Judging non-Catholics

OSV.com ^ | 08-17-16 | Msgr. Charles Pope

[Salvation]

Judging non-Catholics Seeing into the hearts of those outside the Church, the Lord will judge them by their knowledge, deeds

Msgr. Charles Pope Catholic, August 28, 2016

8/17/2016

Question: How will God judge non-Catholics at the time of their death? — William Bandle, Manchester, Missouri

Answer: Scripture says, “God does not see as a mortal ... The Lord looks into the heart” (1 Sam 16:7). Thus, God, who knows our hearts, will judge us based on what is there. Not all have had the same opportunity to come to know the Lord, his Church and the help of the sacraments. God is just; he knows this and will judge accordingly.

Jesus says, “That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations or act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating, shall be beaten only lightly” (Lk 12:47-48).

In terms of non-Catholics who lacked some knowledge or sacraments of the Church, God will look into their hearts and judge them based on what they reasonably could have known and their actions based on that.

Therefore, to say that God looks into the heart does not mean that he merely looks to a person’s feelings or disposition. Rather, as Scripture says, we will be judged by our deeds (see Rom 2:6-11). Did our actions correspond to what we knew was expected of us or not?

Thus, the degree of a person’s knowledge of God’s will and his obedience to that knowledge in deeds will be key on the Day of Judgment. This does not mean all non-Catholics and other nonbelievers simply get a pass. Their ignorance of full Catholic teaching must be what is called “invincible ignorance,” meaning a lack of knowledge that they could not reasonably overcome. Thus, if one is lazy or makes excuses when seeking the truth, God will take it into account.

Since the Lord alone sees into our heart, he alone will be our just judge.

[Elsie]

we could triangulate a coordinated offensive and take out LC once and for all...and a few of his goats too!

Oh YEAH??? You and what army???

2 Kings 6:15-17

¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

¹⁶ “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

[Elsie]

Nobody could step up and fill that void.

WHAT??!!??

Did you just accuse me of having an empty HEAD!!??

Why; I oughta...

Mod... MOD.. MOD!!!

They b PICKIN' on me!

[Elsie]

I thought a lot of FR’s Catholics would agree! ;^)

[Elsie]

Although we do not agree 100% theologically; I do manage to learn from Catholics...

[metmom]

You’re one of a kind, Elsie.

[Mark17]

You’d be better off wearing a brown recluse spider - it can only kill the body

😀😆😄

[aMorePerfectUnion]

:-)

Picture of the Brown Recluse that can kill your body:

Picture of the Brown Scapular that can kill your soul, if you put your faith in it to save you:

[Mark17]

I would be willing to bet you and I both wore the brown scapular when we were Catholics. I didn’t like the feel of the wool on my skin. By the time I reached high school, to the best of my knowledge, not one of us in my Catholic high school wore the scapular, though I don’t recall why we all stopped wearing it. Don’t the Mormons have a similar concept?

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Mark,

As a former alter boy - never abused by a priest, thankfully - I did not wear the deadly brown recluse scapular.

I did have some idols to wear from my confirmation, but didn't regularly wear them.

Later, in college, I came to saving faith in Christ, by the grace of God. Glory to Him alone.

Once you come to Christ and your eyes are open to His Word, you see the system you came out of and what it got right and where it failed.

I'm thankful that I grew up believing in God, understanding sin, believing in Christ and His sacrifice... and I am grateful to Roman Catholicism for that.

Where they utterly failed, was in presenting God's single path to eternal life through entrusting ourselves to His sacrifice alone. Instead, they promoted an unbiblical combination of "sacraments", earned grace, works and rituals.

I'm so glad God had mercy on my soul and led me to Christ.

May every person come to Christ alone and have eternal life now.

[Mark17]

I'm thankful that I grew up believing in God, understanding sin, believing in Christ and His sacrifice... and I am grateful to Roman Catholicism for that.

Me too bro, I was also an altar boy. I am glad the RCC has the correct concept of The Trinity, and a few other things, and they taught me a few good things. Like you, I don't agree with the Catholic plan of salvation, however. You were in college when you got saved, I was a Sgt in the Air Force at Mountain Home, Idaho.
Ski better at Bogus Basin. Good skiing there. The guy that led me to faith in Jesus, was a ski patrolman at Mammoth Mountain, CA. If I wasn't playing hockey, I was skiing. 😀

[knarf]

Ad Deum qui laetificat .... me too.

Gettin' saved was easy ... I already had the trinity, the death, burial and resurrection, the virgin birth and that Jesus died for my sins.

The little niggler was that I was never taught I could have a personal relationship with my Savior.

Jesus was a sort of Catholic God and that I could have Him only through the RCC ... or something like that .... because the truth is ...

Jesus was never explained to me, he was TOLD to me.

And I didn't GET the connection of MY SIN needed to be given TO HIM.

My sin needed to be given to father confessor.

Anyway ... Thank GOD for Eddy Klein witnessing to me waayyy back there in 1981.

