do you have to be Catholic to get into Heaven??

[mpjw2]

What feelings do you think I have about you??? I don’t think I’ve communicated any feelings at all about you, mpjw.

PRmerger, I like communicating with you, melanie, distracted and everyone for that matter.

I agree you have not communicated any feelings at all about me.

However everyone here has communicated, to me, the need to look deep within myself and to be careful not to let my tongue speak to fast.

For that reason I enjoy communicating with all of you
God blessed my visit here by introducing to me all of you and by the knowledge and understanding I am gaining from our conversations

How? you may ask.

Through you God has just illustrated to me the message I send is not always the message which is received.

and because of that fact, may develop into something which was unexpected.

Let me illustrate…

PRmerger, when the simplest and smallest things get twisted and misunderstood
they start out small…

and when small things
get twisted…

… twist…

after another… twist…

after another… twist…

after another… twist…

after another… twist…

it can grow into a giant twisted mess.

Fortunately, in the situation we are solving the twist when it is small.

PRmerger, when I posted my prayer…

O Lord in respect to Pmerger’s and melanie’s feelings…

My concern was that I realized the things I said to you and melanie recently have been on the side of judgement and I knew there was a chance I may have hurt your feelings,…

My intentions for being here are not to cause pain to anyone.

So I wanted to let you know that I care about you and melanie or anyone else not getting hurt by what I say on these threads

God bless and thank you again

 

[tweetymom]

Mp great words of wisdom once again I myself am guilty of twisting Melanies words yesterday and have apoliged to her.

And how right you are saying words are twisted and twisted until what you said no longer makes sense.

I wish we would act like Christ would have us act me included in love and charity. We will never all agree until we see Jesus face to face and I believe it will be so glorious:thumbsup: that we won’t care if we agree or not

 

[mpjw2]

I do believe that God created the Universe. This is why it is easy for me to believe in the Real Presence of the Eucharist. …And yet the vast majority of non-Catholic Christians refuse to believe that the Eucharist can possibly be anything but a symbol. It seems, to me, as if they are denying the power of God, and that troubles me.

Hi Melanie, thank you for sharing your heart. I read everything you said and I understand why you believe what you do.
What you just said is a great testimony to your faith in Jesus Christ and God and the SOLID belief you have in the Real Presence of the Eucharist.

Correct me if I am wrong, the next question you probably want to ask me is…

Since I believe God has the power who created everything in existence today,
why am i denying His power to change the bread and wine into the Real Presence of the Eucharist.?

Am I on track??
I believe I am

Melanie I can assure you I believe God can do anything He wants to.
For me, It is not denying His power…
If God wanted to, I believe He has the power to change the bread and wine into the Real Presence of the Eucharist
There lies the real difference in our believes about communion…

to summarize I see it as…

It is not a matter of limiting God’s power, but a matter of …
does He want to change the bread and wine into the Real Presence of the Eucharist?

Melanie, I can assure you that I am not here to change any one catholics’ faith and belief about the Real Presence

In due respect, I can also assure you that as strong as you are in your faith, I am as strong in mine that God does not change the bread and wine, not because He can not, but because He does not choose to do so.

Someday we will know the truth about the Real Presence.
On that day we will know the truth about which one of us presently has a false belief.

If by chance it is me, I have false beliefs about the Real Presence and all the other false beliefs I have about the RCC,

what then???

That is what this thread is all about

thank you and God bless

 

[mpjw2]

When I asked if the church believes God will save me, being a non catholic, when I die…

PRmerger replied

The CC teaches that “Whosoever knowing that the Catholic Church was made necessary by God through Jesus Christ would refuse to enter her or to remain in her could not be saved” (Lumen Gentium, no. 14).

When I asked what PRmerger believed about this teaching and the fact that it states I could not be saved

PRmerger replied

When you ask me that, I feel like you’re saying, “Thanks for letting me know what Jesus teaches, but now tell me what you believe.” Of course I’m going to just say, "I believe what HE said (pointing to my Master )

Bless your heart PRmerger you followed up with a final comment

I have supreme confidence in your love for God and I also have assurance of His mercy, and those two things make me quite hopeful that I’ll see you in heaven.

Alleluia , give God the glory …I believe I will see you in heaven too:thumbsup:

PRmerger, I am curious however…
your reply…

Some of the things you believed were not Catholic theology. You were poorly catechized, I’m afraid

thank you but I will take part if not most of the blame, God only know what would have happened if things were different in my young years.

