How do we know?

[tonyg]

How do we know if posses the true faith? How can we be assured that we will inherit eternal life? Is our salvation guaranteed by our own merits, or is it contingent upon the merits of those we surround ourselves with as well?

 

[Advocatus_Fidei]

Salvation is guaranteed to no one except those already in Heaven. You know if you have the true Faith if it coincides with the Faith handed onto us by the Apostles through their legitimate successors.

 

[bnbkaine]

Salvation is guaranteed to no one except those already in Heaven. You know if you have the true Faith if it coincides with the Faith handed onto us by the Apostles through their legitimate successors.

Or in Purgatory.

But to the OP: I know that Catholicism is the true Faith in the same way that I know that my husband loves me. I trust it, it has been proven to me, and there is no evidence to the contrary.

And I would argue that if you ask God, then He will give you eternal life with Him in heaven. That is a prayer in which the answer is always “yes.” That almost always guarantees a temporal life with difficulties in one form or another. But then again, we all suffer. In Catholicism, we are able to use that suffering for our benefit and the benefit of others.

 

[HickmanJosh]

How can we be assured that we will inherit eternal life?

Jesus suffered and died on a cross so that we might know His Love and so that we may be with Him if we so Chose

Is our salvation guaranteed by our own merits, or is it contingent upon the merits of those we surround ourselves with as well?

We cannot earn salvation. We cannot merit salvation. It is a gift to any who chose it.

 

[paul_c]

How do we know if posses the true faith? How can we be assured that we will inherit eternal life? Is our salvation guaranteed by our own merits, or is it contingent upon the merits of those we surround ourselves with as well?

Let’s go to the basics of Catholic Salvation theology:\

When you are baptized, you gain sufficient grace to go to heaven. However, you must be in the state of Grace at death to actually enter heaven. You stay in the state of grace by avoiding mortal sin through the love of God and neighbor. If you partake of the sacraments regularly, you will grow stronger in grace, making it easier to love and to avoid sin. If you do sin, you can get back in the state of grace through the sacrament of reconciliation.

The irony of all this is that those who enter heaven, do so out of love which is to say, they do things for others without expecting anything in return. So focus on giving of yourself and don’t worry about your reward. If you do this, and partake of the sacraments faithfully, heaven will follow.

 

[tonyg]

Jesus suffered and died on a cross so that we might know His Love and so that we may be with Him if we so Chose

We cannot earn salvation. We cannot merit salvation. It is a gift to any who chose it.

If we follow the laws of God are we not earning our salvayion?

 

[tonyg]

Let’s go to the basics of Catholic Salvation theology:\

When you are baptized, you gain sufficient grace to go to heaven. However, you must be in the state of Grace at death to actually enter heaven. You stay in the state of grace by avoiding mortal sin through the love of God and neighbor. If you partake of the sacraments regularly, you will grow stronger in grace, making it easier to love and to avoid sin. If you do sin, you can get back in the state of grace through the sacrament of reconciliation.

The irony of all this is that those who enter heaven, do so out of love which is to say, they do things for others without expecting anything in return. So focus on giving of yourself and don’t worry about your reward. If you do this, and partake of the sacraments faithfully, heaven will follow.

How do people of other faiths remain in a state of God’s grace if they do not believe as Catholics do?

 

[tonyg]

Salvation is guaranteed to no one except those already in Heaven. You know if you have the true Faith if it coincides with the Faith handed onto us by the Apostles through their legitimate successors.

I thought that Jesus guaranteed our salvation by his death upon the cross; we need only to do our part, remain faithful to Him and follow the laws of His Father?

 

[thistle]

How do people of other faiths remain in a state of God’s grace if they do not believe as Catholics do?

They don’t.

 

[Holly3278]

Well, we can know we have the true Faith by looking at the evidence. Look at the Bible and the Early Church Fathers. See how Catholic they are? That is some sure evidence that the Catholic Church is the true Faith. But most importantly, we must have faith that we are in the true Faith. Christ founded the Catholic Church and made Saint Peter it’s first leader, the first pope. Christ also promised us that the gates of Hell would never prevail against the Church. We must trust His words.

(Matthew 16:13 RSV) Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare’a Philip’pi, he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of man is?”
(Matthew 16:14 RSV) And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli’jah,
and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
(Matthew 16:15 RSV) He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
(Matthew 16:16 RSV) Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
(Matthew 16:17 RSV) And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
(Matthew 16:18 RSV) And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
(Matthew 16:19 RSV) I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

So yeah, we know that the Catholic Church is the one true Church and the one true Faith by these things. Plus, we know that Christianity is the one true Faith because Jesus said:

(John 14:1 RSV) “Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me.
(John 14:2 RSV) In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
(John 14:3 RSV) And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
(John 14:4 RSV) And you know the way where I am going.”
(John 14:5 RSV) Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?”
(John 14:6 RSV) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.
(John 14:7 RSV) If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; henceforth you know him and have seen him.”
(John 14:8 RSV) Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied.”
(John 14:9 RSV) Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
(John 14:10 RSV) Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
(John 14:11 RSV) Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me; or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves.

 

[paul_c]

I thought that Jesus guaranteed our salvation by his death upon the cross; we need only to do our part, remain faithful to Him and follow the laws of His Father?

