I was born and raised a Jehovah’s Witness and was a devout one for 30 years. God literally nudged me big time one day and put this doubt into my mind that I had never had before: “what if this isn’t the truth? You should pray to Jehovah about this.” That thought terrified me. I was literally shaking. My hands got cold and clammy and it took me about a month to open my heart to God and pray about it. When I did, I asked him to, “please guide me to your truth, wherever it is and send someone to teach it to me.” For the first time in my life I felt like God listened to me and turned his face to me. Before I always felt like I was praying to no one. The next day, he did and in three days, I was liberated from the cult. I lost my family and my older sister and mother still don’t speak to me. 4 years later, my other sister began studying theology after she too was liberated and then I also began studying. But I also daily prayed for the truth of God (I stopped calling him Jehovah) and his guidance. It was really hard because as I was studying and was also in Biblical discussion groups and had Protestant and evangelicals helping me learn scripture, I began to realize that they reject plain scripture about baptism and the Eucharist. They began reminding me of Jehovah’s witnesses with their cognitive dissonance and rejection of scripture that doesn’t agree with their beliefs. I felt horrified and began to doubt in the Christian God altogether. Not only that, but I kept reading about this one singular church in the New Testament. This one singular Faith. And it just didn’t match up with Protestantism. I never considered Catholics at all and didn’t even think that they were remotely Christian and so for those two weeks I began looking into Norse paganism. I even asked Odin to reveal himself to me. Thankfully, nothing happened. I then decided at the end of those two weeks that Jesus is a false god and all the Christians with their thousands of different beliefs from one book were all just fooling themselves. How can their god not keep his own house? So, that night, I took a breath and was about to verbally renounce Jesus Christ and then all of a sudden I heard in my soul, “pray to me, give me one last chance.” I knew exactly who had just spoken to me and I became angry, frustrated and annoyed. So, I told Jesus, “OK. If you are real prove it. Guide me to your truth. Your 100% truth. I don’t want 99.99% I want 100%. Because if you’re going to just guide me to 99.99% I don’t want any of it. I’m sick of all these people claiming that they’re the ones that have this truth of yours.” The next day, I forgot about Norse paganism and began studying and praying even more fervently than ever before. This zeal for learning and focusing on Jesus was overwhelming. I didn’t know anything about the Church other than I believed it was the Seat of Satan and ruler of all false religion and the whore of Babylon and so, when my Protestant and evangelical teachers kept pointing out to me that what I was learning was Catholic and therefore couldn’t be right, I was surprised. And so, I began realizing via my teachers that I was developing Catholic beliefs. Thanks to God, I never listened to them to turn away from what I was learning because I daily prayed for God’s truth and guidance. So, one day, I felt like I was ready for Christian fellowship and I prayed for a good Protestant church to go to that taught Catholic beliefs. Lol. I hated the Church. Of course, that prayer was never answered because that doesn’t exist. However, what did happen was I felt oddly drawn to this Catholic Church called, St Pius X. I drove past it every time I went to town and I felt urged to go there. I also drove past other churches and never felt drawn to them. It took about a year before I finally obeyed and when I went to my first mass, I was terribly confused. I got on my knees when everyone else did and sat when everyone else did. But what I felt was something I had never felt before, God’s presence. It was warm and loving and I felt like I had truly walked into God’s house. And then the priest gathered cups, water, wafers and plates (this is what I thought at the time) and everyone knelt and he began praying and said the Agnus Dei and my mouth dropped as I witnessed John 6 come to life and I began shaking and crying and I knew my prayer for God’s truth was answered. I had arrived home. God bless. Thanks for reading.
We are all so blessed! God gave me his Grace to convert. I was Catholic my whole life. But now, I feel like a true Catholic. We are already blessed. Don't lose hope!
Leo Marinak I’m a convert. You’re very blessed to have been born into the Christian faith. God knew you’d be born into his Church and he gave me sufficient grace to convert from Protestantism! How amazing is that?
Hope is one of the Theological Virtues. Despair (losing hope) is from the devil and is one of the battles that a dying person can go through if they were big sinners that repented.
I am a revert. I occasionally get urges to go back. Sometimes I succumb but then I go to confession. I hope that I will be fixed in my Catholic faith, and to no longer falter or go the other way.
God brought you here for a reason. Listen to Him with an open heart He will never lead you into harms way. He’s calling you home to His true Church and teachings. His only true doctrine without changes!! God bless🕊💜🕊
Being born as a baptist, finally being Catholic is like protestant = preschool and Catholic = graduate school in medicine. The protestants have omitted an uncountable amount of information. When I was confirmed, I and the entire congregation felt the extreme power of the Holy Spirit. So many were in tears of joy! Please, attend at least 3 Masses. God will speak to you. May I recommend Fr. Chris Alar, Eucharistic Miracles here on RUclips? You won't regret it! I'll keep you in my prayers. (Rosaries). May God surround, embrace, and bless you.
I AM 43 NOW BUT I STARTED REALLY SERIOUSLY CO-OPERATING WITH GODS GRACE AND NOW IM MOT PERFECT BUT I AM NOW DOING MY BEST TO ADVANCE IN HOLIENESS IVE BEING DOING THAT FOR THE LAST 3 YEARS
The key for the wayfarer is to realize that the Church’s teaching on this gives us every reason for both humility and confidence in God. He will not condemn us unjustly yet Our Salvation is in His Hands where it is most secure. His intentions are more upright than our own could ever be. Let us strive to grow in virtue which will help us rely on Him remembering that he who confides in Him shall not be confounded.
I remember a teacher once said at the start of the year, you have a current grade of 100%. It's like being in a state of Grace. Brand new and shiny clean without blemish. It's up to you to work hard to keep your A+ grade and not fail. How much we sin and how far we fall from grace seems to be like this?? Go to far and you will get a failing grade. Strive hard in life and concentrate on virtues and you will be well on your way to a final tick of approval.
I like that analogy! When I was in school, I'd do ok the first quarter, kinda ok the 2nd, really slack off the 3rd, then pull it back out the 4th... Story of my life... 🥴
I think this analogy may lead some to err in thinking that a person can somehow 'merit' or 'obtain' salvation through hard work, good deeds etc. This position has been explicitly condemned by the Catholic Church. "If anyone says that man can be justified before God by his own works, whether done by his own natural powers or by the teaching of the Law, without divine grace through Jesus Christ, let him be anathema” (Trent; Session 6; can. 1) The teacher-student analogy falls apart when you have to specify that the first student (Adam) started out with a perfect grade, but every subsequent student started with a failing grade, but on each from the outset is bestowed sufficient knowledge to pass the subject, but the student doesn't pass it on his own but completely thanks to the teacher, who is ever present in his study and whispers him the answers to every test as it happens.
I believe in predetermination... I as a young priest did my best to live a holy priestly life to the best of my capabilities... Yet at a moment I faltered deeply into heresy believing in Judaism and their messiah... I was deeply down and engrossed with it... Till a sudden sickness pneumotherax (a severe breathing difficulty) happened in the midnight... I asked God's mercy and Christ mercy throughout the collapsing night amidst deep fear and almost despairing remembrance of my unfaithfulness... Slowly sincerely asking God's mercy and pardon... The image and thought of Arch bishop Dominic Jala (who died in America car accident) came to my thought (His grace ordained us as Deacons in Shillong June 17, 2017)... That I'm going to be with him and peace was restored to my soul over... I'm still a recovering priest from my sickness... Yet the mercy of God I can proclaim was great I hope and pray to be ever faithful till the end... Thank you Fr
Strange: I've heard Ripperger say different, that God leaves us to our own devices to resist temptation so we can grow in spiritual strength. If he's doing that, then he can't simultaneously be giving us sufficient grace.
@@calebladd4082 Jesus said, "Without Me you can do nothing." So even "our own devices" (to the extent that they serve to resist temptation) have their origin in God. "What does any man have that he has not received from above?" All good comes from God, including the grace to resist temptation.
@@djg585 It cannot be both ways. He either sends supernatural spiritual assistance to help us resist temptation, or he watches to see what we will do w/ out divine intervention and judges us based on that.
