Thanks for that. I asked what is the common opinion of the Doctors and Fathers of the church ,not all the saints. Since you came up with this .... . 'I could just easily accuse you of the same for disagreeing with that great Doctor of the Church, St. Francis de Sales, who was of the opinion that most are saved.' It is a little disappointing you cannot find any back up. And I suspect you never will. Now , Can you show any Doctor of the Church who was of the opinion most are saved?
Kitfalls, I would not be shortchanging The Mercy of God and not be worried about the fewness of the Saved. NONE of us here know who is saved and dwelling on it is a waste of time/energy! Only God knows the hearts, minds and circumstances of His Children!! Also do NOT shortchange the efforts of our Faithful in Christ in other denominations..... or Jews and Muslims for that matter. I'd "Bet the Farm" that Christian Worldwide TV & Radio and preachers like Billy Graham have brought untold numbers of people to The Cross of Jesus ... and Salvation! GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
I agree with you. I was just sharing what the Bishop said. Jesus said He came to save the world, not condemn it. And that gives me comfort. Sometimes I think "the few" could be referring to those who go directly to heaven, and the majority go to purgatory. Maybe I spend too much time thinking! . But I have great hope and believe in Jesus' mercy because He is Mercy. But I do wonder what we can do do turn around the decline in church attendence, right now all I feel I can do is pray that God will bring our country back to Him.
Mac, why are you so negative? The Doctors of the church don't judge us, Just as our dear Pope Francis says, "who am I to judge? ". In Mark 16:15-16 it says if you are baptized and believe you will be saved. What more do I need? This give me great comfort and hope. I already know I am a sinner, I am human, but I am given the opportunity to repent.
Mac, I think you would benefit (as we all would) from reading the writings of St. Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church, "The Greatest Saint of Modern Times" according to Pope Saint Pius X. Or you could just keep on trying to scare people into a State of Grace. We'll see on Judgment Day which approach is vindicated.
I would be very surprised if my good friend Mac has not read "the story of a soul" But seeing as you mentioned my heavenly sister here is a wonderful quote from her on Faith.. "On each fresh occasion of combat, when the enemy desires to challenge me, I conduct myself valiantly: knowing that to fight a duel is an unworthy act, I turn my back upon the adversary without ever looking him in the face; then I run to my Jesus and tell Him I am ready to shed every drop of blood in testimony of my belief that there is a Heaven, I tell Him I am glad to be unable to contemplate, while on earth, with the eyes of the soul, the beautiful Heaven that awaits me so He will deign to open it for eternity to poor unbelievers."
I am reading the 33 day consecration to Divine Mercy by Gaitley....oh wow....Jesus is WAITING to be asked for his MERCY to pour out on us....the Little Flower shows us the way to trust in his mercy in this consecration. It really is a wonderful reminder to me of God's infinite mercy waiting to be poured out on the whole world....
Yes I probably should read that book.Im pretty sure its on the bookshelf somewhere. But it has just never appealed to me. I was advised to read 'Story of a family' before I married. I quite enjoyed that, and can still remember much of it. This is what I like to read...http://www.amazon.com/Victories-celebrated-complete-Alphonsus-ascetical/dp/B0007FHMTK
I just dont think it is negative to seek the truth. I dont believe the Doctors of the Church were being negative in their teaching. nor the 'Common Doctor' Aquinas, when he tells us ..."There are a select few who are saved." Just make sure you are one of them.
Aquinas adding the word "select" before the word "few" adds nothing substantial to Our Lord's words "many are called, few are chosen," which has already been addressed multiple times on this thread.
Beautiful! Isn't little Therese a wonderful companion for this hour? She's got the right approach - instead of worrying about how few are saved, let's storm heaven and pray big! Oh, my Jesus, from the immaculate heart of our Mother, in the center of your Divine Will, I receive your Divine mercy for all, and I give my Fiat on behalf of all. I beg you to pour out a tsunami of mercy upon sinful humanity, so that your passion and death will not be in vain for even one more soul!
I read 'The Story of a Soul' relatively early in my re-conversion. At that stage I was saying 15 decades of the Rosary a day, kneeling on a wooden floor. I was really unimpressed with St. Therese - her way seemed lazy, and unconvincing to me. At one stage she reflects on her sins, and is quite relieved that she hasn't committed any mortal sins. Again I found this very unimpressive coz I reckoned that if I'd entered a convent at 15 yrs of age and died in my early twenties then I probably wouldn't have committed any mortal sins either. I really couldn't figure why she was a Doctor of the Church. Ten years on, I am feeling drawn to read this again. I know it contains many lessons that I need to learn - especially about the grace and mercy of God. All the rosaries and good works in the world won't get me into heaven. A pure and contrite heart that really loves is what I need, and I think St. Therese may be teacher my heart needs. Would you be interested in reading this 'together', starting a thread, and sharing our impressions as we go?
I don't have a great education and reading is not my greatest enjoyment so when it comes to wise words to quote or repeat my learned knowledge is to say shallow, what I do have is a belief that when I ask St Therese something she always replies ( you might find that hard to understand) but I do have great faith in it.. I asked the above questions an in an instance three things flooded my mind..the first was a quote from St Therese “May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be." The second was Therese whispering in my ear " There are many doctors of the church each one is an expert in their own field " You wouldn't see a dentist if your foot was sore Lastly the quote from Mark Twain in reference to your ten years on.. "when I was 16 my father knew nothing when I turned 21 it amazed me how much my father learned in 5 years " If no one joins you in reading the story of a soul I feel you must does this and post your reflections I would enjoy reading your thoughts.. God Bless John..
I thought a huge lesson could be learned on who was saved from the film about Bernadette of Lourdes. There was a nun in the convent she entered who was always finding fault with Bernadette. This nun was privately flagellating herself to do penance and I suppose gain special favour with God. But she is portrayed in the film as bitter and hard hearted. But she is so focused on finding fault with poor Bernadette, who just does her best to be the person she thinks God wants her to be. In the end when the bitter nun sees the TB on Bernadette's leg, and realises this must have been very painful to bear; while all the time Bernadette was cheerful to everyone. And meaney nun was converted. Judging others is a dangerous game. And Jesus warns us against it.
“Better that only a few Catholics should be left, staunch and sincere in their religion, than that they should, remaining many, desire as it were, to be in collusion with the Church’s enemies and in conformity with the open foes of our faith.” -St. Peter Canisius
I am in the middle of the "33 Days to Merciful Love" by Fr. Michael Gaitley, which heavily draws from St. Therese's "Little Way". At one point she is instructing the other sisters to save her fingernail clippings as she knows that after her death they will be relics that will be instrumental in miraculous healings. I too, read " The Story of a Soul" and found it a little whiney. I know she is a great Saint and Doctor of the Church-- so I am reserving judgement, but this is the second time I read about her and am left scratching my head!! Maybe by the end of the 33 days I will be enlightened!!
