Predestination of the Elect

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It seems to me that most Catholics do not know of the beauty of the Catholic doctrine of the Predestinatin of the Elect. Rarely, if ever, is the word “elect” used by Catholics. The teaching of the certain predestination of the elect and only of the elect, chosen before all time, is clearly taught by the New Testament. Both Our Lord’s words and by the Apostle Paul. The teaching was given to simple folk without fear of being misunderstood. But today you never hear it preached even when it is explicit in the readings at Mass. I only heard it kind of touched on and wrongly so at a homily at Mass. strong textWhy won’t priests touch this sacred teaching with a ten foot poll?strong text There is the common fear that the faithful will not understand. But, as said, it was addressed in NT and Apostolic Times even to the simplest of souls.
 
Now we’re talking. Hold on - nobody start - I’m going to get some popcorn in the popper. 🙂
 
Because nowadays we have a number of religious groups who believe in and teach double-predestination, and most people aren’t willing to put in the effort to understand the distinction. As a result, we tend to avoid the topic rather than risk leading people to believe that God actively wills people to be damned.
 
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LI hasten to add that the Catholic teaching on the Predestination of The Elect, whether ala the Dominicans Thomists or the Jesuit Molinists is not to be confused with the Calvinists so-called double predestination.
 
We do. I refer to the Elect who were chosen before all time to see and enjoy the Beatific Vision. It is ONLY those Elect who will among us see God I the Beatific Vision. They will most certainly and infallibly enter Heaven. Only them and the Elect Angels.
 
It has always been the case of misunderstanding. But neither Our Lord or the Apostle Paul shrunk from preaching the good news of which this doctrine is a beautiful reality. Because, however, the disagreement between Thomists and Molinists was so acerbic, the Pope ordered silence on the matter.
 
Shall we avoid the difficulties for fear that some will walk away?I refer you to the end of John 6.
 
The idea is that those who go to hell merit hell. They don’t receive special anti-graces to go there arbitrarily. Those who are in heaven cannot merit heaven on their own, but are graced to be there.

Even with Catholic teaching on predestination, one shouldn’t loose sight of the Church’s teachings on grace, justification, and merit, and God incorporating our cooperation into his plan.
 
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We don’t speak much of the elect because while God knows with infallible certainty who they are, we do not. The Scriptures command us, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, to make your election sure.” Some of those foreknown to damnation are/will be damned on account of their presumption, because they counted themselves among the elect on Earth and did not examine themselves to confirm their election. Verily, every soul that is now or ever will be in Hell had the opportunity to be saved and freely chose to reject it, and it is on account of this rejection that they are not elect.
 
A bit of applicable scripture (Ephesians 1:3-5) follows for consideration (has anyone seen the butter?):

“The Father’s Plan of Salvation. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, 4 as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.”
 
Denzinger 316:
Omnipotent God created man noble without sin with a free will, and he whom He wished to remain in the sanctity of justice, He placed in Paradise. Man using his free will badly sinned and fell, and became the “mass of perdition” of the entire human race. The just and good God, however, chose from this same mass of perdition according to His foreknowledge those whom through grace He predestined to life [ Rom. 8:29 ff.; Eph. 1:11], and He predestined for these eternal life; the others, whom by the judgment of justice he left in the mass of perdition, however, He knew would perish, but He did not predestine that they would perish, because He is just; however, He predestined eternal punishment for them. And on account of this we speak of only one predestination of God, which pertains either to the gift of grace or to the retribution of justice.
 
You are not alone as there are two schools of thought on the matter. First it is a mystery dealing with God’s Sovern Will, inscrutable to our human mind, even as all divine mysteries are, eg. The Holy Eucharist. On the other hand we can know certain matters for certain such as all who are saved are saved by grace alone, not by their own works. Sola Gratia. As to works, God works both the will and the way of the salvation of those predestined to glory without coercion by suaviter, sweetly moving the will. All men receive sufficient graces. The reprobate of their own will refuse those sufficient graces. The Elect do not refuse and receive the efficacious grace of final perseverance, a grace we should always pray for. The mystery of reprobation, the mysterium iniquitatis, is hidden. We know this that all things work for the good of the Elect even the wrong doing of the reprobate. Pray always. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit. Hope, Faith, Love. These are signs of Election as is devotion to Our Lady.
 
It is true according as expressed in the Council of Trent that we can not know we are of the Elect unless it has been revealed to us by a private revelation. Numerous saints received this knowledge of their election, St. Paul for one. St. Teresa of the Child Jesus spoke of this certitude of her salvation, many other as well.
 
Xpi22 said:
It is true according as expressed in the Council of Trent that we can not know we are of the Elect unless it has been revealed to us by a private revelation. Numerous saints received this knowledge of their election, St. Paul for one. St. Teresa of the Child Jesus spoke of this certitude of her salvation, many other as well.
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And also from Trent, that the grace which is necessary for salvation is not irresistible, meaning that we actually have free will.
 
Yes, not irresistible but in the case of those who are saved, the Elect, it is nevertheless infallibly going to happen. There is the mystery, no coercion but, the Elect will be saved.
 
Xpi22 said:
Yes, not irresistible but in the case of those who are saved, the Elect, it is nevertheless infallibly going to happen. There is the mystery, no coercion but, the Elect will be saved.
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Yes, those that freely choose to cooperate with grace, in the end, are the elect and the others are destined for damnation because they chose it.
 
mythbuster1 said:
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It’s difficult to speak about the problem of reprobation. We know it is the reprobate’s responsibility for his damnation, but it is difficult to say that that rejection is why they are not among the Elect, since the latter were chosen before the foundation of the world and according to the Thomists without preview of merits. And that is the problem with Thomists vs Molinists. I never grasped the _emphasized text_scientia media_emphasized text_of Molino and how he deals with this matter of reprobation.
 
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