Father Ripperger is obviously an extremely learned and extremely gifted priest but when, speaking about such subjects as Predestination and the Final Judgement, I wish that he would be both absolutely precise and absolutely consistent in his language. Otherwise he opens a door for the devil, especially among those of us who are more vulnerable to scrupulosity, to sow seeds of fear and doubt in the Divine Mercy. I think that what he said about the Council of Trent's statement on this subject is the best answer and I'm paraphrasing here: God wills the salvation of all but to some He gives so much grace that they cannot help being saved. And I think we can see this in the lives of the saints, above all the Blessed Virgin. Ave Maria gratia plena!
@@mathewjoseph5987 yep i think the majority of us completely misunderstand what is implied by predestination. We are trying to understand God ;and that really isnt possible for men in a complete way. The main thing is to trust in his mercy.
I would love to hear Fr. Rippenger complete present our faith while also drawing clear distinctions between others. As a convert, he has been one of the largest influences to keep drawing closer to our faith.
A few years ago I was ill and feverish with a gastric infection and in a lot of pain. I prayed and was later visited by St Alphonsos,who cured me. I didnt know at the time but one of his patronages is to heal gastric problems. He was very kind and sat with me a while we had a chat, I said while I have a saint here with me what about predestination is it true and could he explain it to me. He said yes its true and part of God’s loving plan but our minds at this stage cant comprehend it as we have so much other stuff to know. We will know when these things are revealed. Again I didnt know until listening to Fr Ripperger that St Alphonsos wrote about predestination.
The difficulty for me consists in trying to fit an omniscient, all powerful mighty God into our atom-size logic. Jesus is the Savior of all those who accepts Him as his Savior for eternal salvation and we are all called to correspond to His calling and give testimony of the good news, however, many will not. By our own means we can not stay in the path of salvation even after having heard in our hearts the calling of the Lord, so we need God's grace all the time, predestined or not. Thanks father for your thorough presentation
Fr. Ripperger’s spiritual warfare lessons & advanced knowledge sharing have tremendously helped me (& surely millions of other souls) reach farther to connect more fully to God & work on humbling, hopefully maturing my weaknesses, & most importantly to Honor God first, no matter what...not my will, but only His Will. My only question on this PreDestination topic is, when Christ told many in the temple (John 8:44) who were debating him...”You are Not my Sheep, if you were from My Father... you would know Me! Thus, you are of your father the devil, who has never been on the side of Truth.”... Does that indicate Jesus Christ meant they basically destroyed their only chances of Salvation in Heaven? Blessings & Christ’s protection for Fr. Ripperger. My deepest gratitude as since i’ve been praying the Auxilium Christianorum, the demonic oppression immediately went from an increased exponentially enraged campaign of their intense harassment into finally recently mostly backing off & more restored peace in my soul again... Thanks be to Father God, Yeshua our Christ, & Mother Mary, as well as Fr. Ripperger’s insights. God works through Fr. Ripperger, thank you so much.
I am glad you shared your experience with the Auxillium Christianorum. Regarding John 8:44. From reading what the Fathers of the Church said, Ii means that these men imitate their father the devil in not abiding in the truth. They envied Jesus and His popularity to much, that they wanted kill Him. When Jesus raised Lazarus, any reasonable person would have believed. But they hated Him more and wanted to even kill Lazarus. Only God knows their final destination because a sinner at that time, could have repented and followed Christ later.
Migjty God, thank you for the Grace you showered me with this Pentacost, the flames of finally understanding through your holy priests so I will be saved. The crossroad was never so clear and the door never so open as all other doors are closed.
direct of Lord all our actions by thy Holy Inspirations and carry them on by Thy gracious assistance so that our prayer and work of ours will begin from Thee and by Thee be happening thru Christ our Lord. Amen.
Thank you Father Ripperger. Happy Easter and Octave Easter week. My prayers of the Rosary for your intentions and the daily prayers for the members of the Auxilium Christianorum .
In years of watching Sensus Fidelium, I have never seen a video clip. It's always still images. I believe the midget flying through the air in this video is a sign from heaven to pay attention to the content! Ok, in all seriousness, excellent lesson. Thank you Fr. Ripperger!
I am so conscious of God's OMNIPOTENCE. So its like I constrain myself from mortal sin. But I am still a weak person and fall into venial sin. I try very hard by praying & asking for the gift of reverence & fear of God, but sometimes its so difficult not to do that small small sin like getting annoyed with certain people & telling people off when they get at my face.🤔😥
To BettyBella: I know that mortal sin would condemn my soul but I for years did not worry about venial sins… like giving the one finger salute to the guy that just cut me off! Until I was shown the following: The Lord is outside of time ; the sin I will commit TOMORROW was atoned for by the suffering of Jesus but perhaps that venial sin added an additional ounce to the weight of the cross or perhaps added a second longer on the cross. THAT knowledge makes me want to avoid anything, even venial, that would cause my Lord more suffering. Hope that helps! God bless. Tony
Thanks Father. I'm still confused by this (Well some of it. I grasped some of the talk and other parts confused me) but I trust God will take care of it so long as I keep begging to do his will and doing my best to follow him and stay in a state of Grace.
I really love this topic! I remember listening to talks by Sr. Gaudia Skaas about Rudolf Hoss who, as the Commandant at Auschwitz, was responsible for the death of some 2.5 millions prisoners at the camp. Hoss returned to the Catholic faith just before he was executed and I just could not understand how or what made him to do so. So it was the efficient/operating grace after all at work, the same way Saul was converted and became St Paul. I also think that this predestination is also in line with the Divine Mercy where we should never judge anyone including those evil ones for they may receive efficient/operating grace in their later life...
Frances Barbarise He already did. Lifesitenews did an interview with him. Here’s the article. God bless! www.lifesitenews.com/news/exorcist-priests-have-obligation-to-give-sacraments-to-dying-regardless-of-what-bishop-says
@@BelovedSon, I read what he said. He once again proves that he is a true follower of Christ. That coronavirus is not as bad as they say with the majority of people. My whole extended family had the virus. We all got over it. The young ones had it for a couple of days. The common symptoms for those under 20 was tiredness, and a runny nose. Some got a low grade fever. Some had no symptoms at all. With the older adults, the symptoms were tiredness, runny nose, difficulty breathing upon exertion. Two had coughs, chills and loss of the sense of taste and smell. The worse one in the family was a 67 year old with asthma. She had difficulty breathing to a higher degree and she was going to go to the hospital- but she took quinine (tonic water) from which they make the hydroxychloroquine. She also took vodka and some liquors that she had in the house. The quinine (tonic water) stopped her cough and when she started drinking alcohol, the breathing difficulty was much improved. She got over it faster than the other younger adult that did not drink vodka and tonic :)
Saint John 10:27-30 My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. "The Father and I are one.”
With all due respect. Trying to figure out exactly how God thinks I don't think it's possible. Just obey the laws like he said! 🙏💙 FREEWILL 💒🌠 Love GOD with all your heart !
Sharon Lee KISS. keep it simple stupid. For those of us with little formal training - this is yet again another act of Divine Mercy. ( I meant no dis-respect with the word stupid)
Its important to understand there are different theories on predestination as long as they agree with Cathooic dogma. Fr Ripperger, for his great learnedness affirms a Thomistic view, but there are other theories like Molinism. Ultimately, it is a mystery. Trust in God and always attempt to be in a state of grace
There is nothing in the Bible or the Teachings of the Church, that ever said that God predestines anyone to Hell. based on the choice of God alone. "God, by an Eternal Resolve of His Will, predestines certain men, on account of their foreseen** sins,** to eternal rejection." Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Ott "....faithfully we confess the predestination of the elect to life, and the predestination of the impious to death;. in the election, moreover, of those who are to be saved, the mercy of God precedes the merited good. In the condemnation, however, of those who are to be lost, the evil which they have deserved precedes the just judgment of God. " Council of Valence Denzinger, The Sources of Catholic Dogma "318 ..... Omnipotent God wishes all men without exception to be saved [1 Tim. 2:4] although not all will be saved. However, that certain ones are saved, is the gift of the one who saves; that certain ones perish, however, is the deserved punishment of those who perish." Council of Quiersy (853) Denzinger, The Sources of Catholic Dogma
@@vigildino6518 I fully agree with you. Dr. Denzinger's book and the Council of Orange, Lyons, Florence, and Trent lay it out clearly along with the Bible. No where in the Bible does it say God predestined people to hell. I never affirmed that in my comment. Fr Ripperger never affirmed that either
@@kylespectra6685, My answer was in response to you saying it is a mystery. So I wanted to clarify that not all is a mystery since the Church has certain dogmas in place. Also, I did not want anyone reading this to think that God would ever predestine anyone to Hell. If I am not mistaken, there are some Christian denominations that might teach that and please correct me if I am wrong.
