Blessed Pope Pius IX on the Salvation of Non-Catholics

In today's world it is common to find people who believe that it really doesn't matter what religion you are, or what you believe, because all roads eventually lead one to God. This is based on the idea of relativism, which teaches that there is no absolute truth. Instead, each person, religion, or culture has their own truth, and that these truths are all equally valid and lead to salvation. In fact, one can even find this belief among some Catholics. But what does the Catholic Church actually teach concerning the salvation of those in other religions? Well, one can find the traditional Catholic teaching clearly spelled out in Blessed Pope Pius IX's encyclical titled, "On Promotion of False Doctrines." Blessed Pope Pius IX writes in this letter to the bishops of Italy:

"Here, too, our beloved sons and venerable brothers, it is again necessary to mention and censure a very grave error entrapping some Catholics who believe that it is possible to arrive at eternal salvation although living in error and alienated from the true faith and Catholic unity. Such belief is certainly opposed to Catholic teaching."

Here we see Blessed Pope Pius IX stating very clearly the Catholic dogma of "outside the Church there is no salvation." He says that it is a very grave error, and against Catholic teaching, to believe that one who is living in error and separated from the Catholic Church can be saved. Now, you may ask, "Wait a minute... is he saying that only Catholics are going to heaven?" No, he is not saying that at all, for he goes on and writes:

"There are, of course, those who are struggling with invincible ignorance about our most holy religion. Sincerely observing the natural law and its precepts inscribed by God on all hearts and ready to obey God, they live honest lives and are able to attain eternal life by the efficacious virtue of divine light and grace."

Total Consecration to Mary

Total consecration to Mary is one of those things that many Christians, including some Catholics, are confused about.  But for me personally, this is one of the things that has made all of the difference in my life.  Consecrating ourselves completely to Mary brings us closer to her Son, Jesus. Consecrating ourselves completely to Mary increases in our lives the graces of contrition, repentance, holiness, and love. Consecrating ourselves completely to Mary leads us more surely to eternal life.  But what is total consecration to Mary?  Below are some of the most common questions and answers on this issue that I would like to share.

What is total consecration to Mary?

The word "consecrate" means to be set aside for sacred use.  In consecrating ourselves completely to Mary we are setting ourselves completely aside for Mary's use. We are entrusting our prayers, our thoughts, our emotions, our bodies, our gifts, our everything, to Mary's care and love, and promising to obey her in all things.

Being Born Again

Catholics will sometimes be asked by Protestants if they have been "born again." How is a Catholic suppose to reply to this question?  What does it mean to be "born again"?  Let's take a look at what the Bible says about being "born again," and see how Catholics should answer this question.

The term "born again" comes from John chapter 3 where Jesus says to Nicodemus, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (verse 3). Nicodemus seems to be confused about what Jesus is saying, so Jesus expounds upon it and says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (verse 5). Notice that in these two statements, Jesus equates being born of water and the Spirit with being born again.  They are the same thing.  So if we can understand what it means to be born of water and the Spirit, then we will understand what it means to be born again.

Catholics and a Relationship with God

I hear the accusation many times from Protestants that Catholics do not have a relationship with God.  Is this true?  Of course not.  You see, we have a REAL and CERTAIN relationship with God through our baptism.  In baptism we became children of God, and God became our Father.  In baptism we received the life of Christ within our hearts, and became members of God's own family. This relationship with God is real, and something of which we can be sure.

But do all Catholics have a close and growing relationship with God?  Unfortunately, they don't. Let me use my wife and I as an example. We were married August 22, 1992.  Because of our wedding, we have a real and certain relationship.  After all, we are husband and wife.  But wonder if we never spent time talking to each other, or sharing our lives with each other? We would still have a husband and wife relationship, but that relationship would not be close and growing.  Our relationship will only begin to grow when we take time for each other, and share with each other our lives, hopes, dreams, sorrows, fears, joys, successes, failures, etc.  It is through these things that our love for each other becomes deeper and more intimate.

The Beginner's Introduction to the Mass

Attending Catholic Mass for the first time can be rather confusing and foreign for the non-Catholic.  In looking around the internet for a good introduction to the Mass to show my non-Catholic friends and family, most of the ones I find seem to be too in depth and complicated for one who has never been to Mass to really understand.  So I decided to write an simple introduction to the Mass for the first-time attendee. I do not intend to go into details, or even go through every single thing that happens at Mass.  Instead, I am simply going to go through the basic format of the Sunday Mass. Hopefully it will give the non-Catholic enough information to be at ease and not feel out of place while attending.


One of the first things that one will notice in attending Mass are the different body postures that Catholics take.  Catholics stand, sit, and kneel. Each of these postures have meaning.  Standing at Mass is a sign of showing reverence and honor to God. One of the main places where we stand is during prayers to God.  Sitting during Scripture readings and the homily is a posture that shows that we are to be attentive to what is being said to us. And finally, kneeling is a sign of humbleness and submission before God.  Catholics kneel during the Eucharistic Prayer, which is when the bread and wine become the Real Presence of Christ (more on that later).

