Do Catholics know where they're going when they die?

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JRKH said:
How about just telling them that your going to Judgement.

If they ask if you know what the judgement will be you can erspond that you believe you do, but would not presume upon God’s Justice and mercy to declare it ahead of time.

Peace
James
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The sound you hear is my scissors cutting & pasting this into my “keeper” file!
 
Although we do not know how we will exercise our free will in the future, that does not mean Catholics do not have an assurance of salvation.

For example, one can always have a moral certainty of our state of grace. I can be sure, say, if I were to die RIGHT NOW, I know that I am going to heaven (through purgatory if necessary, although you don’t really need to mention it) or hell, as the case may be.
 
BamaRider said:
I was recently accosted at a baseball game by some Protestant friends when the subject of heaven came up. A guy told me, “you Catholics don’t know where you’re goin to you’re dead, then you find out, but I know where I’m goin as we speak. Y’all can’t be sure if you’ve done enough this or that so you don’t know.”

I really didn’t know how to respond to that, thoughts?
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A practicing Catholic can be certain of his present status — where I would go if I died right this second. But none of us can see the future and tell with certainty that we won’t die in a state of mortal sin years from now. We don’t believe the “Once Saved, Always Saved” tenet held by some Protestants.

However, it sounds like your friends think Catholics believe in “salvation by works.” We don’t. No amount of good deeds can “earn” us a place in heaven – only Jesus’ shed blood does that. The Catholic Church condemned “salvation by works” as the heresy of Pelagianism in the 5th century.
 
Yes,At the point of earthly death I will find myself at a bar of Justice…St.Peter will be there in front of a huge scale…he then will show ;me my life…all the good things I did…all the bad things also I did…for the frist time I can then see for myself the coming judgement and understand and accept it…I will be shocked,disappointed,happily surprised etc etc at the various happenings as each page of my life is turned…when the final judgement is given I will know it is true and honest and murmur…so be it!!!Do I know the final destination of my immortal soul…of course not…for the final inning has not been played…and as Yogi Berra once defined “the game aint over till its over’…!”
 
I think it is very similar to the situation of the student who has prepared all semester long working hard and is now taking final exams, especially if the exams are based on a curve where only a certain percentage of students can receive each grade. Anyways, this student has the hope that they will get an A or other top grade. They might even expect it based on their hard work and it is presumed by others that this student will get the A or other top grade. However, can this student really know for sure that they got an A after finishing the exam? There are no guarantees especialyl when the exam is curved and one can get an A with a score of 100 out of 180.

I’m in that situation right now in law school and in fact struggle with pride and arrogance on this which is something I need to work on. I should get As and rank in the top 10 or even 5%, but I might not.

The same I think can apply to Heaven. There is no way to really know whether we are going to Heaven and we must just rely on the mercy of God that we have done God’s will and will be welcomed into Heaven but there are no guarantees no matter how likely one may think it is. However, that shouldn’t scare us as we most importantly know God is merciful and we have the opportunity to be cleansed in Purgatory and be made ready for Heaven. Well I have to get back to preparing for my last two exams.
 
briang72 said:
Sometimes I wonder about how certain verses like “…work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12) appear to be overlooked by Protestants.
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I really wish that I knew. I did a study of Philippians with a Baptist group using Beta tapes (by the same guy from England who does the Alpha tapes). I was amazed when the teacher on the tapes and the Baptists in the study with me just seemed to flow around and past this statement. I raised the question and they said,“Well you know once you say the sinner’s prayer and take Jesus as your savior, you don’t have to be concerned anymore because Jesus keeps his promise.” I said, well maybe Jesus keeps his promise and doesn’t take back his forgiveness and grace, but you all sure as heck can reject that grace at anytime by sinning. We moved on quickly. 🤷 🤷
 
When I hear people say wants saved always saved I think of the religous leaders and Pharsees of Jesus time. They believed they were more saved and others weren;t. Well I will admit I am a sinner. I hope I fight the good fight finsh the race and keep the faith. God have mercy on me a sinner
 
If God is so powerful and wonderful why does he allow evil to flourish and why doesn’t he heal amputees?
 