@@vigildino6518 It is still a mystery because we do not know which certain theories in Catholicism are true or not. That's why St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiea Part I says theology is a science. We are understanding things that Gos has revealed, and we continue to understand it. Yes, some Protestants affirm that
@@kylespectra6685, It is a mystery, but not a total mystery, since we know certain things from the Bible and from the Dogmas of the Church. What is taught in Catholicism as definitive (such as the Dogma of the Trinity) is not a theory subject to change. What is subject to change are prudential judgements, or certain things that God has not revealed. In those cases, we are free to accept different views.
For those who find Molinism incoherent, but the "Thomistic" (Banezian Thomism -- other Thomists disagree with the so-called "Thomist" position) problematic and just basically Calvinist sophistry, check out the book "Predestination" by Fr. William Most. He shows how St. Thomas never actually had a coherent and consistent understanding of Predestination and shows that the Fathers all together, not just Augustine, teach something which is neither Thomistic nor Molinist. We DO determine if we will be predestined, though not primarily. We also determine if we will be damned, primarily. A little too complex for a YT comment section, but don't despair on this topic!
Thomistc Predestination can not be explained in an hour, nor even in 12 hours. This brief lecture should not have been given to the laity. The late Father Garrigou-Lagrange OP was the 20th-century expert on this subject. He wrote a book titled Predestination, which is no longer in print. He was probably also a Saint.
This talk just completely, absolutely, horribly stresses me out. It's only if God has already chosen me that I am saved, no matter how much I stay in a state of grace? I am so anguished by this.
Don't be anxious about it. Predestination is one of the most misunderstood concepts in theology (even by the most learned) and Fr. Ripperger doesn't even have a strong stance on the matter. God creates no one for hell, and He ardently desires the salvation of all. God created all men out of love, for the purpose of loving Him and being with Him for all eternity, and Christ died for every soul, without exception. If you are worried that God does not will your salvation, perish the thought. It is true that nobody can know for certain they are predestined (that they will ultimately be saved), as humans can always turn their back on God. There are, however, as Fr. Ripperger says, signs of predestination. Signs like: the desire to be saved, living in the state of grace, frequent reception of the sacraments, regular prayer, love of God, etc. In my opinion, the most sure sign of predestination is devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. St. Louis de Montfort says that he has no surer sign that someone is for God than whether or not they love the Hail Mary. St. Alphonsus Ligouri wrote an entire book on how Mary infallibly saves her devotees from Hell called: The Glories of Mary. I'm convinced it's one of the most powerful books ever written for consoling a soul and helping it trust in God and Mary. This is the best version of it: www.tanbooks.com/glories-of-mary.html Don't worry about whether you are predestined. If you put your trust in Him and do your part, He will never fail to keep His promises.
@@Logan-rq7wg Logan, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your response. Thank you so very much. I definitely desire to be saved, pray regularly, and when available, receive the sacraments often. I also cherish the Blessed Mother and prayers devoted to her, especially the Hail Mary (also, I am currently reading St. Louis de Montfort's True Devotion to Mary for the second time, and I will definitely check out The Glories of Mary that you cite above). I don't presume anything, but you are right: I just need to put my trust in Him and do my part the best I can. Thank you again sincerely for your thoughtful and charitable response - I really appreciate it. God bless you and your family.
I dont care which comes first- the graces for me to cooperate or my cooperation meriting extra graces. What i care about is to get as much graces as God wants to give and to cooperate to His will as humanely possible.i am greedy that way.
I struggle GREATLY with this concept. I have studied from every angle I could think of, and I still find it to be utterly disturbing. If God knows beforehand where each of us will end up, how we got there and why, freewill is absolutely negated. There's no room for freewill. Stating that God does not cause our path to end up where it will is not entirely true, either. If he had foreknowledge but chose to create us anyway, he is 100% the cause. Boil it all down to this-- if he knows I'm going to hell by seeing the future, I have ZERO control via freewill to change that. No matter how much effort I put into exercising my freewill towards the Church and receiving graces, I'm still going to hell. There is no freewill. It may appear that way to me as a finite being, but ultimately it is merely a masquerade of a sinister sort, at that. This is irreconcilable for me. If this is indeed the teaching that the Church expects us to believe, I suppose I must leave. I don't know how to believe in a God that operates in such a manner. This hurts my heart.
This is my greatest struggle I've bottled up when it comes to Catholicism, the suffocating immutability of predestination. I see us as characters on a book. Say I created a character named Matthew and made him the villain in a story. I decided beforehand that Matthew would say and do things which would end up destroying him painfully. From his perspective, he's making free choices, but in truth there is no other way Matthew could be or act other than how I have intended him to act. He only exists firstly because I decided he should exist and wrote him into existence. I do not like his evil actions, but he serves to move the story forward and glorify the actions of the hero and highlight the karma/justice of his own downfall. If he were able to understand the truth of his existence, should he not despair that he was chosen to be so evil and die gruesumely, wishing that his creator would've created him differently with mercy. No matter what he wishes, he can't help but fulfill his role. He is not really a person, but a puppet, a plot device. In the same way, a lot of Catholic theology makes humans just plot devices which are glorified or tortured to tell a story and reveal something about God's nature. A story which unfortunately for the inumerable damned, will never end. Another way I think about it is as children drowning in a pool. If a lifeguard were to throw life bouys to some, but let others drown, even though he could have effortlessly saved them, simply because he likes some kids more than others, wouldn't he be guilty of murder? Is the lifeguard really going to blame the small children for drowning? All of this makes me feel like Catholicism is sort of arbitrary. All the prayers in the world won't change God's mind and since Jesus and many of the doctors of the church said few are saved, doesn't that just make Catholicism a religion of despair. Its easy for the elect to talk all confident with their graces, but I can't help but identify with all the abandoned sheep along the road. That spells my destruction, I think. I want to submit to God, but I can't help worry if his true intentions was to butcher me down the line all along. I know God can't be evil or wrong, meaning that in truth it is objectively better to God's glory that I be tortured and suffer horrifically forever, which to me comes off as some lovecraftian cosmic horror concept rather than something from a loving god.
Just because God knows something will happen doesn't mean He causes it. You can look at Adam and Eve for example God knew they would sin but still decided to create them and the church believes they're in Heaven despite that, so don't despair
The Catholic Church teaches that because of God's mercy, Jesus suffered and died on the Cross to redeem our sins and grant us salvation. That shows His love toward mankind. We should be grateful that we can receive the sacraments and the grace to have eternal life in Heaven. By God's grace, a sinner who repents only at the last moment is to be saved, but because he fails to comply with God's will throughout his life, the divine justice of God would demand his soul to be in the purgatory, perhaps for a long time and maybe in the lowest level if he is a clergy. As for the saints, by God's providence, they were predisposed with graces to accomplish the tasks that God wanted them to do in the world, amidst the tribulations and trials that they had to go through. Their demonstration of love for God led them to a place in Heaven where they are closer to God, as in the case for the 24 elders mentioned in Revelation. Consider the pharisees who were proud and uncharitable. Their hearts were so hard that they failed to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, so He declined to show them signs that would make them believe. Judas Iscariot was called the son of perdition because his disposition and greed prevented him from being saved. He prefigured the religious who would betray Jesus and de damned. We have to remind ourselves of the call to become holy by living a life according to God's will. Don't feel discouraged due to some debate in the predestination. God bless.
Whole lot of Greek / generally orthodox art and churches pictured here. They’re gorgeous and I wish that the Roman church would emphasize that this artwork was actually directly a result of Roman art throughout the Roman world as seen in Pompeii and Fayuum.
"If you throw a MIDGET off a plane..." 😅😂😂😂. I rewind just to hear that example. Bahahaha. I love your humor...maybe because it's something I would say!
It is very simple if you read the Dogmas of the Church. There is no dogma that God predestines anyone to Hell. Here are four from Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Ott: “Despite men's sins God truly and earnestly desires the salvation of all men,” ""God gives all the faithful who are sinners sufficient grace (gratia saltern remote sufficiens) for conversion" “God gives all innocent unbelievers (infideles negativi) sufficient grace to achieve eternal salvation.” “God, by an Eternal Resolve of His Will, predestines certain men, on account of their foreseen sins, to eternal rejection.”