However I want to ask you, when you said

those two things make me quite hopeful that I’ll see you in heaven,

do you have the same hope towards christians who did not grow up in the RCC like I did, have been exposed to the RCC church and the teachings of the church, and will go to their grave, never being a catholic at any time in their life??

Thank you all and God bless

 

[tweetymom]

My husband just sent me something on email and it said two thing
1God isn’t concerned about our brain just our heart
2 Gods love is like the ocean it has no end

I thought this was great:thumbsup:

 

[mpjw2]

I wish we would act like Christ would have us act me included in love and charity. We will never all agree until we see Jesus face to face and I believe it will be so glorious:thumbsup: that we won’t care if we agree or not

tweety mom thank you for your sentiments but that is so so so secondary to what you just said. I agree with you and I could not have said it any better.

Tweetymom God has also blessed me with you and you just lit the final spark in my heart as to the reason I am here. I realized one important thing you said and that is in the end

we won’t care if we agree or not.

take tweety message to and let your love for God shine…Praise be to God

:D         :clapping:              :bowdown2:            :love:             :extrahappy:

forgive me tweetymom …but I love this and agree with you so much I do not want people to miss it

Let’s all act like Christ would have us act in love and charity. We will never all agree until we see Jesus face to face and I believe it will be so glorious that we won’t care if we agree or not.

Friends, I encourage you all, take her message and be a witness to all, let all people know we christians love each other, we love non christians, just as God/Jesus/Holy Spirit loves everyone in the world.

Final thaught…

when anyone believes in God/Jesus/Holy Spirit,
God promises you the greatest Gift one can receive

not only being with Him

in the Real Presence of the Eucharist

but being with Him

in the Real Presence of God/Jesus/Holy Spirit for eternity in heaven

I believe we can all agree there is no greater gift than on the day we realize His gift love, grace and salvation He wants to give all of us.

God bless you all

See you all in paradise

mpjw2

 

[tweetymom]

thank yoump…And the praise goes to Jesus. I haven’t always been there in fact still get carried away with anger .But I do try and fail try and fail sometimes a lot of times. Maybe I do so that I can pray more. Anyway God Bless you for all that you mean to Christ and to me

 

[mpjw2]

thank yoump…And the praise goes to Jesus. I haven’t always been there in fact still get carried away with anger .But I do try and fail try and fail sometimes a lot of times. Maybe I do so that I can pray more. Anyway God Bless you for all that you mean to Christ and to me

But I do try and fail try and fail sometimes a lot of times.

dang…and I thaught I was the only one who failed and failed…just kidding

Maybe I do so that I can pray more

I believe no maybe’s about what you said…

God let’s us carry our crosses daily, he knows we will fail/fall/sin,

and when we do fail, as you said praying to him more

the more we pray to God the closer we get to Him

God bless you

 

[AChris]

hi Chris, based on your scenario,

I was baptized
I am subject to God
I participate in communion, but I do not believe I am eating the body of Jesus Christ…

Do you believe God will accept me into heaven if I die believing as I do now?

God bless

Baptism gave you sanctifying grace, washed away original sin, made you an adopted child of God, and allowed you to receive the other sacraments.

Being subject to God implies that you are obedient to Him. God gave His authority to the Catholic Church. If you were subject to God you would subject yourself to His Church.

The sign of the old covenant God made with Abraham was circumcision.
The sign of the new covenant is the Blood of Christ. If you do not believe in the Eucharist, or if you receive without being in a state grace, then you are really not living in the new covenant.

1 Corinthians 11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

 

[mpjw2]

Baptism gave you sanctifying grace, washed away original sin, made you an adopted child of God, and allowed you to receive the other sacraments.

Being subject to God implies that you are obedient to Him. God gave His authority to the Catholic Church. If you were subject to God you would subject yourself to His Church.

The sign of the old covenant God made with Abraham was circumcision.
The sign of the new covenant is the Blood of Christ. If you do not believe in the Eucharist, or if you receive without being in a state grace, then you are really not living in the new covenant.

1 Corinthians 11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

thank you Achris
I know the the catholic belief tying in to the Real Presence…

When I take communion, my desire is to participate with a clean graceful sinless soul.

for that reason I make a sincere confession before the Lord before I attend communion service.

