How do I assure my Protestant friend

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cshoremom

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I have a Protestant friend whose Mom is Catholic. She is sick and my friend believes that her Mom may not have a “personal relationship” with Jesus. She knows she prays “but it is vain repetition”, she knows that her Mom believes in God, as she thanks Him for everything all the time and knows that He is good all the time… She is really struggling with the fact that her Mom may not have “salvation” as she sees it.
This friend has a heart of gold…she is so loving and caring, but clearly does not believe that the Catholic religion could possibly be the “personal relationship " one should have in order to have eternal salvation. I need to be able to GENTLY assure her that we Catholics do have a relationship with Him, even if we do not say that one time " I accept Jesus as my personal Savior”… that our salvation is gained throughout our lifetime of prayer , sacraments, etc.

What are the right words… I am at a loss… and just want her to know that it** is** possible that a Catholic can enter Heaven.
Thanks!!!
 
cshoremom said:
I need to be able to GENTLY assure her that we Catholics do have a relationship with Him, even if we do not say that one time " I accept Jesus as my personal Savior"… that our salvation is gained throughout our lifetime of prayer , sacraments, etc.
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Perhaps you could continually stress that her mother loves God, prays to Him and has lead a life guided by her love and faith in God and that He will not reject her.

I’m afraid my experience with Protestants has been limited and I don’t know how to speak their language. But I’m pretty certain that the ritual phrase of accepting Jesus in my heart as my personal Saviour is not in the Bible. Maybe that could be mentioned as well, gently of course.
 
Give her Lewis’s Mere Christianity.

You might also point out the basis of Catholic prayers in scripture, since that’s all the Hail Mary and Our Father really are. You could point out, in the latter case, how Christ specifically said that we do not know how to pray properly, so he would give us the proper outline, which is the Our Father. You might also point out that are we repeat prayers like the Hail Mary, we do so while contemplating the life of Our Lord, using the the prayer as a means to quiet and focus the mind. Generally, just focus on scripture and that should persuade her.
 
cshoremom said:
I have a Protestant friend whose Mom is Catholic. She is sick and my friend believes that her Mom may not have a “personal relationship” with Jesus. She knows she prays “but it is vain repetition”, she knows that her Mom believes in God, as she thanks Him for everything all the time and knows that He is good all the time… She is really struggling with the fact that her Mom may not have “salvation” as she sees it.
This friend has a heart of gold…she is so loving and caring, but clearly does not believe that the Catholic religion could possibly be the “personal relationship " one should have in order to have eternal salvation. I need to be able to GENTLY assure her that we Catholics do have a relationship with Him, even if we do not say that one time " I accept Jesus as my personal Savior”… that our salvation is gained throughout our lifetime of prayer , sacraments, etc.

What are the right words… I am at a loss… and just want her to know that it** is** possible that a Catholic can enter Heaven.
Thanks!!!
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Tell you friend, or assure her, that Catholics do have a personal relationship with Jesus…through the Church and through the Eucharist, which we believe to be the full body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus.

And if she has further questions, ask her to log on here and we can answer questions for her.
 
or you could convert her to help ensure her soul joins her mother’s in heaven
 
Zachary said:
or you could convert her to help ensure her soul joins her mother’s in heaven
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I could say something uncharitable…but I will refrain.

Ahem…I assume if that were feasible, the OP would be trying to do so. Or perhaps by making this person realize that Catholic are not voodoo practitioners, they will become more receptive to the faith.
 
Well, I would say this:

Salvation is not dependent on “a personal relationship with Jesus”. Really.

We must be baptized, and we must partake of the Eucharist. We must have a Priest, as a stand in for Christ, forgive our sins and reconcile us to the Lord.

Those are the things in scripture that indicate who is saved. “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you will not have life everlasting”. “Who’s sins you forgive are forgiven, who’s sins you hold back are held back”

Oh, and I guess you need a sacramental priesthood for that.
 
PaulinVA said:
Well, I would say this:

Salvation is not dependent on “a personal relationship with Jesus”. Really.

We must be baptized, and we must partake of the Eucharist. We must have a Priest, as a stand in for Christ, forgive our sins and reconcile us to the Lord.

Those are the things in scripture that indicate who is saved. “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you will not have life everlasting”. “Who’s sins you forgive are forgiven, who’s sins you hold back are held back”

Oh, and I guess you need a sacramental priesthood for that.
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I think that there is actually much to be respected in the idea of having a personal relationship with Christ, though not exactly in the way Protestants frame it. I often feel like we Catholics, because we have the sacraments, dismiss the emotional part of spiritual life too often.

In any case, I don’t think a lot of these suggestions that rely on asserting the absolute primacy of the Church of Rome are helpful to the OP. He wants something he can use within the context of this persons pre-existing beliefs to show her that this concern is unfounded.
 
Kevin12 said:
He wants something he can use within the context of this persons pre-existing beliefs to show her that this concern is unfounded.
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Yes. That is it exactly.
Thanks for all of your responses. All are helpful…

Keep 'em coming… Thanks!
 
I am thinking that this mom may want to receive the Anointment of the Sick.
All the family can benefit and be comforted by the visit of a priest. Sacraments speak by themselves often times.IMHO
 
This is your friend that is protestant? (just trying to clarify the relationship) If so, does your friend also doubt that you have a personal relationship with Christ? This may be the time to introduce her/him to your faith and show your friend how we relate to Christ, His mother as our intercessor and Our Father in Heaven. If your friend’s doubts focus on the validity of the faith of the Catholic Church, perhaps it is a calling to you to open up about your faith life and the richness of the faith.