@@vigildino6518 that last one is a dogma? I am trying to not go to hell, but I see my sins and errors and heard a terrible voice saying that I was destined for hell.
PREDESTINATION is 'certain salvation' ; It is God's Antecedent will that 'all men be saved', however it is God's consequent will that some men will be saved while others not.
When looked at in terms of being saved or what you can get then works are up for debate, but when looked at in terms of duty and obligation then works are a necessity,
For by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Predestination only through Obedience by us applying the truths of the teachings of the Catholic Church by an act of faith encounter from our part out of God given Free Will.Lets not allow Free Will be a tragic Free Will.as an Episcopalian convertee into the Catholic Church during the BenedictXVI pontificate by GRACE.
I'd like to hear Father here to study Bl Duns Scotus. I'd like to know more about his theology and in what ways him and Thomas are congruent and where they differ.
This is the mainstream opinion in the catholich Church, but not the only one. First, the mainstream opinion of pre-Augustine Fathers is also permitted in the Roman Church, however, it is less favoured because the Roman Church depends mainly on Augustine`s opinions. Blaise Pascal was honest when he affirmed that he could not understand the Dominican preachers and theologes in their attitude towards Jansenism, because they all, Domincans and Jansenist, must share the same opinion regarding intrinsically efficient grace.
Does this mean I can do everything right, try my best, and still go to hell, because it isn't up to me? And how is it technically up to me to go to hell if it isn't my will?
"My Grace is sufficient enough" to St. Paul, when Paul asked for the thorn in his side to be taken away... means what then? For him to be able to convert from the thorn in his side?
Paul also talks about how he would be exalted above measure if it weren't for the thorn in his side. God is telling him that His grace is sufficient because Paul is to remain on earth and work for the kingdom. The fleah always has to do with sin. God is not okay the thorn and the thorns according to other passages are the cares of the world. God is simply saying I have a reason why I haven't let the thorn be removed yet. God is long-suffering with us all and the world. He suffered the world to live in sin until His Son came and now in this same instance He is willing to suffer it again for a purpose. Glory to God on High. Grace be unto you all. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
That is one of the Dogma's of the Church: "Despite men's sins God truly and earnestly desires the salvation of all men," Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Ott
I really hope someone answers me here. If God predetermines only some- how can he will that all will be saved? And if God is not required to save anyone, what is the purpose of our free will?? I can't reconcile this
Though I too have difficulty with the nomenclature, my simple understanding that God gives life ‘only’ to those who will be given ample avenues (or have reasonable chances) for heading to heaven, doesn’t seem to contradict even if He specifically chooses some to fill the positions made vacant by fallen angels. I feel that any assumption that God won’t change His will (even to prayers) for some specific situations is too much peeking into His Freewill (and may be considered as misusing the grace of curiosity). I may have to spend some time on materials available to download from traditionalcatholic.co. But, in any case, it is assured that there is no prerequisite that one has to be a theologian to be saved.
Don't fret. You don't have to understand all the truths which the Catholic Church teaches, you have to believe them because God has revealed them. Obedience comes before understanding, make your acts of faith with humility, and you will be given understanding to the degree you need. Study to learn more, but don't expect to learn all, or understand all.
Because God's will, although indivisible from his essence, is necessarily comprised of 2 aspects. his express (absolute) will and his contingent (permissive) will. That must hold as a consequence if he creates RATIONAL beings, such as humans and angels. Obviously, unlike irrational animals who are governed by infused instincts, rational creatures will not always obey their creator. Some choose to obey and others don't. Since God is infinitely good, so are all of his perfections. That includes his justice and his mercy. ALL creatures were made to manifest God's glory, as they told us in grade 1: even the devil and his demons. God is glorified in the exercise of both. (For example, everyone rejoices when the law catches up with a cartel drug pusher or a brutal dictator. But we also rejoice and admire a man who runs into a burning building to rescue an innocent child.) Either way, God is glorified when he administers his justice OR his mercy. BUT God is glorified a lot more when he gives us his mercy because the highest perfection in God is charity (as St. Paul tells us). Therefore God would much rather give us his mercy. However, if we refuse to repent, he has no choice but to give us his justice. How do we know that? Because Our Lord tells us over and over: There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than ninety-nine that have no need of repentance. Then there's the parable of the prodigal son. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because he knew divine justice was going to handed out shortly to them. And perhaps handed out again in the Nazi holocaust. There's the case of Rudolph Hoess, the Commandant of Auschwitz. He was the subject of another Sensus Fidelium homily. I'm not sure about the authenticity of his Hoess' conversion but, if true, the homily points out that if a priest refused to hear his confession due to the unimaginable atrocities he oversaw, then that priest could be the one who was damned, and Hoess be saved - were his contrition sincere. Whatever the case, it's obvious God loves to forgive sin. The more the better! That's surely why he created the most pathetic race of creatures possible in a universe 94 billion light years across. In summation, the doctrines of predestination and reprobation are ultimately a mystery. We know that some creatures will obey by choosing God's will and gaining merit, while others will inevitably do the opposite. The Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat. Cain and Abel. The angels were also given a test of merit. They were probably given a revelation about God's plan to share his divine nature and glory with an inferior species through becoming one of them. They also must have been shown Our Lady too, and told that his incarnation would come from her. Because in the Proto-gospel of Genesis 3:15, it's assumed Satan already knows who they are. The highest aspiration we have is glory - but it's a glory that must be mediated through a savior, the 2nd person of the Trinity: the WORD, for whom and through whom EVERYTHING in creation was made. As CS Lewis put it: We don't have any native luminosity, but we keep deceiving ourselves through pride instead of turning to him in humility. Clearly, without virtue - natural and supernatural, moral and theological - which can only be acquired through freely willed co-operation, we can't participate in Christ's glory.
Yours is an interesting reading, except in that you believe in 94 billion light years across.... In my opinion, physicists’ interpolation of some recent ‘trends’ in such grandiose manner is a willful effort for a Godless explanation for this visible world.
@@mathewjoseph5987 The visible universe is 13.8 billion years old but 94 billion light years across, due to the Hubble expansion of space moving faster than light. That's NOT a theory, it's an easily proven fact.
Oh my goodness. My brain! My brain! I have saved this one for what will be several replays. You would have enjoyed watching me tick - I’ve got the ball! Ahhh, what? Where’s the ball? Got it, got it! Where am I? What’s a ball? What a work out. I’ll be back.
Does anyone have a remark (or insight) between this and any of the (alleged) promises attached to the 15 Miraculous Prayers of St. Bridget of Sweden? Specifically: “Whoever recites these Prayers will attain the first degree of perfection.”
God has foreknowledge. So He knows who recites these prayers and who does not. He also knows that they have the promise of "reaching perfection". So if a person recites them and reaches perfection, that is not due to the will of God only, but also the will of the person that cooperated with His graces and decided to pray them.. BTW, I recited this prayer but not in a perfect way. Whenever I missed a day , I did it the following (or later)day. So I do not know if that was acceptable to God or not. I am actually thinking of starting them this year. They take about 20 mins to recite.
vigil dino ... Thank you for your reply! That makes sense. I have recited these prayers - every day for 1 year - and I ask about this (alleged) promise in particular because, to the point that I understand it, I kind of noticed it taking shape. The 1st degree of perfection is the ‘entry level’, there’s still a lot of work ahead. As a Protestant convert, reciting and contemplating these prayers daily taught me a lot more about the faith than the RCIA.
@@rosary3656, As a person advances in perfection, God will infuse more charity and knowledge into their soul. This occurs in the mystical stages of the spiritual ladder (starting in the 4th mansions of St Teresa of Avila). God could teach someone a lot by infusing knowledge into their soul. That is how we learn many things from the saints. There is this story (forgot who) where a person understood the whole Faith in no time. I cannot remember the story but if I am not mistaken that person converted from another religion.
Can someone please clarify - If God knew beforehand of the people who were going to be damned, did Christ then die just for the sins of the ones predestined to go to Heaven ? ...otherwise what would have been the purpose of dying for the sins of those who were predestined to hell ?
Christ died for all. In fact in the writings of St Alphonsus he says that Christ would die as many times over as necessary for those who are damned if it could yet save them. All are given sufficient grace to save their souls by the merits of the cross. Some are given so much grace that they cannot help but make it to heaven. Thats my (very limited) understanding.
I’m curious whether this can be taken to mean that few are ultimately saved, or just that few are given so much grace that they can’t not be saved (the chosen) while the total number of saved is open ended (that there are some saved who were not “chosen”).
