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Thanks for the post but I don’t understand exactly the doctrines of the Catholic church, being the Protestant Christian that I am.

A priest in my city said this in his homily from last week’s mass: “....if I get to heaven”.

Thist statement has greatly troubled a Catholic friend of mine who was at that service.

She asked another Catholic friend about this statement....basicaly wondering how could a Priest say that? i.e. He doesn’t believe he IS DEFINITELY going to heaven?

The other friend talked about mortal sins and what the Catholic church believes about that....

I would like any and all Catholics here who would like to offer an explanation for this Priest’s comments.

Does it mean, is it true, that Catholic Christians are not assured of their eternal life with Jesus Christ in heaven immediately after they die...and if not ....why not and when will they receive this assurance of eternal life in heaven with Jesus Christ?

Thanks for the exlanations. Will check back in tomorrow late.

No, Catholics - priests or otherwise, -- do not believe we definitely are going to heaven.

Something is required of us -- in fact, quite a bit (Mt 25). To presume we will be judged as justified before we actually are reminds us of the pharisee who made that presumption (Lk 18:10-14). This is the road to justification as outlined by St. Peter:

2 Grace to you and peace be accomplished in the knowledge of God and of Christ Jesus our Lord: 3 As all things of his divine power which appertain to life and godliness, are given us, through the knowledge of him who hath called us by his own proper glory and virtue. 4 By whom he hath given us most great and precious promises: that by these you may be made partakers of the divine nature: flying the corruption of that concupiscence which is in the world. 5 And you, employing all care, minister in your faith, virtue; and in virtue, knowledge; 6 And in knowledge, abstinence; and in abstinence, patience; and in patience, godliness; 7 And in godliness, love of brotherhood; and in love of brotherhood, charity. 8 For if these things be with you and abound, they will make you to be neither empty nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he that hath not these things with him, is blind, and groping, having forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10 Wherefore, brethren, labour the more, that by good works you may make sure your calling and election. For doing these things, you shall not sin at any time.
(2 Peter 1)

"Make sure your calling and election" -- that comes in the end.

Excellent question, that cuts to the heart of the Catholic faith.

The typically Catholic response to the question "Are you saved?" is, "I was saved, I am being saved, and I hope one day to be saved." In other words, we were saved at baptism, we are saved every day as we are perfected by the grace of Jesus Christ, and we hope to be saved at the end of our lives, when we are judged. (Revelations 20:12,13)

In Catholic theology, salvation bears very little resemblance to the somewhat legalistic event it sometimes appears to be in some (only some!) familiar Protestant approaches. It is not a single event, in which the sinner recites a formula prayer, or otherwise declares that Jesus Christ is his or her personal Lord and savior, and from that point forward, they are saved. Rather, in the Catholic Church, salvation is all about being in relationship with Christ. Mere belief is not sufficient - after all, even the Devil "believes" in God. Without a personal relationship with the Lord, you have a "faith" which is dead and which avails you nothing.

In Catholic Christianity, going through your life convinced that you are going to Heaven regardless of how you conduct your life or whether you walk in the paths of the Lord is treated as a particular kind of sin, called presumption. It is considered a very depraved form of arrogance. I don't mean to suggest that Protestants who think "once saved, always saved" are arrogant, I am just explaining the Catholic perspective.

At the same time Catholics can and should have confidence in the mercy of God. God is love and went so far as to die for our sins; He does not go around damning repentant sinners, no matter how horrible their sins might be. I am certain that the priest in your story is pretty sure he is going to go to Heaven, but at the same time he is not going to "presumptuously" say that his journey with Christ is complete or that he does not still need to grow in the Lord. We live in faith and trust, but we acknowledge that we have to respond to the call of Jesus every day; we can't just point back to one time however many years ago when we claimed the Lord as our own. (Matthew 7:21)

I hope that this explanation is helpful and unoffensive...