Now, on to the actual Mass.  Mass is divided into two main parts, which are the Liturgy of Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  Let's discuss the Liturgy of the Word first.

An Explanation of Purgatory

A couple of my friends have lately asked about the doctrine of purgatory, so I thought I would share a little about what the Catholic Church teaches about purgatory.

First, let’s state what purgatory is not. Purgatory is not a second chance at salvation after death. If a person dies without God's grace, we know of no other chance or opportunity for that person to be saved.  Instead, purgatory is for those who die in God's friendship, but have not yet achieved the holiness necessary to enter heaven.  In other words, since nothing impure can enter heaven (Revelation 21:27), if we die without being perfectly pure, a purification must happen after death before we can enter heaven.  So what things, one may ask, are purified in purgatory?


UNFORGIVEN VENIAL SINS ARE PURIFIED

The Catholic Faith teaches that when a person first comes to Christ, only their past and present sins are forgiven, but not their future sins (those sins that they are yet to commit).  For example, in 1st John the apostle John is writing to fellow believers, and he says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).  Now, if all of a believer's future sins are forgiven when they first come to Christ, then there shouldn't be any reason for a believer to have to confess his sins now, since they should already be forgiven.  In other words, the only way that this verse would make sense, is if our future sins are not forgiven with when we first come to Christ.

The Teaching Authority of the Catholic Church

In recent discussions that my wife and I have had with others concerning the Catholic Faith, the question has arisen of why do Catholics look to the Church to give them the true interpretation of the Scriptures instead of interpreting the Bible for themselves? Well, besides the fact that the Bible itself calls the Church the "pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15), below I will quickly share the Biblical foundation and support for why Catholics look to the teaching authority of the Church (called the Magisterium) to teach and guide them into all truth.

First, one of the first things I learned about Biblical interpretation was that we are to seek to understand the Bible within the historical and cultural context in which it was written. That includes understanding words and phrases in the same way that the original writers and readers would have understood them. For example, if you were reading a book written in the 1920's, and it said that the people were having a "gay time," would you understand the author to be saying that the people were having a homosexual time? Of course not. You would understand the author to be saying that the people were having a happy and joyful time, since that is what the word "gay" meant in the historical and cultural context of the 1920's. We should do the same thing in reading the Bible. You will see below why I am saying this, and why it is important.

What it Means for Mary to be "Full of Grace"

Luke 1:28 is a verse that most of us hear around Christmas time, but yet, we don't stop to really think about what it means.  It is found in the story where the angel Gabriel comes to Mary to tell her that she, even though she is a virgin, will conceive and give birth to the Son of God. Gabriel greets Mary in Luke 1:28 by saying, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you."  So what does it mean when Gabriel calls Mary "full of grace"?  Well, let's look at it.

The Greek word used for "full of grace" is the word "kecharitomene," which means to be "completely, perfectly, enduringly endowed with grace."  (Blass and DeBrunner, Greek Grammar of the New Testament).  It is the only time that this word is ever used in the Bible, and it is used in reference to Mary.  But that is not all.  Another interesting thing is that "kecharitomene" is a perfect passive participle, which "denotes the present state resultant upon a past action" (New Testament Greek for Beginners).  What does that mean?  It means that Mary's state of being full of grace came before the angel Gabriel called her full of grace.

Now, what does all of this mean to us laypeople? It means that Mary was ALREADY completely, perfectly, and enduringly endowed with grace BEFORE the angel Gabriel annouced to her that she would give birth to Jesus, BEFORE Jesus was conceived, BEFORE Jesus was born, BEFORE He performed His first miracle, BEFORE His death on the cross, BEFORE His resurrection from the dead, and BEFORE His ascension into heaven.  In other words, even before Jesus was born, God, in His goodness and mercy, had already granted to Mary the fullness of grace and salvation.  She did not have to wait until Jesus died and was resurrected to be saved.  She was already given grace and salvation before the angel Gabriel first appeared to her.  This is why Mary could proclaim in Luke 1:46-47,"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my SAVIOR."

The Bible on Eternal Security

In the English language, we will often find what is called "if-then" statements. These are conditional statements which say that IF something happens THEN something else will happen. For example, IF I pour a cup of water on my head, THEN I will get wet.  We also find these "if-then" conditional statements in the Bible in regards to the issue of the eternal security of the Christian believer. Here are a few of them:

“IF you keep my commandments, you shall remain in my love” (John 15:10).

“Well, because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not you. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, IF you continue in his goodness: otherwise you also shall be cut off” (Romans 11:20-22).

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand; By which also you are saved, IF you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain” (I Cor. 15:1-2).