Atheist Great Grandmother

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holdencaulfield

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Hello,

I am wondering about something. My great grandmother is very old and is getting weak and sick. I don’t know if she is Baptized or not, however I am worried about her Eternal Salvation. She has openly admitted that she is an atheist. I don’t know what to do. I wanted to get a priest to see if she would want to get perhaps Baptized (if she is not), Confirmed, First Eucharist, and First Confession, and Anointing of the Sick.

Thanks.
 
If she does not want to be confirmed do not force it on her.

As cruel as this sounds, if she wants to suffer eternally, let her do it out of her own free will.

Pray for her.
 
I will, however I am hoping that she will want to be Confirmed. I don’t know her very well, however if I can help save her soul from Eternal Damnation, I think I should at least try.
 
You can always pray, call the priest, pray while the phone rings, ask him, pray while you call her, pray while the phone rings, ask her if she’ll see him, pray while going with him to her place, pray while they talk, and pray until she’s made her choice either way, and keep praying. I can’t think of much more you can do.
 
Meathead said:
If she does not want to be confirmed do not force it on her.

As cruel as this sounds, if she wants to suffer eternally, let her do it out of her own free will.

Pray for her.
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One cannot force it on another; the sacrament is invalid without free consent.

Yes, Pray for her, talk with her as much as you can in her time remaining. Even if you don’t seem to be successful, if you plant the seed it may bloom, even in the last seconds of her earthly life. 👍

It may be wise not to overdo it, in terms of the whole of the sacraments. Start with God, in general. Pushing “Catholicism” may not be the best initial thing to do. You know her better than we,
 
Newbie2 said:
It may be wise not to overdo it, in terms of the whole of the sacraments. Start with God, in general. Pushing “Catholicism” may not be the best initial thing to do. You know her better than we,
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I know considering according to her the Catholic Church is the worst thing in the world. However I feel I must do something.
 
Meathead said:
If she does not want to be confirmed do not force it on her.

As cruel as this sounds, if she wants to suffer eternally, let her do it out of her own free will.

Pray for her.
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Do not assume she will be in hell.
 
holdencaulfield said:
I would not. However to die in a state of mortal sin is not very good for you.
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I agree, I was just telling that other guy to not judge. But yes, you can’t force, but you can always talk to her, and tell her that you are worried about her and all you are saying is because you are concerned for her and tell her to consider.

Also she may not be in a state of mortal sin, just because you are atheist doesn’t mean you have sinned gravely, especially if you don’t believe in God, you can’t sin mortally in unbelief of God if you don’t believe in him, the only time you can is you witness miracles and such and deny them, like the Pharisees.
 
holdencaulfield said:
I would not. However to die in a state of mortal sin is not very good for you.
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Remember a mortal sin requires that the sin be a grave matter, the person know it’s a grave matter and the person freely chooses it. It’s not really easy. Plus, never underestimate the uncovenanted mercy of God. We must not despair - one thief was saved; we must not presume - one thief was not saved.

Faith is a matter of the prevenient grace of God. We are called to live in this world cooperating with that grace. I don’t know all the details of your great grandmother - obviously.I note you said you don’t know her very well.

Maybe that’s the answer - get to know her. Spend time - with her or on the phone. Learn about her life - her hopes, fears, loves, troubles, etc. Tell her of yours. In my experience most old people are NOT afraid of dying - they are afraid of dying alone. Be there for her - and for you. Maybe that’s what God is calling you to - to be his instrument by being her companion and gg son. Also, maybe God is trying to calm your mind?

Pax te cum
 
holdencaulfield said:
Well I guess I should go visit her.
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I have a nephew who left the Church and became an evangelical Protestant. He was sincere though I think misguided. My mother was pretty disturbed by it. After her stroke he laid hands on her - without getting her permission. She told my sister “That didn’t work” when he left. In her last illness he asked to pray for her - and she told him with almost her last breath - NO. Just shot him down in the ICU.

My point in this is to be natural with her. My nephew for all his good intention just hacked my mother off. It was pretty funny.

Love your gg mother for who and what she is. Be relaxed, don’t press. If she can use the phone and you can’t visit often, try to call. Maybe talk to her about your own life and fears. Death even - old folks are more familiar with it than young folks.
 
What you should keep in mind is that God is NOT bound by the sacraments. You do not know what will happen at that last hour when Jesus calls her soul to him. Jesus wants all souls to come to him. It is hard for me to imagine for one second that someone could resist coming to Jesus when they are in his presence, I’m not saying that it is impossible, but I can not even imagine it! There is an Excellent book titled Stories from Pergatory that is published by TAN Books. There are many stories in the book which would probably help you. the book has helped me tremendously.
Keep praying for her, why not offer up a penance for her? Why not offer up prayers for her?:crossrc:
 
Do you Know the Divine Mercy Chaplet? If so, pray that daily for her and see if she would like to learn about this devotion. Jesus gave it for ALL sinners.

www.faustina.org
 
holdencaulfield said:
I will, however I am hoping that she will want to be Confirmed. I don’t know her very well, however if I can help save her soul from Eternal Damnation, I think I should at least try.
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You say you do not know her very well. I would suggest that you do get to know her. See her often or talk to her on the phone daily. Find out her story. Talk about her family her history and life. Hold her hand if she is frightened. I daily visit my 96 year old mother who is in a very nice nursing home and I see many lonely elderly people there whose family “do not know them very well” and seldom visit them.

I have learned many wonderful things about some of them and many have become friends.

People often can not see the love of God because they can not experience this love - even with their families.

If religion is a discussion that is problematical, discuss other things that you can both enjoy and relate to. The point is to let her know that you care for her and love her. Let God do the rest.
 
holdencaulfield said:
Hello,

I am wondering about something. My great grandmother is very old and is getting weak and sick. I don’t know if she is Baptized or not, however I am worried about her Eternal Salvation. She has openly admitted that she is an atheist. I don’t know what to do. I wanted to get a priest to see if she would want to get perhaps Baptized (if she is not), Confirmed, First Eucharist, and First Confession, and Anointing of the Sick.

Thanks.
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If God gives you a theology exam at the gates of heaven, I wonder if any of us will really pass. I think there’s more to being “worthy of heaven” than believing in God.
 
Exalt said:
If God gives you a theology exam at the gates of heaven, I wonder if any of us will really pass. I think there’s more to being “worthy of heaven” than believing in God.
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That’s true, however we believe in Faith and Good Works not merely being a “good” person. That’s heretical ecumenicism at works.
 
holdencaulfield said:
That’s true, however we believe in Faith and Good Works not merely being a “good” person. That’s heretical ecumenicism at works.
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I thought there was more to faith than belief in God? I bet a atheist who is good has much more “faith” in the proper, Christian sense than a bad person who believes in Christian teaching.
 
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