The others have answered the question very well. All I can add is salvation is a gift Christ laid out for all, but like any gift we as an individual have to accept that gift. By accepting that gift it means living a life for christ, choosing to do good, loving one another, etc.

At any time we have choices, good or evil and if we choose evil, we are choosing to tell Christ thank you for the gift, but I reject that gift.

His grace is great enough to allow us the freedom to reject that gift. His grace is also great enough to leave the gift lying there for us to accept over and over again.

Look at the apostles, they all rejected the gift one way or another and except for Judas they all came back and accepted the gift again.

Someone earlier made a great post for you. I just wanted to add a few things. Catholics do not believe in OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved). We believe we can lose our salvation if we commit serious sins and thereby cut off ourselves from God or by losing our faith.

I have noticed that many Protestants who believe in OSAS say that if someone loses their faith, he must never have had faith in the first place. They simply don’t believe back slidding is possible. This seems to contradict common sense to me. There are formerly fervent Christians who are now Buddhists or Muslims or athiests. Am I really to believe they were all faking it when they claimed to be saved Christians?

Catholics believe there are really two ways to be presumptuous. 1) You’re presumptuous when you assume you’re so sinful that you can’t be saved as if God’s grace isn’t powerful enough to help you. 2) You’re presumptuous when you assume you’re saved no matter what you do - including when you choose a sinful life. We believe these presumptions are sinful for the one presumes God can’t help you and the other presumes you don’t really need His help at all or that a feeling equals salvation itself.

Here are two links. One is to an article by former Evnagelical who is now a Catholic while the other is a link to a a site run by a former Catholic now a Protestant (and rather anti-Catholic) who wrote a mammoth book against OSAS:

1) http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2007/stewart_security_jan07.asp

(also see this http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2002/0203sbs.asp)

2) http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/cat1c.htm

I hope this helps!

He doesn’t believe he IS DEFINITELY going to heaven?

How can anyone presume to know the will of God? That is the very height of hubris and pride is one of the seven deadly sins for a reason. Too often, the Protestant mindset allows them to commit all sorts of egregious and public sins simply because "they've already been saved." It is a much more Christian attitude to recognize oneself as a humble, repentant sinner who will be received into Heaven only through the mercy of God--and that if they don't fight with all of their heart and soul to resist the temptation to sin, they may yet end up in Gehenna.

And by the way, it's the thought in some Catholic eschatology that God condemns no one to Hell. The unrepentant sinful soul facing the ultimate truth of the last judgment and realizing how far it has fallen short of what Christ called it to be, condemns itself--unable to withstand the perfect and eternal glory of the Trinity.

I sometimes wonder how many Protestants have faced that Heavenly Tribunal and, having their supreme arrogance at assuming they would "definitely" be one of the elect laid bare, condemned themselves to Hell.

May Christ be praised on this Good Friday--the commemoration of his crucifixion and death.

You ask a great question, and you ask it with Charity and with a genuine desire to know. It's something that is, often times, missing from this site. Further, you've recieved many great answers from others - there are just a few things I would like to add.

First, is this:

[Jesus] then addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. "Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, 'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity--greedy, dishonest, adulterous--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.' But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.' I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 18: 9-14

Accepting our failures, recognizing them as such, and striving always to live up to the example of Christ is how we can be saved. I know I will fail in living up to that example. However, using my free will to grow in Him through all things, accepting His Grace, and relying on His Mercy - hopefully I will be granted salvation.

No person is ASSURED of heaven, even if they are Christian!! You must obey the Commandments, and KNOW, LOVE and SERVE Jesus and die in the State of Grace. If you only have VENIAL sin on your soul at death, you will go to Purgatory to be PURGED (CLEANSED of your sins) and THEN be released to Heaven!!

Purgatory is like a TIME OUT.....your parents still love you, that;s why they need to punish you for your sins, Jesus loves you and can;t wait til you join him AFTER you are CLEANSED.....No sin filled person gets to heaven, UNTIL they are CLEANSED and punished for their sins.