Can I do "penance" for other people?

[808Catholic]

Thanks for that. You know, I’ve been wondering…

How is it helpful to pray for others, when they have their free will? I want to pray for some very hard hearted folks who are not likely to ever turn to Catholicism. I wonder how my prayers can help. I’m sure God is doing all He can to soften their hearts, as it is. They seem to be choosing very firmly to resist whatever grace He is extending. In what way is it helpful for me to continue praying? Will God indeed “work harder” on an individual because I prayed? Or is this one of those situations where I accept on faith and trust in God, that I should continue praying, and trust that somehow this will be helpful even if the theology isn’t something my finite human mind can understand right now?

I don’t think I have an answer for you but I try to live by a simple rule: trust in God. I’ll never be a Biblical scholar or a theologian but I can be faithful and, if that is enough for God, that’s good enough for me. Doesn’t mean I don’t stop praying for people. In fact, those who seem to be the hardest of hearts are the ones I pray for the most. It is my faith in God that keeps me praying for them and not a logical argument that “more is better”. In the end, their Salvation is up to God.

God Bless you for praying for these people. God hears your prayers. Trust in God.