Start with Genesis 1.1 God creates everything. God is supreme and people are created in Gods likeness with free will and responsibility. Gods actions are necessary and human action is contingent meaning that sometimes we can reach eternal life and sometimes we do not. If heaven is a freebie then we would not sacrifice as he did on the cross. Likewise if the rewards in heaven are one size fits all, there is no incentive to increase in all of the virtues (as Father R says)
I thought I understood the doctrine of salvation by the church, but this video has just made me even more confused. I have found some people that weight almost everything on GOD'S Mercy, which is absolutely necessary for salvation, but I always find myself incapable to reconcile St Thomas with St Faustine... Holy Spirit please help me
I had to stop this conference because every 5 minutes there was an ad. This has happened, recently, on a few other conferences. Why is this being permitted by Sensus Fidelium? It is quite disturbing seeing that the subject matter requires ALL OF YOUR ATTENTION and these ads disturb this pattern. By the time you return to the subject matter you forget what was said beforehand.....
It’s RUclips. SF does not have control over the ad selection. You do, however. You can pay money for an ad free subscription to RUclips. Sensus Fidelium has nothing to do with it.
Any time I think of predestination i think of the 2 theives crucified with Jesus. Both appear to be in the same position, one is repentant, one isnt, physicslly they might have done similar things, but their hearts wete completely different.
Around 28 dealing with the necessity for efficient cause in salvation, in light of the necessity of the beatific vision for salvation. I disagree with the necessity of the beatific vision for salvation. If this can be a comparison, the Angels didn't need the beatific vision to choose, why should men?
I believe that God gives everyone both efficient and sufficient graces, that we can cooperate or not with, and yes we can’t be saved just based on our own merits, that’s very clear in Jesus suffering and crucifixion. My question is rather since God is Love himself He surely created every soul for His Glory and He wills to save everyone and not only the chosen ones. Yes, God has the foreknowledge and can see everything, past, present and the future instantaneously, but doesn’t it mean that everything is at the present or now so there’s no really past or the future for God outside of our reality. For me it’s very hard to believe that God wants to only save some and not others since he created and saw that it was good. I’m not saying that everyone will be saved regardless of our graces and whether we cooperate or not. I’m saying that God surely wants everyone to be saved and whether we cooperate or not that’s our that’s where our free will comes in and if that doesn’t really matter, then do we really have our own will?
A rabbi said that your birthday means that God could not conceive a universe without you that is why He made you from the start and chose when and how you will be born.
I like Fr Riperger not sure if understood it correctly but active election predestination doesn’t sound right,it almost can lead to despair and reliance on fate,i always sought that everyone is given sufficient grace to be saved but in predestination equation if God chosen certain people to be safe does it means that damned did not receive it?
I always struggled with this. The thought sometimes makes me feel like a puppet with god pulling the strings . When the days are good I believe that his plan are for my prosperity and not my destruction. When the days are bad I see a dictator and wonder if god is actually good. I wish I was like Job. Anyone else can relate?
God wants everyone to get saved, but Justice will be done. People who die unrepentant get damned. I also feel a little like that but not really towards God, because I know it's my fault. Some days I am all fervent, praying with enjoyment and desiring Heaven, yet other days praying is almost impossible, and I take absolutely no enjoyment in the Heavenly things, some days reading a catholic book feels like a torture. And when this happens I feel awful, want to give up, I think God hates me, and that I should just accept I'm going to hell anyway, and have all kinds of bad thoughts. And after I feel better I get so ashamed that praying is also hard because I can't be near God after all the bad thoughts. I cry but force myself to pray and things go back to normal. But this happens more often than I wish and its honestly very tiring, I feel like I never learn, I wish this would stop. Sorry for the long text lol
@@GABRIELLA3254 No it's not that long lol. I read that twice because I could relate to it a lot. I get those impossibly difficult days more often than the good ones. And I get the 'bad thoughts' too. That's when I blame god, even though I know that I blame him because I feel guilty myself. I am just trying to shift blame to god just so that I can feel better in the moment. Eventually when I reach the point where you cry, I just do that in confession. After confession everything goes back to normal. But I know the cycle is just round the corner. I should do a better job of fighting the bad days and make better choices so that I can reach heaven that is predestined for me. Thank you for reading my comment and I'm sorry for the long text too. :P
@@phillimath7 You're welcome! I understand that. The problem with me is that whenever something goes wrong, or if things don't go as expected, I tend to despair, and the despair leads to uncontrollable anger, and that's when everything goes wrong and I get the bad thoughts. After the anger passes I just feel sadness seeing what I have just done and wish it didn't happen (Because it really should not have happened). I need to learn how to control this anger but I don't know how, because it's also a bad cycle for me. It happens, I think I will never do it again but end up doing it. I really want to change and stop it, but not sure how I can control this very unhealthy anger. But I know the good days (When we really feel the love of God) give me hope that I can change and one day be in heaven when all days will be good. (I wrote a long text again lol) But Anyways thanks for answering and I will pray for you, and God willing you will be guided through the path of salvation through the intercession of Our Lady!
@@GABRIELLA3254 Yea I totally get it about the vicious cycle. I feel despair all the time too. But recently I've learnt to tell myself to remember the good days, all the people that love me, and focus on this beautiful world that I need to explore more. That shifts my attention from despair to hope and possibilities. It's a struggle nevertheless. Thank you for your prayers. I'll pray for you as well 😊. Never thought I'd make a friend here haha.
@@phillimath7 This is a good tip, I also try to do that to have hope instead of despair. You're welcome and thank you too! Glad to meet you and God bless you! 😊
He seems to be speaking out of both sides of his mouth. He says the Catholic view of salvation is not Calvinist and that God wills the salvation of all men (1 Timothy 2:4) which is true and then he says that God CHOOSES from all eternity that some souls be damned. Huh???!!!
This is the problem with the so-called "Thomist" position. St. Thomas never actually formed a coherent argument and, like the Immaculate Conception, believed different things at different points. Fr. William Most covers all this and demonstrates it with competence in his book, "Predestination".
@@jonbhorton Thank you for that observation. Saint Thomas Aquinas was and is a great gift of God to his Church but he doesn't always have the answer to every question. He was also a product of his time just as much as we are a product of ours. Thank you for the recommendation.
I think what his saying is God knows that someone will be dammed.. he says that if we are dammed it's intirely of our own fault... And if we are in heaven... It's because of God's glory...
@@jeffreyalilin7314 At one point early on he did say that God has CHOSEN that some people will be excluded from the Beatific Vision. He stopped talking like that later in the conference but sometimes people don't listen that long. Father Ripperger while being a very learned and gifted priest has a terrible way of letting stuff like that slip into his speech and not correcting himself immediately to avoid creating a false impression.
Right hand (your left): two fingers together; one separate = 2 natures (human + divine) in one (Jesus) Left Hand: he's just holding his cloak not sticking two fingers out
I am actually confuseder than I was before. I listened to this in a number of "chunks". I am left with the impression that God creates some men to be saved and others to be damned. This would conflict with 1 Timothy 2: 3-4 and The Catechism of the Catholic Church. This is a difficult teaching, that God would create some people to be damned. Then I consider the likes of Judas ...
Perhaps the Lord just gives the person a Stronger Desire or a Stronger Will to comply with His Graces. Our cooperation with that grace is where the merit lies - so yea - if we don't cooperate we are in sin some times (depending on the issue) and we can't merit anything but He gives us grace to repent and then later my understanding is that you can offer all the good acts of your past up to Him and all your sufferings etc just as you can while your in the state of grace. I would love clarity on this.
The sad thing is that I almost feel less hope in God's mercy after listening to this talk. If someone has favorites among his children for no other reason than that he decided to favor some more than others, that sounds like an injustice. It also sounds like humans trying to understand an infinite God. No wonder the Church shut down the debate. Some aspects of God are not understandable in human terms.
God is outside of time. His predestination of 'whomever' should not be seen as taking place wholly before that person's existence, since for God there is no difference in His personal perspective between the before or the eternal duration of any person's existence. Therefor God's predestination takes into account the person's own choices in life. So predestination can be seen as God's eternal knowledge of what His final judgment of that person will be as a result of his actions in life. Predestination does not mean that God arbitrarily determines the eternal fate of anyone. Each person is subject to his own free will and its consequent actions, including whether to accept God's merciful graces or to reject them, and these actions in life will determine his eternal state under God's just final judgment at death.