Well, He didn’t Guarantee our salvation by his death on the Cross. He gave us the opportunity to be saved, if we desired it. And yes, we need to do our part. Which is to be baptized to get into the state of Grace and then stay there by loving God and neighbor and avoiding mortal sin…If we fail, we can be reconciled sacramentally.

 

[paul_c]

How do people of other faiths remain in a state of God’s grace if they do not believe as Catholics do?

The short answer is that they don’t. All faiths are not equal in the sight of God. The Catholic church teaches the truth of salvation. There is only one truth. Jesus passed that on to the Apostles and the Apostles passed it on to their successors (the Popes and the bishops) who pass it on to us. Where other faiths vary from that truth, they teach error. Also the Church administers the life giving Sacraments, without which you can not be saved (with a few notable exceptions, like the baptism of desire and the baptism of blood). The ability to transmit grace through the sacraments is Apostolic and can only be passed through the Apostolic succession. That is why sacraments offered by other faiths (with the exception of the Orthodox, who have vaild apostolic succession) are not valid or saving.

 

[Third_Day]

If we follow the laws of God are we not earning our salvayion?

When we follow God’s laws we are cooperating with God’s saving grace. We are not earning our salvation. God freely rewards those who follow his laws with more grace.

1 Cor. 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I but the grace of God which is with me.”

Romans 5:2-5 “Through him we have obtained access to the grace in which we stand and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope and hope does not disappoint us because God’s grace has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

Romans 2:6 “For he will render to every man according to his works…he will give eternal life.”

 

[tonyg]

The short answer is that they don’t. All faiths are not equal in the sight of God. The Catholic church teaches the truth of salvation. There is only one truth. Jesus passed that on to the Apostles and the Apostles passed it on to their successors (the Popes and the bishops) who pass it on to us. Where other faiths vary from that truth, they teach error. Also the Church administers the life giving Sacraments, without which you can not be saved (with a few notable exceptions, like the baptism of desire and the baptism of blood). The ability to transmit grace through the sacraments is Apostolic and can only be passed through the Apostolic succession. That is why sacraments offered by other faiths (with the exception of the Orthodox, who have vaild apostolic succession) are not valid or saving.

When we pass from this world into eternity do you think that heaven will be full of catholics only; is heaven for catholics only???

 

[paul_c]

When we pass from this world into eternity do you think that heaven will be full of catholics only; is heaven for catholics only???

Well, we know only what Jesus told the Apostles:
You need to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (John 3, Acts 2)
And you need to partake of the Eucharist (John 6)
and you need to follow the ten commandments. (Matthew 19)
and you need to have Faith in Jesus.
and you need to be forgiven of your sins by someone with Apostolic credentials.

So if you can accomplish all that without being a Catholic, then I suppose you can enter heaven.

Keep in mind that the Catholic church only teaches what it has been taught and that there are no new truths. Everything we need for salvation has been available since the Church began at Pentecost.

 

[Third_Day]

When we pass from this world into eternity do you think that heaven will be full of catholics only; is heaven for catholics only???

Everyone who is baptized is a Catholic. Those who through no fault of their own do not know about Christ or His Church salvation it is possible through a baptism of desire and by keeping the moral law written on their hearts. They too would be Catholics by desire of baptism and in that sense we can say that all in heaven will be in theOne Body of Christ which is the Catholic Church.

 

[EricFilmer]

Everyone who is baptized is a Catholic.

To further elaborate on Third Day’s post, all baptisms which include the correct matter (water) and form (done in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit) are valid baptisms, even if the people involved are not specifically Catholic. In the eyes of the Catholic Church, such people are already part of the Catholic Church even if they don’t recognize or believe this. Of course, they are not yet fully initiated into the Catholic Church unless they receive Catholic instructions and also receive Catholic Confirmation and the Eucharist, but they are at least part of the Catholic Faith by virtue of a valid baptism.

Those who through no fault of their own do not know about Christ or His Church salvation it is possible through a baptism of desire and by keeping the moral law written on their hearts. They too would be Catholics by desire of baptism and in that sense we can say that all in heaven will be in theOne Body of Christ which is the Catholic Church.

In addition to Third Day’s presentation of baptism by desire, let me point out that Vatican II clarified that God gives to each person sufficient grace for their salvation (but each person is supposed to properly participate in it). As Gaudium et Spes states: “Since Christ died for all men, and since the ultimate calling of man is in fact one and divine, we ought to believe that the Holy Spirit in a manner known only to God offers to every man the possibility of being associated with this paschal mystery” (22).

As we know, the Catholic Church likewise teaches that the fullness of God’s revelation subsists within her. Therefore, even though everyone can receive grace from God (in a variety of ways), the most powerful channels of grace are the sacraments. Those who have access to all the sacraments (and valid sacraments at that) are in a distinct advantage.

 

[fhansen]

How do we know if posses the true faith? How can we be assured that we will inherit eternal life? Is our salvation guaranteed by our own merits, or is it contingent upon the merits of those we surround ourselves with as well?

If you’re asking how we know that the truths the CC proclaims are, in fact, true, that is a matter of* faith*, a gift of grace that enables us to know something we cannot ascertain without God’s help. Faith, itself, is proof of the claims. And faith is a progressively growing virtue as we continue to ask, seek, and knock.