalese, Carmelite nuns, Dominican nuns (not the sisters), and the Order of the Visitation. It is the belief of the Church that even though these orders were not founded to do ministry, but to live in community sanctifying their membes, not preaching or doing anything else in particular, whatever they do to sanctify themselves, will also sanctify the whole Body of Christ.
When anyone makes such a strong claim on preaching truth, without mentioning that truth can be lived without ever saying a word and it’s just as efficacious, it flies in the face of what the Church teaches concerning ministry and the perfection of charity.
In Perfectae Caritatis the Church makes it clear to religious that they are to live out the perfection of charity so that we the laity can immitate it.
When we look at someone like Mother, we should not only admire her, but also immitate her. This is why religious life exists, to teach the laity how to live the perfection of charity.
If we make blanket statements that teaching is the most important part of the faith, then we risk downplaying what the Church considers the most important part of the faith, the perfection of charity, the embrace of the cross and submission to the Gospel.
JR
Pay no mind WalkingHome, when modernist arguments start to cruble on the sand, modernists will inevitably accuse you of bullying.
I don’t know your religion. I thought SFD was Catholic - until one day he revealed that he’s sedevacantist. I don’t recall you mentioning yours. Mybe someday you will mention it.
What is offensive is that you don’t have the good sense to keep your mouth shut, if you can’t say something sensible and charitable.