I think Catholics think they are damned by their works, not saved by them…Many Protestants think what they do won’t be judged, because they are saved…God doesn’t condemn anyone, we do it by our own actions

I would say Catholics are acting responsibly about heaven, and not behaving like they think sin doesn’t count , so they will get there no matter what they do
 
Zahmir said:
The Catholic position, that judgment takes place at death, results in a day-to-day ignorance of our ultimate salvation, for it is true that we do not know whether our life is seen by God as “worthy” of eternal life. Yet, Catholics also have hope in Jesus Christ and the power of the cross and it is from this hope that they persevere, building up the kingdom in their own hearts and in the world.

Protestants, on the other, with all respect to them, strongly believe that judgment has already taken place and that the moment they have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, a moment Luther calls “the blessed exchange,” they are saved even though they remain sinful. Judgment for Protestants is not an evaluation of one’s own life, but, if one has faith, of the life of Jesus. In other words, the righteousness of Christ is imputed on to the believer as his own. Thus, the Lutheran maxim: “simul justus et peccator”-- at the same time a sinner and justified.

Ultimately, however, Catholics should be just as “certain” about their final destination as Protestants. It is a harsh reality, however, that all people continue to sin. We must hope therefore, and believe in the power of the cross, so that we might continue to persevere. To this effect, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which draws its power from the cross and Jesus’ power to forgive sins, provides an awesome and ever-present reality to recommission us for the sake of Christ until the day we die.
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Very well said 👍
 
Your Protestant friend sounds like he subscribes to the doctrine of Once Saved Always Saved. You can “accept Jesus as your personal Saviour” and then immediately go out and live a sinful life and still be guaranteed a spot in Heaven. It’s the extrapolation of the “faith not works” argument - works count for nothing. Forget the MANY passages (including Matt. 25) where we are commanded to live out our faith in love for God and for our fellow human beings.

His hope is a false hope, founded on a false doctrine. Tell him he had better repent, go to confession, and ask for forgiveness for whatever sins he has committed, and resolve to sin no more. I know it’s not popular to say it, but Jesus said no one comes to the Father except through me, and the Catholic Church is the Body of Christ through which we can come to the Father. If he continues to believe in his false doctrine and live his life accordingly, I can tell him where he’s going.
 
yellowbird said:
I don’t think God sends anyone to hell. I think they choose hell for themselves. I can’t imagine making that choice… so… 🤷
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Let me ramble a bit…

That is a nice argument and I agree with it, but I think if heaven is God, hell may be our concupiscent nature.

Is the choice we make before judgement is rendered between hell and God? or is it between what God wants and what we want?

I don’t presume anything. I think we see through a glass darkly and I am still tempted very much to sin and very often, but not only that, I’m tempted to self pity rather than active love. Where is my good fruit? If we were all choosing God and not self, would there not be an abundance of blessings on the earth simply by the dint of the good works of the faithful? If all Christians followed the beatitudes, would there be such misery and so many proclaiming evil as good?

For me, I like the Divine Mercy chaplet, particularly when I have a tough time seeing any good fruit from my life.

I’m very much convinced Christians get convicted by the Holy Spirit and the Church to know the Truth, but also that we see through a glass darkly and have a tough time assesing the damage of sin. Pray every day I tell myself, but my flesh is weak.

Sorry for rambling; I wanted to create food for thought rather than a specific argument.

God bless all.

–mike
 
They choices are ours…the result of unrepentant sins is hell…no one forces us to sin…we decide to do it…that is why it is important to go to confession, and live a good life

The 10 Commandments were given to us to obey, not if we felt like it…they are commands by God to govern our behavior…

If God doesn’t care what we do, why did He issue them? Christ told us to keep the commandments…We only kid ourselves when we think our actions don’t count…there is absolutely nothing in scripture that says we will all go to heaven no matter what we do, or don’t do…

There will be a last judgment when the sheep and the goats will be separated…those on the left side will be told depart from me I never knew you
 
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