@@vigildino6518 Perhaps it may be correct to say that God predetermines some people to heaven (e.g., baptized infants), but never predetermines anyone to hell.
@@djg585 Exactly. I have came to the conclusion a while back, that God's default is "bringing souls to Heaven" and He uses all means to achieve this. St Therese of Lisieux says that God loves us to folly.
Hard to understand. It seems unfair and unjust. Some get certain graces and others don't? I don't want to go to hell, neither do I wish no one else does either. . Very depressing.
"...neither do I wish no one else does either." requires you to supplant your will over those whose willing choices render them to hell. God's work is beyond man's full understanding, this is stated in the Holy Bible.
I was born and raised a Jehovah’s Witness and was a devout one for 30 years. God literally nudged me big time one day and put this doubt into my mind that I had never had before: “what if this isn’t the truth? You should pray to Jehovah about this.” That thought terrified me. I was literally shaking. My hands got cold and clammy and it took me about a month to open my heart to God and pray about it. When I did, I asked him to, “please guide me to your truth, wherever it is and send someone to teach it to me.” For the first time in my life I felt like God listened to me and turned his face to me. Before I always felt like I was praying to no one. The next day, he did and in three days, I was liberated from the cult. I lost my family and my older sister and mother still don’t speak to me. 4 years later, my other sister began studying theology after she too was liberated and then I also began studying. But I also daily prayed for the truth of God (I stopped calling him Jehovah) and his guidance. It was really hard because as I was studying and was also in Biblical discussion groups and had Protestant and evangelicals helping me learn scripture, I began to realize that they reject plain scripture about baptism and the Eucharist. They began reminding me of Jehovah’s witnesses with their cognitive dissonance and rejection of scripture that doesn’t agree with their beliefs. I felt horrified and began to doubt in the Christian God altogether. Not only that, but I kept reading about this one singular church in the New Testament. This one singular Faith. And it just didn’t match up with Protestantism. I never considered Catholics at all and didn’t even think that they were remotely Christian and so for those two weeks I began looking into Norse paganism. I even asked Odin to reveal himself to me. Thankfully, nothing happened. I then decided at the end of those two weeks that Jesus is a false god and all the Christians with their thousands of different beliefs from one book were all just fooling themselves. How can their god not keep his own house? So, that night, I took a breath and was about to verbally renounce Jesus Christ and then all of a sudden I heard in my soul, “pray to me, give me one last chance.” I knew exactly who had just spoken to me and I became angry, frustrated and annoyed. So, I told Jesus, “OK. If you are real prove it. Guide me to your truth. Your 100% truth. I don’t want 99.99% I want 100%. Because if you’re going to just guide me to 99.99% I don’t want any of it. I’m sick of all these people claiming that they’re the ones that have this truth of yours.” The next day, I forgot about Norse paganism and began studying and praying even more fervently than ever before. This zeal for learning and focusing on Jesus was overwhelming. I didn’t know anything about the Church other than I believed it was the Seat of Satan and ruler of all false religion and the whore of Babylon and so, when my Protestant and evangelical teachers kept pointing out to me that what I was learning was Catholic and therefore couldn’t be right, I was surprised. And so, I began realizing via my teachers that I was developing Catholic beliefs. Thanks to God, I never listened to them to turn away from what I was learning because I daily prayed for God’s truth and guidance. So, one day, I felt like I was ready for Christian fellowship and I prayed for a good Protestant church to go to that taught Catholic beliefs. Lol. I hated the Church. Of course, that prayer was never answered because that doesn’t exist. However, what did happen was I felt oddly drawn to this Catholic Church called, St Pius X. I drove past it every time I went to town and I felt urged to go there. I also drove past other churches and never felt drawn to them. It took about a year before I finally obeyed and when I went to my first mass, I was terribly confused. I got on my knees when everyone else did and sat when everyone else did. But what I felt was something I had never felt before, God’s presence. It was warm and loving and I felt like I had truly walked into God’s house. And then the priest gathered cups, water, wafers and plates (this is what I thought at the time) and everyone knelt and he began praying and said the Agnus Dei and my mouth dropped as I witnessed John 6 come to life and I began shaking and crying and I knew my prayer for God’s truth was answered. I had arrived home.
God bless. Thanks for reading.
Very inspiring story Sister. I also was protestant for my first thirty years. Four years as a Catholic now.
Welcome home!
Wow what an incredible grace your received!! Thank you for sharing your story. God bless you. ❤️
jayden m he did! I feel incredibly blessed. I look forward to the mass being restored and regular life.
Mary Fernandez God bless you too!
The world needs more Fr Ripperger lectures.
Truer words have not been said. GBY
Andrew Balio . Please pray for him and for more to follow his way (Gods way).
@@Donna-cc1kt lll
You may like Bishop Robert Barron, Word on Fire Ministries
@@beAdeodatus No! he denies that any people are in Hell
Even for a cradle Catholic, the depth of the knowledge and wisdom contained within the Church is boundless.
God has unlimited knowledge.
We are all so blessed! God gave me his Grace to convert. I was Catholic my whole life. But now, I feel like a true Catholic. We are already blessed. Don't lose hope!
Leo Marinak I’m a convert. You’re very blessed to have been born into the Christian faith. God knew you’d be born into his Church and he gave me sufficient grace to convert from Protestantism! How amazing is that?
Hope is one of the Theological Virtues. Despair (losing hope) is from the devil and is one of the battles that a dying person can go through if they were big sinners that repented.
I am a revert. I occasionally get urges to go back. Sometimes I succumb but then I go to confession. I hope that I will be fixed in my Catholic faith, and to no longer falter or go the other way.
@@AryalanaeHi there, sadly😢from one protest church to another 😮
I have been drawn to Catholicism for years having been raised Protestant...This talk on Predestination is excellent!
God brought you here for a reason. Listen to Him with an open heart He will never lead you into harms way. He’s calling you home to His true Church and teachings. His only true doctrine without changes!!
God bless🕊💜🕊
Thank you for kind response...Fr.Ripperger I could listen to for hours
Being born as a baptist, finally being Catholic is like protestant = preschool and Catholic = graduate school in medicine. The protestants have omitted an uncountable amount of information. When I was confirmed, I and the entire congregation felt the extreme power of the Holy Spirit. So many were in tears of joy! Please, attend at least 3 Masses. God will speak to you. May I recommend Fr. Chris Alar, Eucharistic Miracles here on RUclips? You won't regret it! I'll keep you in my prayers. (Rosaries). May God surround, embrace, and bless you.
@@lakotafire2804oh please pray for me too, I am a revert and get temptations to Protestantism
I was predestined to be Catholic, it took 40 years.
I AM 43 NOW BUT I STARTED REALLY SERIOUSLY CO-OPERATING WITH GODS GRACE AND NOW IM MOT PERFECT BUT I AM NOW DOING MY BEST TO ADVANCE IN HOLIENESS IVE BEING DOING THAT FOR THE LAST 3 YEARS
The key for the wayfarer is to realize that the Church’s teaching on this gives us every reason for both humility and confidence in God. He will not condemn us unjustly yet Our Salvation is in His Hands where it is most secure. His intentions are more upright than our own could ever be. Let us strive to grow in virtue which will help us rely on Him remembering that he who confides in Him shall not be confounded.
I remember a teacher once said at the start of the year, you have a current grade of 100%. It's like being in a state of Grace. Brand new and shiny clean without blemish. It's up to you to work hard to keep your A+ grade and not fail. How much we sin and how far we fall from grace seems to be like this?? Go to far and you will get a failing grade. Strive hard in life and concentrate on virtues and you will be well on your way to a final tick of approval.
AMEN!!!!🙏💕
Well said
Wow. That makes so much sense looking back in life. Feels on an F right now.
I like that analogy! When I was in school, I'd do ok the first quarter, kinda ok the 2nd, really slack off the 3rd, then pull it back out the 4th... Story of my life... 🥴
I think this analogy may lead some to err in thinking that a person can somehow 'merit' or 'obtain' salvation through hard work, good deeds etc. This position has been explicitly condemned by the Catholic Church.