[Resettozero]

Thank GOD for Eddy Klein witnessing to me waayyy back there in 1981.

And to those true friends who brought the good news of Jesus Christ to me in the Autumn and early Winter of 1980 when I was nearly the age of Jesus when He went to the cross to die for my sins.

Raised a Baptist, I had no excuses for taking so long to seek out, cry out to, and encounter the Lord Jesus Christ and I do regret the wasted opportunities in the earlier years.

[MHGinTN]

I have someone to give thanks for, for he witnessed to me the Truth of Jesus: my college roommate, Shef Villier. Sadly, he later fell into Mormonism. I spent a couple of decades worming him out of that. But his witness to me not too long after he got born from above is what GOD used to open my eyes.

[knarf]

Ed was/is a Messianic Jew ... which I had no clue what that meant at the time

[knarf]

I too was 33 when I received HIM !!

[Mark17]

I too was 33 when I received HIM

I was a young, wet behind the ears kind of dude, when I was saved at 21. I wished it had been sooner in life, but we all got saved in God's perfect timing.
Maybe the angels were watching me and thinking I was a hopeless case, and would never come to faith in Christ, but I did. 😇

[daniel1212]

will you now persist in making the erroneous claim that the “Catholic Church teaches those who wear the brown Scapular are guaranteed to not burn in Hell?”

I have not been following this, but to be accurate, which we should be, he should have said that some Catholics teach, without apparent censor, that those who wear the brown Scapular are guaranteed to not burn in Hell. And this issue pertains to the one raised here without resolution, as to the practical basis for for RC assurance of faithful doctrine. For which, at a minimum, the Nihil Obstat + Imprimatur used to be sought.

Catholics read, "Whoever Dies Piously Wearing This Scapular, Shall Not Suffer Eternal Flames" as being part of the Scapular Promises, and see a confirmation of which (with its implicit conditions) being given the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur (Nihil Obstat: Joseph A. M. Quigley Censor Librorum Philadelphiae, die 1 Decembris, 1954. Imprimatur: + J. F. O'Hara, C.S.C. Archiepiscopus Philadelphienais Philadelphiae, 2 Decembris, 1954) , and consider this, at the least to not be contrary to official RC teaching.

The Nihil Obstat + Imprimatur here was provided under the 1917 Code of Canon Law which was in force until the 1983 Code of Canon Law, and which provides the criteria by which censors are to grant the nihil obstat ("nothing obstructs") which leads to the Imprimatur ("Let it be printed").

In every episcopal Curia, censors shall be appointed by office.

Examiners in undertaking their office, leaving off all consideration of persons, shall have before their eyes only the dogmas of the Church and the common Catholic doctrine that is contained in the general decrees of the Councils or constitutions of the Apostolic See or the prescriptions and the thinking of approved doctors. (1917 Code of Canon Law, 1863, 1,2)

The Nihil obstat and Imprimatur are a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free from doctrinal or moral error.” (The Catholic Encyclopedia Revised and Updated (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1987), p. 288)

“The Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat are official declarations that a work is free from doctrinal or moral error.” — http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/vocations/educators-and-youth-leaders/lesson-plans/upload/what-my-vocation-junior-high-unit-I.pdf

While giving the Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat to a document does not make it as requiring assent, neither can this approval be marginalized without damaging the claim that the church of Rome is the supreme faithful shepherd, for in that interest was the Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat given, which flowed from the Office of the Inquisition.

“To prevent the incursion of opinions that conflict with the church's teaching, the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office, created in 1542, has the authority to ban books which it adjudges to be dangerous to the faith and morals of the faithful. The catalog of such books is called the ‘Index of Prohibited Books’ and Roman Catholics are prohibited from reading any book on the Index without permission.

In addition, the members of the church may not read or even sell any book that is dangerous to faith and morals, even if it is not on the Index. Wherever faith and morals are involved, the church claims the right of censorship over books. No Roman Catholic may publish a book dealing with doctrinal or moral matters without having it censored. - (Jaraslov Pelikan, “The Riddle of Roman Catholicism, “(1959).

As for the Dominican habit:

CHAPTER TWO Presenting the Scapular to Saint Simon Mary, “Whosoever dies clothed in this Habit shall not suffer the fires of hell.” "The small habit, known commonly as the “Brown Scapular,” is likewise clearly defined. It differs from the large habit only in size." - Sign of Her Heart, John Mathias Haffert PREFACE BY M o s t R e v . F u l t o n J. S h e e n; Nihil Obstat William A. Margerum , S.T.D. Censor Librorum Imprimatur * George W. Ahr, S.T.D. Bishop of Trenton pp. 12,16. http://johnhaffert.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Sign%20of%20Her%20Heart.pdf

[Elsie]

I would hope!

[Elsie]

I wonder if Glenn Beck wears his old BS over his Mormon undies?

One can’t ever be TOO protected; can they??

[ealgeone]

Well put, Counselor! That should clear up the issue. Well, it probably does for most.