Is God concerned about the decrease in Church attendance? If so, will He ever do anything about it?

[Bohm_Bawerk]

Thank you,
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk

 

[Julian0404]

GOD is doing wonderful things about the decrease in the Church. HE is touching the hearts of well educated evangelists and bringing them into the church in significant numbers. And these in turn, with their biblical knowledge are opening countless doors for others to return to the church.
GOD appears on the very edge of reunifying the Anglican and the Catholic Churchs and we need to being praying for that.
Never forget, “…the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (the church).”

 

[DavidKays]

What concerns God is the lack of faith. A lack of faith is what brings disasters and wars and so on. God needs our participation, our faith, if He is to help us. Without our faith and willingness to serve Him, God will do nothing. He will try to warn us as He does through apparitions or He will raise certain Saints so as to help us come back to faith but by and large God is dependant upon us and our faith. Without us God will do nothing. He may come to install faith in us but He is in need of our participation. Many things are corrected in this world because of the faithful and chosen ones who plead to Him for graces not only for themselves but for the whole world. Thank God for Monastics who constantly offer prayers for God to send forth His Mercies and for those who live in the world and pray like the Monastics. These are the ones who really help God when times are bad such as the decreases in attendance. Sure God has an interest in this. One great help He gave is when He visited a poor and humble girl and when she became a sister He entrusted to her the message of the Divine Mercy which today has brought back many to the Church so that the faith of the Church is much better than it was before He came to that special sister who is now St.Maria Faustina. Today God uses the sufferings of His people and the Church to give unimaginable Graces to countless thousands that would not have receive His Lifesaving Graces had those people and His Church had not suffered. Sure God is helping His Church to recover. I believe in the near future God will do something soon that will astound us. His Church which is East and West, Orthodox and Catholic will soon be united. My understandings to this ( I am writing a book on this ) is that we were never that united in the beginning. We were apart, seriously by almost 2000 miles so we the Orthodox never knew the Catholics. And the Catholics never knew us. We did not go into each others Churches in the Early Church. We were too far apart, I mean geographically. People did not travel back then like they do today. It was if God was raising 2 independent unique Churches, one been the Church of Rome and the other the Eastern Church. The only times they really seen each other were probably those Ecumenical Councils. It was if God was raising 2 individuals so later on they will brought together once they have acheived their maturity. It is like unto a marriage this is or will be. When a husband meets with his wife it is when they have reached maturity. He did not know her when she was born or when she was 5. So it is with the Church. God established the West which is the Roman Catholic Church with an individuality of her own. She has feminine qualities that God gave to her. She has teachings and characteristics which has establishes her. And God gave the East which is the Orthodox a uniqueness which is their own. To the East God gave a masqueline identity and teachings and characteristics that were different than the West. God did it this way so each will benefit from the other. Just like a marriage your wife will compliment you and complete the marriage. She will make up what you are lacking. The same can be said for you. You will complete her and make up for what she is lacking. The same can be said for the Church. A marriage will soon take place. East and West will have their wedding day. These 2 were not together as we were taught in the beginning. The Holy Spirit guided and raised these 2 into the same sacramental life but gave them their seperate individualities. Now the time has arrived for these 2 to become one just as a man and woman when they have become married become one. There was never a seperation in this relationship because the marriage has not occurred yet. It is interesting though that these 2 had fights before this future marriage. ( The usual fighting occurs after you get married!! ) We all got it wrong! East and West were 2 individuals growing up independently of each other yet guided through the same Holy Spirit. God did this so as to have this marriage in the future which I believe will occur soon. What will the benefit of this marriage? The 2 Churches will have at their disposals the meetings of their wealth and wisdom which they have accumulated through their Saints and devotions. When a man and a woman marries they bring to that marriage their 2 minds and all that they have been taught and by using together their wisdom and wealth they will have the best of 2 worlds. God has raised up East and West so that when the time is right He will have this marriage and then you will see our children benefitting from this marriage and you will also see the increase of faith so necessary to have today to live in this type of world. Yes God is concerned! He has a plan.

 

[crazzeto]

Yes, and only God knows with regard to the second part. God allows us to make our own choices, to the extent that Jesus let most of his followers go at the end of John Chapter 6… Again on the cross, some people asked Jesus to do something about the fact that he was being executed (i.e. come down off that cross) if he was the son of God, and again despite having the power he did not oblige.

I think God is sending graces, as he always sends graces. But hearts need to be opened up to it, and I think that’s our job. To evanglize.

 

[puzzleannie]

Thank you,
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk

such as what, for instance? send a bus to bring people to church? strike them dead if they don’t attend?
God give us free will to accept or reject his love, to worship him or to ignore him, to acknowledge his lordship or to set ourselves up as our own gods.