Posted on 07/01/2015 7:13:05 AM PDT by RnMomof7
Then I suggest that we are talking past each other. For Catholics faith in the context of the debate between faith and works means the submission of the intellect to God. If you wish to under the category of "saving faith" the submission of the will in the concept of the obedience of faith then this is what Catholics mean when we use the term "faith and works."
It seems askquestions is offered as a a proxy for an evangelical catechism. Do you know its provenance ?
I will defer answering that question because the authors’ provenance is not relevant to the passages of the scriptures listed to reveal the Beam Seat of Christ. I really don’t know the background of the folks who wrote the answer, but I know the author of the scripture passages.
The only fitting worship of God the Father is the sacrifice of Jesus upon the Cross. With the celebration of the Mass this one sacrifice is presented to us so that we can join ourselves with Jesus in this sacrifice. This is why Jesus gave us the command to "do this in memory of me." The "this" is not just a communal meal but the new Paschal sacrifice that began with the Last Supper and was completed on the Cross.
The Catholic Priest has no authority to 'bring Christ down to the Catholic altar to continue this Once for ALL sacrifice, only Jesus has that authority. And He sits at the right hand of the Father, in Heaven, waiting until The Ftaher makes His enemies His footstool.
“There is one holy catholic and apostolic church.” In the another religion’ of Catholicism as now functioning the ‘holy’ might be accepted by many, but it does not measure up to Holy as God is righteous. When I refer to the spiritual church, why is it that so many Catholics repeat the mantra of ‘Catholic Church’? Is it because a Catholic sees no difference between the spiritual Church and the institutional catholic church?
The answer ...
You actually have an incorrect understanding. I believe that you are speaking of giving Communion to the dying rather than the celebration of the Mass itself. There is a special form of Communion called Viaticum that is given to the dying. This is distinct from the Anointing of the Sick which is often called, incorrectly, the Last Rites.
Communion is one of those sacraments that are called the Sacraments of the Living. In other words, one must already be in a state of grace (i.e. saved) in order to receive it. The value of Communion is that it increases the grace of God within us, strengthening us to turn away from sin and toward the love of God. For the dying it can bring peace to the soul in a time of distress.
One is united to God, and thus saved, through Baptism. If one separates one self after Baptism through the deliberate and willful act of a serious sin then it is the sacrament of Penance, not the Mass or Communion, that is needed to have our sin forgiven and ourselves reunited to God. Communion can only be received after this.
This is only apparent because often complex issues addressed here in simple posts. If you have any questions about the details of Catholic teaching then see the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Are you aware you are leaving words missing from some of your posts? Missing words without which your posts are not completely understandable.
Not your great intellect Petrosius; simple faith in Jesus Christ alone.
You attempt to muddy the waters here sometimes.
IF what you espouse were the truth of Catholic dogma then the Catholic so saved would not need the continuous sacrificing of Jesus , nor the rosary beads, nor any of the other sacraments touted as essential in the Catholic Catechism as THE means to obtain salvation.
There are eight parts/steps/essentials to obtain salvation according to the Catholic Catechism. The Council of Trent decree makes it clear that anyone without these essentials, available ONLY by the Roman Catholic Church, is damned eternally.
Vatican II came along and affirmed ALL these Council of Trent decrees, yet at the end of the Vatican II decree is included wording which allows for salvation by God's Grace to Hindus, Jews, Buddhists, Moslems, etc, which contradicts the absolute decree of Trent.
Yes, but he also gave his disciples the command to "do this in memory of me." The "this" that he was referring to was the new Paschal sacrifice initiated at the Last Supper and finished on the Cross. It is the entire Paschal sacrifice, both meal and Cross, that we are to do in memory of him.
Remember that God is eternal, outside of time. Thus Jesus could say "before Abraham was, I am." He can also pull us out of time. John saw the actual events that he described in Revelation. He did not just see a film strip of what would happen in the future.
1277 Baptism is birth into the new life in Christ. In accordance with the Lord's will, it is necessary for salvation, as is the Church herself, which we enter by Baptism.1415 Anyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic communion must be in the state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penance.
1416 Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicant's union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins. Since receiving this sacrament strengthens the bonds of charity between the communicant and Christ, it also reinforces the unity of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ.
What did Jesus say those who believe in Him have? We would agree, Eternal Life.
What does the Bible show as evidence for a 'when' some received this ETERNAL LIFE? HINT: The Day of Pentecost and in the house of Cornelius.
Everyone saved will commit sin if they live in the body long enough after Saved, after they are born from above.
Jesus made the sacrifice so valuable for sins that ALL a man's sins are covered under ONCE For ALL Forever propitiatory sacrifice at Calvary, almost 2000 years ago.
The issue is how does one obtain this Salvation? Catholic catechism teaches it is a trail of striving to obtain this salvation, hallmarked by eight essentials to salvation.
The Bible proclaims and shows evidence that this 'born from above by believing in Him' is an immediate event, and results in God's Life coming into the born from above in that instance. THEN striving begins, learning the Way that the new born must go to be pleasing to The Father.
These 'born from above' family members of Jesus will kneel before the Bema Seat of Christ IN HEAVEN not at the Great White Throne of Judgment, to give account for the way they followed The Way as administered by the TEACHING by the Holt Spirit indwelling them.
Those last two paragraphs are in stark contrast to what Catholicism teaches and asserts RCC christians must believe.
We can only disagree here. Given this disagreement, how are we to know whose opinion is true? Would our Lord institute such an important sacrament and yet leave us in the dark as to what it means? This is the problem with sola scriptura. Without an authoritative teaching church instituted by Jesus himself there is no way to settle this dispute.
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