Wishy washy Catholic vs. devout Lutheran

[jkleinsc]

I am feeling conflicted. My sister is dating a very good, Lutheran man. We are Catholic. My sister is not very strong in her faith. Her boyfriend and his family are very strong in their faith. I foresee them getting engaged within the next year. ,my mom and I were talking and she is concerned, she said she just knows my sister does not believe all of the teachings of the Catholic Church enough to not convert to Lutheranism. She said she would almost rather my sister become Lutheran and whole heatedly worship in that church than get married Catholic then break the promise to raise kids Catholic and so on. I cannot make my sister be a strong Catholic, I can only pray for her and offer advice on what the Church teaches. I fear for her leaving the Church, but I also then think “isn’t being a practicing Lutheran better than being a non practicing Catholic?”
A priest recently told someone I know she is going straight to Hell because she is struggling with if she wants to remain Catholic or become Methodist like her new husband. She has asked a Methodist pastor alot of questions and she doesn’t feel convinced leaving the Catholic Church is the way to go. So, would that priest say my sister was going straight to Hell if she was a practicing Lutheran but notmifnshe was a wishy washy catholic? I believe the Catholic Church is the fullness of truth, but obviously my sister doesn’t understand. Sorry for the ramble, but I need to talk this out with someone. Thank you.

 

[boomerang]

Be happy for your sister that she has found a good, Christian man. Many never do. Maybe he will set her on fire for the Lord. And then, maybe she will rediscover Catholicism, and lead him back to Rome. You never know how it will turn out. Yes, the Catholic Church is the truth, but our Heavenly Father works with all his children who love Him. I know a devout Lutheran woman who has seen Jesus. Twice!

I can’t pretend to know how our Lord thinks, but I imagine He looks more kindly upon an on-fire Protestant than a luke-warm Catholic. Didn’t He say He would spit/vomit a luke-warm person out of his mouth?

That priest shouldn’t tell anyone that they are “going to hell”. No human person can possibly know who will end up in hell, heaven or purgatory.

 

[KrazyKat]

Be happy for your sister that she has found a good, Christian man. Many never do. Maybe he will set her on fire for the Lord. And then, maybe she will rediscover Catholicism, and lead him back to Rome. You never know how it will turn out. Yes, the Catholic Church is the truth, but our Heavenly Father works with all his children who love Him. I know a devout Lutheran woman who has seen Jesus. Twice!

I can’t pretend to know how our Lord thinks, but I imagine He looks more kindly upon an on-fire Protestant than a luke-warm Catholic. Didn’t He say He would spit/vomit a luke-warm person out of his mouth?

That priest shouldn’t tell anyone that they are “going to hell”. No human person can possibly know who will end up in hell, heaven or purgatory.

this says it all. God Bless.

 

[Kamaduck]

Be happy for your sister that she has found a good, Christian man. Many never do. Maybe he will set her on fire for the Lord. And then, maybe she will rediscover Catholicism, and lead him back to Rome. You never know how it will turn out. Yes, the Catholic Church is the truth, but our Heavenly Father works with all his children who love Him. I know a devout Lutheran woman who has seen Jesus. Twice!

I can’t pretend to know how our Lord thinks, but I imagine He looks more kindly upon an on-fire Protestant than a luke-warm Catholic. Didn’t He say He would spit/vomit a luke-warm person out of his mouth?

That priest shouldn’t tell anyone that they are “going to hell”. No human person can possibly know who will end up in hell, heaven or purgatory.

This. I know lots of Lutherans who are following God the best they can and who I believe will be saved by their faith in Jesus. While I would be sad if my sibling converted to a different church, I would not be afraid for their soul the way I would be if they started practicing Islam or Wicca or simply became an atheist. But in all cases, people will believe what they believe. We can give them arguments, but we can’t force anyone to believe something.

While it’d be preferable for your sister to become a strong Catholic, I don’t think she’ll go to hell for converting to Lutheranism.

 

[Eleanor61]

Our priest was formerly a Lutheran pastor, married with children and grandchildren. he is brilliant and very orthodox, says our Latin Mass each week that he is able. Our son-in-law is a practicing Lutheran. I wish he were Catholic as our daughter is a very devout traditionalist, but he promised to raise the children Catholic, and I am hopeful it works out, but he does take the baby to church with him some weeks, and I have read that the father, not the mother has the greatest influence on the child’s practice of religion, although he is himself an exception to this idea.
Our pastor was the perfect choice to marry them as our son-in-law’s mother is very anti Catholic, his father is a fallen away Catholic.
I would agree with your mother on this. In this day and age a good Christian man (or woman) is hard to find. My son was dating an evangelical for a while for this very reason, but they could not reconcile their differences. He sounds fine, and who knows what may happen later? Others will disagree but your sister is less likely to fall into sin as a good Lutheran than an indifferent Catholic, and Mother Church always takes you back, should her exposure to a more vibrant faith lead her home.

 

[1ke]

isn’t being a practicing Lutheran better than being a non practicing Catholic?

Um, no. Neither is better, both are bad choices.

A priest recently told someone I know she is going straight to Hell because she is struggling with if she wants to remain Catholic or become Methodist like her new husband.

Well, that was imprudent of the priest. But yes, her soul is in real danger if she defects from the faith.

So, would that priest say my sister was going straight to Hell if she was a practicing Lutheran but notmifnshe was a wishy washy catholic?

He might. That does not make it true.

In the end, we are all accountable for what we know and what we do with it. But separating oneself from the sacraments is never a way to grow in holiness.

Continue to pray she will fully embrace the faith, which is really the only solution.

Encouraging someone to leave the faith is always wrong.

 

[Kamaduck]

In the end, we are all accountable for what we know and what we do with it. But separating oneself from the sacraments is never a way to grow in holiness.

Continue to pray she will fully embrace the faith, which is really the only solution.

Encouraging someone to leave the faith is always wrong.

Obviously he shouldn’t encourage her to leave the faith. I suppose we should make that clear. However, there’s really not much the OP can do if she makes that decision. It’s just not a good situation, because the sister is not firm in her faith.

I wasn’t really sure whether the OP was asking for advice or not. If he is, prayer and perhaps a continuing dialogue with her is about the only thing to do. I thought he was just asking if his sister was sure to wind up in hell.

 

[BunnyLover]

I think the first response was the best. Is she the younger sister? It could be her faith is stronger than you think, she does doesn’t express it publicly to her family because she knows she is getting critiqued. I say this in a nice way. I’m the youngest, everything I do my family over analyzes. I’m sure if you asked them they don’t know about half the faith I have. (er…not that faith is quantifiable…did that make any sense?)

Anyway, don’t tell your sister her soul is in danger. That makes people angry. It’s a bad way to reel them in. Just prove how great Catholics are by being loving, supporting, and focusing on any Catholic qualities she likes and would miss should she leave. And mainly praying.

And if she does leave, remember she is a complex human being and that there are other things about her you love (right?) I know you won’t reject her but people know when you are only thinking about something they have done you disagree with, but have no say on. They feel they are being judged, and casting the first stone and honestly, it’s natural to get defensive when someone else is (even if not out loud) judging and criticizing. Maintaining a good relationship is very important, especially if you want her to come back.