"If anyone says that man can be justified before God by his own works, whether done by his own natural powers or by the teaching of the Law, without divine grace through Jesus Christ, let him be anathema” (Trent; Session 6; can. 1)
The teacher-student analogy falls apart when you have to specify that the first student (Adam) started out with a perfect grade, but every subsequent student started with a failing grade, but on each from the outset is bestowed sufficient knowledge to pass the subject, but the student doesn't pass it on his own but completely thanks to the teacher, who is ever present in his study and whispers him the answers to every test as it happens.
Thank you Fr. Ripperger! I learn so much from you!
Me too...Thank You Sensus Fedelium...
Keeping you in m Prayers Fr Ripperger
I believe in predetermination... I as a young priest did my best to live a holy priestly life to the best of my capabilities... Yet at a moment I faltered deeply into heresy believing in Judaism and their messiah... I was deeply down and engrossed with it... Till a sudden sickness pneumotherax (a severe breathing difficulty) happened in the midnight... I asked God's mercy and Christ mercy throughout the collapsing night amidst deep fear and almost despairing remembrance of my unfaithfulness... Slowly sincerely asking God's mercy and pardon... The image and thought of Arch bishop Dominic Jala (who died in America car accident) came to my thought (His grace ordained us as Deacons in Shillong June 17, 2017)... That I'm going to be with him and peace was restored to my soul over... I'm still a recovering priest from my sickness... Yet the mercy of God I can proclaim was great I hope and pray to be ever faithful till the end... Thank you Fr
God not only gives the grace to avoid mortal sin, He also has shown us how to always be receptive to such grace: "Stay alert!" "Watch and pray..."
Strange: I've heard Ripperger say different, that God leaves us to our own devices to resist temptation so we can grow in spiritual strength.
If he's doing that, then he can't simultaneously be giving us sufficient grace.
@@calebladd4082
Jesus said, "Without Me you can do nothing." So even "our own devices" (to the extent that they serve to resist temptation) have their origin in God.
"What does any man have that he has not received from above?" All good comes from God, including the grace to resist temptation.
@@djg585 It cannot be both ways. He either sends supernatural spiritual assistance to help us resist temptation, or he watches to see what we will do w/ out divine intervention and judges us based on that.
@@calebladd4082
Jesus said we can't do anything without God. There is no such thing as our doing good (resisting temptation) all on our own.
God bless you Father Ripperger
Thank you very much. St Michael pray for us, Our Lady of Fatima pray for us sinners. Ave Maria ✝️✝️✝️🌹🌹🌹🔔🔔🔔
Father Ripperger is obviously an extremely learned and extremely gifted priest but when, speaking about such subjects as Predestination and the Final Judgement, I wish that he would be both absolutely precise and absolutely consistent in his language. Otherwise he opens a door for the devil, especially among those of us who are more vulnerable to scrupulosity, to sow seeds of fear and doubt in the Divine Mercy.
I think that what he said about the Council of Trent's statement on this subject is the best answer and I'm paraphrasing here: God wills the salvation of all but to some He gives so much grace that they cannot help being saved. And I think we can see this in the lives of the saints, above all the Blessed Virgin. Ave Maria gratia plena!
It seems the current literal meaning of predestination was not the meaning of the titled concept when those philosophers were deeply delve into it.
@@mathewjoseph5987 yep i think the majority of us completely misunderstand what is implied by predestination. We are trying to understand God ;and that really isnt possible for men in a complete way. The main thing is to trust in his mercy.
atombomb31458 You put that rather well.👍
Trust in God's mercy! God blessed you with free will. Choose to do God's will. Ask the Virgin for graces to be saved.
Fr. Rippeger said theologians can't agree. So trust what Jesus taught St Faustina in the divine mercy revelations.
Our faith is really a treasure... it keeps getting bigger and bigger
I would love to hear Fr. Rippenger complete present our faith while also drawing clear distinctions between others. As a convert, he has been one of the largest influences to keep drawing closer to our faith.
A few years ago I was ill and feverish with a gastric infection and in a lot of pain. I prayed and was later visited by St Alphonsos,who cured me. I didnt know at the time but one of his patronages is to heal gastric problems. He was very kind and sat with me a while we had a chat, I said while I have a saint here with me what about predestination is it true and could he explain it to me. He said yes its true and part of God’s loving plan but our minds at this stage cant comprehend it as we have so much other stuff to know. We will know when these things are revealed. Again I didnt know until listening to Fr Ripperger that St Alphonsos wrote about predestination.
How did he visit you
@@lmaoyourekiddingme he sat next to me while I was in bed in the dark
Thank you for
1) sharing this wonderful lecture
2) the wonderful images
3) not adding annoying and distracting music
God bless you
The difficulty for me consists in trying to fit an omniscient, all powerful mighty God into our atom-size logic. Jesus is the Savior of all those who accepts Him as his Savior for eternal salvation and we are all called to correspond to His calling and give testimony of the good news, however, many will not. By our own means we can not stay in the path of salvation even after having heard in our hearts the calling of the Lord, so we need God's grace all the time, predestined or not. Thanks father for your thorough presentation
Heavenly words ! Salvation for all in the year of our LORD 2024 😇 !
Fr.Ripperger I Love You So Much that I Know you will be a SAINT!!! THANK YOU FATHER for BLESSING US, With Fr. Ripperger!!!!
Wow..my head hurts after this one!
Fr. Ripperger’s spiritual warfare lessons & advanced knowledge sharing have tremendously helped me (& surely millions of other souls) reach farther to connect more fully to God & work on humbling, hopefully maturing my weaknesses, & most importantly to Honor God first, no matter what...not my will, but only His Will. My only question on this PreDestination topic is, when Christ told many in the temple (John 8:44) who were debating him...”You are Not my Sheep, if you were from My Father... you would know Me! Thus, you are of your father the devil, who has never been on the side of Truth.”... Does that indicate Jesus Christ meant they basically destroyed their only chances of Salvation in Heaven?
Blessings & Christ’s protection for Fr. Ripperger. My deepest gratitude as since i’ve been praying the Auxilium Christianorum, the demonic oppression immediately went from an increased exponentially enraged campaign of their intense harassment into finally recently mostly backing off & more restored peace in my soul again... Thanks be to Father God, Yeshua our Christ, & Mother Mary, as well as Fr. Ripperger’s insights. God works through Fr. Ripperger, thank you so much.
I am glad you shared your experience with the Auxillium Christianorum. Regarding John 8:44. From reading what the Fathers of the Church said, Ii means that these men imitate their father the devil in not abiding in the truth. They envied Jesus and His popularity to much, that they wanted kill Him. When Jesus raised Lazarus, any reasonable person would have believed. But they hated Him more and wanted to even kill Lazarus.
Only God knows their final destination because a sinner at that time, could have repented and followed Christ later.
I wish there was a video accompanying this audio so I could more clearly understand Father’s illustrations. Fantastic teacher.
Migjty God, thank you for the Grace you showered me with this Pentacost, the flames of finally understanding through your holy priests so I will be saved. The crossroad was never so clear and the door never so open as all other doors are closed.
direct of Lord all our actions by thy Holy Inspirations and carry them on by Thy gracious assistance so that our prayer and work of ours will begin from Thee and by Thee be happening thru Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bless you father for your homilies are truly convictive.
Thank you Father Ripperger. Happy Easter and Octave Easter week. My prayers of the Rosary for your intentions and the daily prayers for the members of the Auxilium Christianorum .
THANK YOU Father..I pray for you and ALL Catholic Clergy..Please pray for me
I love Fr. Ripperger.
and Malachi Martin!
Thank you father!
Glory to God!
Wow! Powerful! Goosebumps all over! Thankful to you and your family
In years of watching Sensus Fidelium, I have never seen a video clip. It's always still images. I believe the midget flying through the air in this video is a sign from heaven to pay attention to the content! Ok, in all seriousness, excellent lesson. Thank you Fr. Ripperger!
Thank you for all you do
I am so conscious of God's OMNIPOTENCE. So its like I constrain myself from mortal sin. But I am still a weak person and fall into venial sin. I try very hard by praying & asking for the gift of reverence & fear of God, but sometimes its so difficult not to do that small small sin like getting annoyed with certain people & telling people off when they get at my face.🤔😥
To BettyBella: I know that mortal sin would condemn my soul but I for years did not worry about venial sins… like giving the one finger salute to the guy that just cut me off!