It is at communion service that we recall the sacrafice He made for us on the cross at calvary so that our sins are forgiven by His blood.

And if my belief will not get me to heaven, I will suffer the consequences. But at this time deep within my heart I believe I am doing the right thing.

i believe God has me right where he wants me

God bless

mpjw

 

[tweetymom]

thank you Achris
I know the the catholic belief tying in to the Real Presence…

When I take communion, my desire is to participate with a clean graceful sinless soul.

for that reason I make a sincere confession before the Lord before I attend communion service.

It is at communion service that we recall the sacrafice He made for us on the cross at calvary so that our sins are forgiven by His blood.

And if my belief will not get me to heaven, I will suffer the consequences. But at this time deep within my heart I believe I am doing the right thing.

i believe God has me right where he wants me

Believe meMp you will be there and I will be so happy to meet you and our Lord:thumbsup:
God bless

mpjw

 

[distracted]

in due respect, i never said I believed I was receiving the body of Jesus when I participate in communion,

That Is one reason why I am not returning to the RCC

If I didthen I would have to believe someting I do not believe in…

I do not believe God wants me to live a lie within myself.

God bless

God’s truth is objective truth… not subjective. Humans believe all kinds of things. Those things are not true just because they convince themselves they are true…

when you die you will know the truth…

I’ve been Catholic all my life… (for the most part…When i was young i didn’t go to any church but anyhow)

i have thought about (no, Felt like) leaving the Church on several occassions… but it was never because of lack of truth. The absolute, objective truth is found in Catholicism… other churches have bits and pieces of that truth but not all of it… & they also have error (where they disagree w/ Christ’s one true Church)

i only felt like leaving becaues some so called Cathlics are anything but Christian in my (informed) opinion…

but that’s to be found in any church… The Church was important to Jesus so it has to be important to me… and i would never leave the Real Presence anyway…

if you believe a fraction of what the anti-Catholics or non-C’s say, then its no wonder you don’t want to be Catholic… but you should remember that the world in general hates the Catholic Church - for making “unreasonable” moral demands.… and so, it stands to reason they (the media especially) would distort Her beliefs and teachings… Then there is the fact that protestnat churches are in “competetion” with the RCC for members so of course they are not going to (always) tell you the truth about Catholicism … won’t tell you that it is … not as bad as [whatever]…

 

[distracted]

My intentions for being here are not to cause pain to anyone.

So I wanted to let you know that I care about you and melanie or anyone else not getting hurt by what I say on these threads

God bless and thank you again

the Cathlic Church could use some members like you…

but if you WERE to become Catholic you may not always be so concerned about hurting people’s feelings…

i don’t know… there’s just something about being Catholic… seems to make people mean … or some anyway.

i don’t consider myself mean… although i may come across that way sometimes w/o intending to…

but some of the meanest people i’ve ever met called themselves Catholic… Of course, i don’t necessarily call them Catholic…

 

[mpjw2]

the Cathlic Church could use some members like you…

but if you WERE to become Catholic you may not always be so concerned about hurting people’s feelings…

i don’t know… there’s just something about being Catholic… seems to make people mean … or some anyway.

i don’t consider myself mean… although i may come across that way sometimes w/o intending to…

but some of the meanest people i’ve ever met called themselves Catholic… Of course, i don’t necessarily call them Catholic…

thank you distracted…

I can assure you no one, no church is exempt from a portion of their members having mean streaks.

my hand is raised…make that two hands

God bless you

 

[mpjw2]

My husband just sent me something on email and it said two thing
1God isn’t concerned about our brain just our heart
2 Gods love is like the ocean it has no end

I thought this was great:thumbsup:

beautiful

thank you for sharing

 

[mpjw2]

God’s truth is objective truth… not subjective. Humans believe all kinds of things. Those things are not true just because they convince themselves they are true…

when you die you will know the truth…

I’ve been Catholic all my life… (for the most part…When i was young i didn’t go to any church but anyhow)

i have thought about (no, Felt like) leaving the Church on several occassions… but it was never because of lack of truth. The absolute, objective truth is found in Catholicism… other churches have bits and pieces of that truth but not all of it… & they also have error (where they disagree w/ Christ’s one true Church)

i only felt like leaving becaues some so called Cathlics are anything but Christian in my (informed) opinion…

but that’s to be found in any church… The Church was important to Jesus so it has to be important to me… and i would never leave the Real Presence anyway…

if you believe a fraction of what the anti-Catholics or non-C’s say, then its no wonder you don’t want to be Catholic… but you should remember that the world in general hates the Catholic Church - for making “unreasonable” moral demands.… and so, it stands to reason they (the media especially) would distort Her beliefs and teachings… Then there is the fact that protestnat churches are in “competetion” with the RCC for members so of course they are not going to (always) tell you the truth about Catholicism … won’t tell you that it is … not as bad as [whatever]…

distracted, stay strong in your faith. unfortunately attacks will come…it can be war…the enemy will try as hard as he can to have his way.

