Thankyou A78.
I have no problem praying for the dead as I do think think praying for each other is important and people who have sinned may even be given new life through our intercession (1 Jon 5:16). I don’t see Christianity as an individual pursuit.To be honest I’m not sure what affect our prayers for the dead have, but if there is a chance they may help someone by whatever means, then I am happy to pray. I perhaps lean a little more to the Orthodox Church position here that does not try to analyze and define how they help, but simply speculates that there may be an opportunity between death and the final judgement for forgiveness of sins. This is perhaps were I depart from formal Catholic doctrine and the systematic theology of Dr White - I find both seem to have a tendency of wanting to be more precise than is really possible.
The Church has not exactely offered clarification on how our prayers help those in Purgatory. The Church simply says they DO help in some way. In any case- the point-- whether or not you want to call it “Purgatory” or not---- IF our prayers are needed, ovbiously the person has not yet made it to heaven, and obvioulsy they are not in Hell.
But this caused me much more trouble; that sounds like our Lord can not save us by himself, no matter how much we may repent and place ourselves at his mercy, and that we need to be saved, in part, through our own suffering. Could you talk a little bit more about that as my initial reaction is to want to grab hold of Sola Fide and Sola Gratia.
Christ work is sufficient-- in fact it is more then sufficient to save us. The question is not whether the work of Christ is all sufficient----but HOW he goes about redemption.
Sin came from man, not God. Hence, man is quite obviously the problem, not God. Consequently what better way then to make the problem the solution? This is exactely what Christ has done. Through the first Adam, man refused God’s friendship, but in the New Adam, (Christ) man restores it. Christ places the merits of salvation within the Church. Becasue the merits of Christ are within the Church, the power of Salvation is within the Church, Salvation is found in the Church. Do you see?
When Catholics speak of the concept of “merit” it is in the Augustinian sense. In other words we do not say to God “Pay me what you owe” but rather “Pay me what you promised.” Our merit to God, or rather before God is a merit through Grace. Our works are meritorious becasue they are preceeded by Grace, done in Grace, and proceeded by Grace. My works becasue they are in union with the Son are the work of Christ.
An analogy: Imagine yourself as a child, and you have no money of your own. How did you often recieve money? From your parents. In a sense the merits of your parents became yours becasue they freely shared their merits with you. The merits of your parents labor (money, a paycheck) were freely bestowed upon you, and you were free to use those merits in whatever way you choose. Now, imagine further that you took the money your parents gave you and purhcased with it a gift, and you gave that gift to your parents. Is that gift any less meaningful to your parents becasue you purchased it with their money? Of course not. In a sense you took their merits, and returned the merits to them as a gift of love. This is what Catholics mean when they speak of human merit before God, or meriting salvation. It is not a merit of debt, but one of love.
Again, Catholic position: We are saved by Grace ALONE, which is operative in Faith AND works.
Protestant Position: We are saved by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone. Faith in the Protestant sense is the engine producing the works, but the works themselves have no merit before God. Salvation (Justification) is seen in a legal sense- the righteousness of Christ is an imputation.
In the Catholic sense the life of God is not merely imputed, but poured into our being, and thus it effects a real change within us, our being changes. Grace perfects nature. Grace frees us, sin is alien to our nature. To be sinless is not to be somehow superhuman, but completely and totally human. God literally shares his very life with us, and we participate in it. This is what Paul means when he says we are made “Son’s in the Son.”
