No salvation outside of the Eucharist?

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Catilieth

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We have all heard of “no salvation outside the Church” and have discussed how “the Church” can include our separated brethren who are bapstized. Also, I don’t think I’ll get much arguement when I say that only a validly ordained priest (taking into account apostolic succesion) can/has the power to consecrate a host so that it becomes the Body and Blood of Jesus.
But it also says plainly in the Bible that unless we eat of His Body and Drink of his Blood we shall not have life within us. Partaking of his Body and Blood is seen as necessary as Baptism.
So, all of our separated brothers do not partake of his Body and Blood, and in fact have rejected outright that a consecrated Host is God. Where does that leave them?
 
I understand the principle of invincible ignorance…you have not heard the truth but still do all the right things, ie live a virtuous life, you may still attain salvation. That certainly would apply to those raised in, lets say, a Muslim country or in India.

But in this country it would be difficult to argue invincible ignorance. Aside from invincible ignorance, those who have heard the truth but rejected it…and there are many, many,many people in this country in that boat. Taking into account the many examples in the Bible where people just didn’t believe when they heard the word, that these were considered to have rejected the Lord…

Do we just ignore or explain away the more difficult passages of the Bible so to assuage our conciences for our lack of evangelization? Is this an extension of the “I’m Okay, you’re Okay” philosophy can came in during the 70’s?
 
You do not have to argue invincible ignorance, your at the mercy/justice of God.
 
I disagree that it is hard to argue invincible ignorance in this country.

There are many, many people, right here, right now, who are being taught, by people they trust, that the Catholic Church is the “Whore of Babylon” referred to in the book of Revelation. I would certainly call that invincible ignorance.

While my teachers weren’t that misled, I still went through my whole life, until a few months ago, believing that the faith of the Catholic church was based on superstition and ignorance. (I’m 53.) Something happened that made me investigate Catholicism at the source, and I am now a Catholic, in RCIA.

What was I before that happened? I tried to be a good person, even before I became a Christian 17 years ago. (I was raised Unitarian, and later became agnostic.) It was the desire to be a good Christian that led me to investigate Catholicism. (Well, it was God, really, but that’s how He did it.) I say that I was invincibly ignorant until that day, and that there is plenty of invincible ignorance out there! :eek:
 
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Ruthie:
I disagree that it is hard to argue invincible ignorance in this country.

There are many, many people, right here, right now, who are being taught, by people they trust, that the Catholic Church is the “Whore of Babylon” referred to in the book of Revelation. I would certainly call that invincible ignorance.

While my teachers weren’t that misled, I still went through my whole life, until a few months ago, believing that the faith of the Catholic church was based on superstition and ignorance. (I’m 53.) Something happened that made me investigate Catholicism at the source, and I am now a Catholic, in RCIA.

What was I before that happened? I tried to be a good person, even before I became a Christian 17 years ago. (I was raised Unitarian, and later became agnostic.) It was the desire to be a good Christian that led me to investigate Catholicism. (Well, it was God, really, but that’s how He did it.) I say that I was invincibly ignorant until that day, and that there is plenty of invincible ignorance out there! :eek:
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This is the whole purpose of my post. So many Catholics are apathetic about evangelizing the world because they’ve become convinced that it doesn’t matter what religion one believes as long as you are a “good” person, whatever that means. If we as Catholics truely believed in the Real Presence,if we believed Christ’s words when he said that unless we eat his flesh and drink his blood we shall not have life within us, and believed that the Catholic Church is the one, true Church founded by Christ on Peter and the Apostles, then we should be without rest in evengelizing all those around us who have not heard the truth.
I think we often presume on God’s mercy, using that as an excuse for sloth.
As John Paul II said when asked about those who were affected by invicible ignorance,… woe to those who are responsible for their ignorance.
 
Scott Hahn speaks eloquently about the experience you had coming from outside Catholicism to within. Unfortunately, many Catholics fail to appreciate the magnitude of the gift of the Eucharist, both out of Scriptural ignorance and taking it for granted because it is so available to them that have lost a sense of its’ meaning. Christ himself told the man who clearly stated that he had followed all the laws and strove to be good, that he was not as good as he could be. This certainly says to me that just being good isnh’t good enough, if we want salvation, we must give ourselves completely, and I beleive that this includes losing ourselves, our earthly ways, etc, and opening up to the mysteries of Gods plan for us, including the ultimate faith to be found within the Eucharist.
 
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