I
Inkman
Guest
Hmmmm… sound like a pretty wide road with a really big gate at the end of it to me
- Status
J
JKirkLVNV
Guest
Steven 87: This is not strictly speaking the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. See the Catechism regarding our separated brothers and sisters. As for alcoholism, if that it truly a disease, then culpability is diminished, precisely because it is a disease. I don’t know your father’s eternal destiny or anyone else’s except the saints. I do believe in hell and that unrepentant mortal sin can send us there. However, I would not rely on Rad Trads such as CatholicCrusade for accurate information about the teachings of the Catholic Church. If you want an example of his etremist thought, check out the thread “A Question about the Jews,” another example of how wrongly the Church’s teaching can be interpreted and distorted.
J
JKirkLVNV
Guest
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Sorry, I got Catholic Crusade confused with another poster in that other thread I mentioned!!! I can’t delete this, so CatholicCrusade, I can only apologize. I am sorry. However, the post made 3 posts back is an exteme view of EENS, the understanding of which has been expanded under the Catechism. Sorry for the confusion.
S
Steven87
Guest
I was actually feeling ok about this issue until I read that post by CatholicCrusades… Now I feel sick to my stomach again, I can’t bear thinking about this anymore, it’s tearing me apart.
I just want to thank everyone who tried to make me feel batter and gave me hope that my prayers would mean something or do anything to help my father.
And I also want to thank those that gave me some hope, and not automatically condemming my dad to hell.
But please, can anyone offer anymore advice on this issue about dedicating a mass to my dad because i’ve never heard of this before now. But please don’t take this as offensive but I really don’t want to hear from CatholicCrusades on this anymore beause I’ve been depressed enough about this without someone telling me that my dad will be going to hell “period”! I want help and advice PLEASE!
I just want to thank everyone who tried to make me feel batter and gave me hope that my prayers would mean something or do anything to help my father.
And I also want to thank those that gave me some hope, and not automatically condemming my dad to hell.
But please, can anyone offer anymore advice on this issue about dedicating a mass to my dad because i’ve never heard of this before now. But please don’t take this as offensive but I really don’t want to hear from CatholicCrusades on this anymore beause I’ve been depressed enough about this without someone telling me that my dad will be going to hell “period”! I want help and advice PLEASE!
S
Steven87
Guest
Steven 87: This is not strictly speaking the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. See the Catechism regarding our separated brothers and sisters
Can I please get more information on this because I don’t know where to look for this. Could anyone copy/paste it if possible?
Thanks
Can I please get more information on this because I don’t know where to look for this. Could anyone copy/paste it if possible?
Thanks
C
Church_Militant
Guest
Steven87 said:
Steven87,
Don’t panic!
Both the posts by exrc and Catholic Crusades need some serious clarification. NO ONE can say where another soul goes…THAT is called Presumption and is also a sin.
Look…the fact is that we are not God, and because of that None of us can tell you or anyone else where a loved one is for all eternity.
This is mainly because NO ONE but God knows what goes on between a person and the Almighty at the instant of death. Anglicans use a valid form of baptism and beyond that none of us can tell you what that dear man’s fate was. Some people will try to say they know, but that’s just pure baloney (with apologies to the lunch meat) for the reasons I’ve already stated.
You would do well to offer your sincere prayers for him since as it clearly says in 2 Maccabees 12:46 “It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.” So pray like you know you should and trust his soul to the loving mercy of God.
Pax vobiscum
J
JKirkLVNV
Guest
Steven: I’m looking at this just before I go to work, so I cannot type whole quotes, BUT: in the Catechism, see sections 817-819 AND section 838. I would echo what Church Militant said (except, CM, the gentleman in question hasn’t passed away!). To that I would add, let your step-dad see the Faith living in YOU. Let him see Jesus’s Face in your every action toward him. Pray for him, have the Mass offered for him, contact a monastery and ask the monks to pray for him. I will pray for him.
P
Pug
Guest
I think you are asking about a mass stipend and having a priest say a mass with the intention for your father. When a priest says a mass, there is a benefit for the whole Church and for the priest and for the faithful that participate AND for a specific person the mass is said for, either a living or dead person. You can ask at your parish office to have a mass said for the particular intention for your Dad. Usually they ask for a stipend of $5. Well, with inflation, I suppose that is probably $10 these days to pay for the mass supplies. A priest can only accept so many of these per year, so if your pastor is booked up, they can probably direct you to one who isn’t. Hopefully someone who knows more than me on the topic will help.
Talk directly to God about your worries about your Dad! He can give peace to your heart where we can’t. What is in your dad’s heart you cannot know, but God loves him and you love him. God won’t just leave your dad alone in sorrow. God is by his side always. Trust God in this matter (talk to God about that). Your best bet for peace in this matter is in relationship with Jesus/God/HS.
lovthelight, I like the story about your religious grandfather.
Talk directly to God about your worries about your Dad! He can give peace to your heart where we can’t. What is in your dad’s heart you cannot know, but God loves him and you love him. God won’t just leave your dad alone in sorrow. God is by his side always. Trust God in this matter (talk to God about that). Your best bet for peace in this matter is in relationship with Jesus/God/HS.
lovthelight, I like the story about your religious grandfather.
S
Steven87
Guest
Thank you all for your kind words, and yes my father is still alive and it’s my father, not step-father (Just to clarify )
I will deffinately talk to a priest at my church about this, THANK YOU all so much, I will keep praying and hope that the great forgivness of God will work in favor for my dad.
I’m very greatful for this forum,and the wonderful people on it. THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
)I will deffinately talk to a priest at my church about this, THANK YOU all so much, I will keep praying and hope that the great forgivness of God will work in favor for my dad.
I’m very greatful for this forum,and the wonderful people on it. THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
P
puzzleannie
Guest
I cannot imagine, since your signature is neither John Paul II nor Jesus Christ, where you get off condemning people to hell on your own authority. Even the Church does not and cannot make definitive pronouncements on who is in hell. Being a non-Catholic is not a mortal sin per se and being and alcoholic is not a mortal sin in any way shape or form. Deliberate willful grave sinful acts committed as a result of abuse of alcohol are mortal sins, but the condition of suffering from the disorder of alcoholism does not in itself constitute a mortal sin. The issue of whether a non-Catholic can be saved has been done to death here, and there is no need to rehash it on this thread.
No individual has the right to argue from a proposition of an objective definition of mortal sin to the particular application of that standard to the state of the soul and results of a sinful action or omission on the part of any certain person. The priest in the confessional makes that determination, not self-appointed inquisitors on this board.
Steves original question is actually more than “do you worry that loved ones are in hell?” he actually went on to ask, do you worry that loved ones still alive may be conducting their lives in such a way as to risk the danger of condemnation and eternal death?
The answer to his first question is NO. If the person has died he has already been judged and my speculation or worry is of no consequence or usefulness. My disposition toward those who have died is to consign them to God’s mercy and pray for their souls. Worry and anxiety on my part would be a denial of Divine Mercy, a denial of God’s right to judge souls, and a denial of the efficacy of prayer for the deceased.
Do I worry about loved ones still living? You betcha, but about myself the most. Do I try to translate that worry to more useful channels such as prayer, reordering my life, and proclaiming and living the message of Christ for my loved ones? I try, because it is far more productive than worry-which is a way of saying their state of soul is my problem, not God’s. Prayer is a way of saying that their state of soul is best entrusted to God, not me.
As to whether I could be perfectly happy in heaven without my loved ones, should they persist in choosing against God, heaven is by definition the state of perfect happiness in union with God, so yes I will be perfectly happy, having attained all that is necessary for happiness.
- Status