distracted, i encourage you when you get a chance read Ephesians 6:10-17

I will pray for you that God places His protection over you as you equip yourself in the armor of God

God bless you

mpjw

 

[youngsaint]

The answer to your question is no.Catholics will not be the only ones in heaven.Christians of many denominations who have confessed their sins and accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour will be together in heaven one day.Why? Because Jesus promised and that is good enough for me.We don’t need big words or complicated explanations.It all boils down to this promise.You can find this promise in the Bible. God Bless NLM

Sorry nlm, but the official position of the church is that one MUST be catholic to get to heaven. Otherwise, one has not been to mass, a mortal sin, and has original sin, and is guilty of heresy.

Is that catholic first, or protestant?

 

[youngsaint]

distracted, stay strong in your faith. unfortunately attacks will come…it can be war…the enemy will try as hard as he can to have his way.

mpjw

I agree, the Catholic church is an army that has stood for 2 thousand years, I doubt we are not going to stop now.

Stay Strong! I’m just as ticked off as you are!

 

[twopekinguys]

Sorry nlm, but the official position of the church is that one MUST be catholic to get to heaven. Otherwise, one has not been to mass, a mortal sin, and has original sin, and is guilty of heresy.

Is that catholic first, or protestant?

I’m afraid that is not true.

There are still those that have not heard the Gospel.

We can only hope for God’s mercy for those that don’t have the fullness of the Catholic truth.

See this from the Catechism:

819 “Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth” are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: “the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements.” Christ’s Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him, and are in themselves calls to "Catholic unity.

 

[MelanieAnne]

I’m afraid that is not true.

There are still those that have not heard the Gospel.

We can only hope for God’s mercy for those that don’t have the fullness of the Catholic truth.

See this from the Catechism:

819 “Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth” are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: “the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements.” Christ’s Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him, and are in themselves calls to "Catholic unity.

This is, among many reasons, why I am a Catholic. I cannot accept the view held by many Protestant denominations (I’m told it’s mostly a “Calvinist” notion, but I cannot say for sure which denominations hold this view) that if you never had the opportunity to hear the Gospel, that’s just tough, you’re going to hell. I have sat in church buildings where that precise message was taught, so I know that some denominations teach just that.

I find that entire idea offensive. I also find it contrary to the notion of a merciful God. I cannot understand how anyone can truly believe that someone who NEVER had the chance to hear the word of God, regardless of anything else, is automatically consigned to hell. That makes no sense to me. So I could never ever be a member of a faith who subscribed to that notion. If I’m not mistaken, the same sort of folks believe that certain people are “predestined” for one end or another. I don’t subscribe to that idea either. Guess that drops me from the “Protestant Mailing List!”.

Something more on topic ~ we’ve gone on for hundreds of posts about the question of “do you have to be Catholic to get into Heaven?” but, so far as I can see, no one has asked “when” you have to be Catholic.

If the Catholic faith is, as we Catholics believe, the faith founded by Jesus Christ, and the faith He founded is still the faith we know it to be today, then YES, you have to be Catholic to enter Heaven. I think (because I am Catholic and also because I trust Jesus and every word He said) that it would be better to be Catholic NOW rather than LATER. Speaking only for myself (mostly because I don’t want to wade through reams of Catechism) I also believe that those that never heard the Gospel, or those who heard it IMPERFECTLY, will also have a place in Heaven, and BY THE TIME THEY ENTER HEAVEN (if not before) they will also be Catholic. That doesn’t mean that they are Catholic today, although, in my way of thinking, it would help.

And besides ALL OF THAT, we Catholics pray for all of the rest of you. Even the ones that call us “pagans”. And we do it all the time. I wonder if the ones that call us “pagans” pray for us just as earnestly? But I truly don’t worry about it overmuch.