thank you. The reason I was curious is that my father, who was a devout Catholic, told me that he always felt that if a thief could be by the side of Jesus and be saved that possibly he could somehow find his way to the Lord’s good grace.
He was a Marine that saw combat and from our conversations had difficulties justifying some of his actions.
It just struck me that a thief is more of a common criminal than a “revolutionary”. That Jesus was treated with such disrespect that he was placed with common thieves and not with those of “high crimes” such as treason.
Thanks again for taking the time to respond to my post. I’m a fallen Catholic trying to find my way back to the church and have difficulty controlling my temper when politics is injected into the church’s sermons.
Have a blessed Holy Week.
I like to look at all the examples of people who were very far gone, and came to the church, and in some cases, became saints, like St. Augustine.
Father John Corapi is a more modern example. Which isn’t to say I’m placing him on the same level as Augustine, but he has a powerful speaking voice and also an interesting past. Feel free to check him out on YouTube. He went from being a military man, to a successful businessman, to a man with a lot of money and a drug problem, to broke and homeless, and eventually, a Catholic priest.
My personal belief on the subject is that no one is beyond the reach of God. Even Bobby Fischer had a Catholic burial. My favorite bible quote from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (which he wrote while in prison) is related to this idea, that we all have the ability to awake and arise from the death of sin, and Christ will give us light. St. Paul himself is an example of someone who was in terrible sin and not only found his way to Christ, but did many great things in His service.
God Bless and have a blessed Holy Week as well.