Well, as a Catholic I acknowledge that he is the rightful vicar of Christ. The pope is infallible in all religious affairs. I respect every pope because I know that he was chosen by the Holy Spirit.
My opinion of Pope Francis is good. He has been a good pope, but I think he should have reprimanded the German bishops under Cardinal Marx severely because of their proposal to allow protestants to receive the Eucharist. Other than that, he should have been more black-and-white with his teaching in Amoris Laetitia. Overall, I think he is a good man.
@Ntech So I'm also Catholic but really shouldn't call meself devout. Anyhow I put some effort and read a few versets. I've got this question for a devout Catholic: Do you think that you are in God's grace?
That depends on what your definition of God's grace is. If you mean if I am in the state of sanctifying grace, and thus able to attain heaven upon my death, yes.
No person can fully repay God for everything He has done. In fact, I readily admit that I deserve to go to hell just for my first venial sin because I denied my Lord Who has done so much for me and mankind. But, Christ is ready to forgive any sin confessed to a priest. He is truly Good, He is Truth itself. We are wholly indebted to Him for everything, yet sometimes we deny Him in favor of the devil. Remember that life is short when compared to the vastness of eternity, that living this life in happiness is nothing compared to living eternity with God.
Sanctifying grace is the state in which one may attain heaven upon death. Sanctifying grace is lost upon committing a mortal sin. Without sanctifying grace, we are doomed to hell. Sanctifying grace may be restored again by confession of all mortal sins committed.Mortal sin is a grevious sin that removes all sanctifying grace from one's soul. If one has the misfortune to commit a mortal sin, he should immediately confess it to a priest as if he should die in that state, he will go to hell.
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@Ntech I meant God's grace in general, not this much later John Wesley's division. It's theological definition, reaching almost to the core of Christianity, deriving from the New Testament.
In short: love and favour of God towards sinful and undeserving humans. Every part of it, temporal and eternal. So sure, you told about huge part of what I meant.
I'm not asking you because of lack of my knowledge of definitions. I'm asking about your knowledge of God's grace. I can see from your posts that you're a proud disciple. So I'll rephrase my previous question:
One thing about Catholicism that has always confused me is the matter of the Trinity. I'm not trying to make any gotchas here, but I would like you to answer to the best of your ability. How does the Catholic church justify this belief that God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are one singular entity when there is plenty of scriptural evidence to the contrary?
I'm most familiar with the King James Version, which I know the Catholic church doesn't really accept as accurate. I did a little research and found that the New American Standard Bible (NASB) is an acceptable translation. If I'm mistaken, please correct me and I'll use a different translation.
When Christ was baptized, the Holy Ghost appeared as a separate entity, and God the Father's voice came down to Jesus. In Luke 3:21-22, in the New American Standard Bible (NASB), it reads:
21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened,
22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”
This is corroborated in the gospels of Matthew and Mark as well.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, when Christ is suffering, he prays to his Father. Luke 22:41-42 (NASB) says:
41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray,
42 saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”
43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.
At Christ's crucifixion, he feels the presence of his father and the Holy Ghost leave him. Matthew 27:45-46 reads as follows:
45 Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.
46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Even in context with all the other verses around it, to me that once again paints a clear picture of the separate nature of these two.
Once again, I'm not trying to pose any gotchas. This has always been something that's been confusing to me.
@PLGuy, I cannot be quite sure whether I am in His grace for I too am a creature of sin, as all humans. The best I can do is live a good life and hope that He will forgive me.
@Linktopast30, the Trinity is one of the great mysteries of our faith, but because it's a mystery does not mean that we cannot partly comprehend it. The Trinity can be likened, as St. Patrick did, to a three-leafed clover. Each leaf is separate, but is the clover. Each person of the Trinity is wholly God but separate from the other two. They are three divine natures in one God, each separate and wholly God. I hope my explanation can help you. God bless!
@Ntech In advance I appologise for posting a wall of text in your Q&A thread.
I cannot be quite sure whether I am in His grace for I too am a creature of sin, as all humans. The best I can do is live a good life and hope that He will forgive me.
I like your answer. Today many people might answer it that they believe in His grace so much that they just know. Such answer on a medieval trial for heresy would surely result in burning at stake sentence. In fact answering just "no" wasn't satisfying as well (reference: Joan of Arc Trial). More orthodox understanding of the Book holds that no one can be certain of being in God's grace, but a hope of being in God's grace is an inherent part of being a Catholic. We try to live according to commandments to gain entry into Heavens, just like confessors of other faiths try to live according to their sacred laws.
(On a light contrary, vikings whose gods didn't mind murdering, raping and ravaging, fought bravely and wanted to die on a field of battle, also to gain entry into their sacred paradise, Valhalla. So even pagans, even though their commandments quite contrasting to ours, lived to earn the grace of their gods).
But of course as the global civilization is developing, people (at least these not poisoned with pathologically religious upbringing) are becoming more and more open-minded. Nowadays my question, though as nitpicky as it could get, wouldn't provoke anyone to calling anyone a heretic.
Talking about open-mindedness... I perceive that some users send you signals about being non-assertive. Even though I don't mind people that give advices to others (and this isn't really my business), I know that at some intensity it might become obtrusive. When I need help and I get a good and deliberate piece of advice, I appreciate it. Then I can think it through and decide if I'll listen to it or not. But when I'm flooded with a swarm of misplaced advices that I never pleased for, well... they don't help at all. The effect of such advices (if any) is the opposite than expected.
And boom, this can be a great example of a piece of advice about giving advices that nobody awaited.