I once heard a protestant say that Catholics don’t love the Holy Spirit. I think this person thought that because she emphasized the Holy Spirit in her life because that was the most tangible aspect of God in her faith life. She did not recognize the gift of the Holy Eucharist as being God or all the Graces given to us through the sacraments of the Church. We Catholics are extremely blessed to have God apart of our lives in so many ways! Because a protestant doesn’t see or accept those aspects, they think we are missing something 🤷 Well, that’s my theory at least :p:o

Would you be comfortable discussing your faith with your friend and letting him know why and how you pray? Once your friend sees how strong a Catholic’s faith life is, he may be able to accept his mother’s faith and salvation.
 
I am new to Catholicism. Some rites, rituals and traditions seemed strange to me because I did not understand where those things came from or what they represented. I didn’t understand meaning and purpose. For a lot of things, I still don’t and am learning. I can understand the friends point of view.

I think I posted in a duplicate thread, a similar thread, or my post was eaten by the internet. Anyways, I advised that the OP encourage the friend to meet with and talk to her mothers priest. The priest can kindly answer any questions and explain the faith to Friend.
 
May a Protestant weigh in on the matter?

First of all, your friend knows, I am sure, that ultimately, only God really knows whose faith in Christ is genuine, and whose isn’t. I do think that there are Catholics who treat the sacraments, rituals, mass-going, etc as some sort of magic ritual that’s intended merely to keep them out of Hell–but the very same phenomenon occurs with Protestants who think that saying an asking-Jesus-into-your-heart prayer (which, by the way, is not a feature of all Protestant denominations) is a way to “automatically” ensure eternity in Heaven.

God knows the heart. If your friend’s mother has confessed faith in the Lord–which it seems she has, if not in the exact formula that your friend wants–then your friend should pray for trust in God’s mercy and grace. Most Christian Protestants (I except liberals who really don’t believe in Jesus) believe that it is God’s mercy and one’s faith that justifies a person. Well, a devout Catholic does believe in the one true God and his son’s atonement for our sins, isn’t that so?

I believe my Catholic father-in-law is a true Christian. I do not, alas, believe that my Lutheran friend is a true Christian. Nevertheless, I am not the one who judges their souls! It is absolutely appropriate for your friend to pray for her mother’s spiritual wellbeing, but not to pass sentence upon her for not being Protestant.
 
I would try to tell my friend that her salvation is really between God and the mother. It is not up to us to figure out who is going to heaven, and who isn’t.
 
hannajomar said:
I would try to tell my friend that her salvation is really between God and the mother. It is not up to us to figure out who is going to heaven, and who isn’t.
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This as well. Protestants seem to have this strange obsession of determining who will be saved and who not. 🤷
 
I know that “personal relationship” is used as a buzzword, but there is a reason for that. Jesus Christ removes the veil between us and the Father. We can now talk to Him from the heart, and hear what He has to say to us. If a person’s spiritual life is simply comprised of repeating prayers and receiving sacraments, then they are not living as Christians in the new and everlasting covenant.

That said, I expect your friend’s mother *does *do more than say prayers and receive the sacraments.

One picky doctrinal point: you say that
…our salvation is gained throughout our lifetime of prayer , sacraments, etc.
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This is false. We receive salvation as a free gift, through the gift of faith. This faith manifests itself in works. But works – prayers, sacraments – without faith are dead. This is something that is a very central Catholic teaching, but often gets neglected.
 
Contra_Mundum said:
This as well. Protestants seem to have this strange obsession of determining who will be saved and who not. 🤷
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On the other hand, if you look through these forums, Catholics have a strange obsession about determining which sins are mortal. :o
 
Prodigal_Son said:
On the other hand, if you look through these forums, Catholics have a strange obsession about determining which sins are mortal. :o
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Well, there is a huge difference methinks. While nobody can determine who is going to Heaven or Hell as our separated brethren often do, the church determines which sins are mortal. Here we have an opportunity to discuss this and understand it better. I agree that some people obsess about it, but perhaps this is something important enough to obsess about. Just a thought.
 
God’s Spirit is in my heart,
He has called me and set me apart.
This is what I have to do,
what I have to do.

He sent me to give the Good News to the poor,
Tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more,
Tell blind people that they can see,
And set the downtrodden free
And go tell everyone the news that the Kingdom of God has come,
And go tell everyone the news that the Kingdom of God has come.

Just as the Father sent me,
So I’m sending you out to be
My witnesses throughout the world,
The whole of the world.

Don’t worry what you have to say,
Don’t worry because on that day
God’s Spirit will speak in your heart,
Will speak in your heart.
 
Contra_Mundum said:
I agree that some people obsess about it, but perhaps this is something important enough to obsess about. Just a thought.
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Surely whether one is going to heaven or hell is important. But heaven is not someplace you get to by trying to get there. When we try to do something else – feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, and in all these ways love God and our neighbor – then we find that our hearts are conditioned for heaven.

I will agree that, when it comes to someone prone to scrupulosity, there is a place for these questions about the severity of sin. But otherwise, look, we should just repent for every sin, flee from sin, and look for ways to love and to spread the gospel.
 
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