Until I was shown the following: The Lord is outside of time ; the sin I will commit TOMORROW was atoned for by the suffering of Jesus but perhaps that venial sin added an additional ounce to the weight of the cross or perhaps added a second longer on the cross. THAT knowledge makes me want to avoid anything, even venial, that would cause my Lord more suffering. Hope that helps! God bless. Tony
God Bless Fr. Ripperger who helps us to understand these important messages
another great discussion from Fr. Chad. Not all of us are given that so much grace from God, so value it!. Don't let any of the grace go to waste
Have mercy on us!
Thanks Father. I'm still confused by this (Well some of it. I grasped some of the talk and other parts confused me) but I trust God will take care of it so long as I keep begging to do his will and doing my best to follow him and stay in a state of Grace.
I really love this topic!
I remember listening to talks by Sr. Gaudia Skaas about Rudolf Hoss who, as the Commandant at Auschwitz, was responsible for the death of some 2.5 millions prisoners at the camp. Hoss returned to the Catholic faith just before he was executed and I just could not understand how or what made him to do so. So it was the efficient/operating grace after all at work, the same way Saul was converted and became St Paul. I also think that this predestination is also in line with the Divine Mercy where we should never judge anyone including those evil ones for they may receive efficient/operating grace in their later life...
God is faithful, so trust him.
Very enlightening ... was wondering will Fr. Ripperger give his take on this pandemic? I look forward to his thoughts. Stay safe all🙏
Frances Barbarise He already did. Lifesitenews did an interview with him. Here’s the article. God bless! www.lifesitenews.com/news/exorcist-priests-have-obligation-to-give-sacraments-to-dying-regardless-of-what-bishop-says
@@BelovedSon, I read what he said. He once again proves that he is a true follower of Christ.
That coronavirus is not as bad as they say with the majority of people. My whole extended family had the virus. We all got over it. The young ones had it for a couple of days. The common symptoms for those under 20 was tiredness, and a runny nose. Some got a low grade fever. Some had no symptoms at all.
With the older adults, the symptoms were tiredness, runny nose, difficulty breathing upon exertion. Two had coughs, chills and loss of the sense of taste and smell. The worse one in the family was a 67 year old with asthma. She had difficulty breathing to a higher degree and she was going to go to the hospital- but she took quinine (tonic water) from which they make the hydroxychloroquine. She also took vodka and some liquors that she had in the house. The quinine (tonic water) stopped her cough and when she started drinking alcohol, the breathing difficulty was much improved. She got over it faster than the other younger adult that did not drink vodka and tonic :)
@@vigildino6518 Glad to hear that! I hope your family remains safe during these trying times. God bless!
@@BelovedSon, Wishing the same to you and your family
Same here!!!
Thank you
Saint John 10:27-30
My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
"The Father and I are one.”
Sensum Fidelium, Why don´t you Please "Pass a/ The Mike" to who asks a question In the Conferences? Please.
I like the Eastern Orthodox icons shown throughout the video.
With all due respect. Trying to figure out exactly how God thinks I don't think it's possible. Just obey the laws like he said! 🙏💙 FREEWILL 💒🌠 Love GOD with all your heart !
Sharon Lee KISS. keep it simple stupid. For those of us with little formal training - this is yet again another act of Divine Mercy. ( I meant no dis-respect with the word stupid)
Its important to understand there are different theories on predestination as long as they agree with Cathooic dogma. Fr Ripperger, for his great learnedness affirms a Thomistic view, but there are other theories like Molinism. Ultimately, it is a mystery. Trust in God and always attempt to be in a state of grace
There is nothing in the Bible or the Teachings of the Church, that ever said that God predestines anyone to Hell. based on the choice of God alone.
"God, by an Eternal Resolve of His Will, predestines certain men, on account of their foreseen** sins,** to eternal rejection."
Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Ott
"....faithfully we confess the predestination of the elect to life, and the predestination of the impious to death;. in the election, moreover, of those who are to be saved, the mercy of God precedes the merited good. In the condemnation, however, of those who are to be lost, the evil which they have deserved precedes the just judgment of God. "
Council of Valence
Denzinger, The Sources of Catholic Dogma
"318 ..... Omnipotent God wishes all men without exception to be saved [1 Tim. 2:4] although not all will be saved. However, that certain ones are saved, is the gift of the one who saves; that certain ones perish, however, is the deserved punishment of those who perish."
Council of Quiersy (853)
Denzinger, The Sources of Catholic Dogma
@@vigildino6518 I fully agree with you. Dr. Denzinger's book and the Council of Orange, Lyons, Florence, and Trent lay it out clearly along with the Bible. No where in the Bible does it say God predestined people to hell. I never affirmed that in my comment. Fr Ripperger never affirmed that either
@@kylespectra6685, My answer was in response to you saying it is a mystery. So I wanted to clarify that not all is a mystery since the Church has certain dogmas in place.
Also, I did not want anyone reading this to think that God would ever predestine anyone to Hell. If I am not mistaken, there are some Christian denominations that might teach that and please correct me if I am wrong.
@@vigildino6518 It is still a mystery because we do not know which certain theories in Catholicism are true or not. That's why St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiea Part I says theology is a science. We are understanding things that Gos has revealed, and we continue to understand it.
Yes, some Protestants affirm that
@@kylespectra6685, It is a mystery, but not a total mystery, since we know certain things from the Bible and from the Dogmas of the Church. What is taught in Catholicism as definitive (such as the Dogma of the Trinity) is not a theory subject to change. What is subject to change are prudential judgements, or certain things that God has not revealed. In those cases, we are free to accept different views.
The art in this video is so worshipful, so gorgeous and so grand. It takes my breath away
For those who find Molinism incoherent, but the "Thomistic" (Banezian Thomism -- other Thomists disagree with the so-called "Thomist" position) problematic and just basically Calvinist sophistry, check out the book "Predestination" by Fr. William Most. He shows how St. Thomas never actually had a coherent and consistent understanding of Predestination and shows that the Fathers all together, not just Augustine, teach something which is neither Thomistic nor Molinist. We DO determine if we will be predestined, though not primarily. We also determine if we will be damned, primarily. A little too complex for a YT comment section, but don't despair on this topic!
Thank you Jon H--I think what you said was a lot.
Amen! Fr. Ripperger doesn't himself understand predestination!
I second Fr. William’s work.
@@813infinityfilms123 no one understands predestination. It's a mystery
Thomistc Predestination can not be explained in an hour, nor even in 12 hours. This brief lecture should not have been given to the laity. The late Father Garrigou-Lagrange OP was the 20th-century expert on this subject. He wrote a book titled Predestination, which is no longer in print. He was probably also a Saint.
This talk just completely, absolutely, horribly stresses me out. It's only if God has already chosen me that I am saved, no matter how much I stay in a state of grace? I am so anguished by this.
Don't be anxious about it. Predestination is one of the most misunderstood concepts in theology (even by the most learned) and Fr. Ripperger doesn't even have a strong stance on the matter. God creates no one for hell, and He ardently desires the salvation of all. God created all men out of love, for the purpose of loving Him and being with Him for all eternity, and Christ died for every soul, without exception. If you are worried that God does not will your salvation, perish the thought.
It is true that nobody can know for certain they are predestined (that they will ultimately be saved), as humans can always turn their back on God. There are, however, as Fr. Ripperger says, signs of predestination. Signs like: the desire to be saved, living in the state of grace, frequent reception of the sacraments, regular prayer, love of God, etc.
In my opinion, the most sure sign of predestination is devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. St. Louis de Montfort says that he has no surer sign that someone is for God than whether or not they love the Hail Mary. St. Alphonsus Ligouri wrote an entire book on how Mary infallibly saves her devotees from Hell called: The Glories of Mary. I'm convinced it's one of the most powerful books ever written for consoling a soul and helping it trust in God and Mary. This is the best version of it:
www.tanbooks.com/glories-of-mary.html
Don't worry about whether you are predestined. If you put your trust in Him and do your part, He will never fail to keep His promises.
@@Logan-rq7wg Logan, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your response. Thank you so very much. I definitely desire to be saved, pray regularly, and when available, receive the sacraments often. I also cherish the Blessed Mother and prayers devoted to her, especially the Hail Mary (also, I am currently reading St. Louis de Montfort's True Devotion to Mary for the second time, and I will definitely check out The Glories of Mary that you cite above). I don't presume anything, but you are right: I just need to put my trust in Him and do my part the best I can. Thank you again sincerely for your thoughtful and charitable response - I really appreciate it. God bless you and your family.
The scripture also states " GOD HAS NO FAVOURITES"
@@Logan-rq7wg Logan, that is a beautiful response and it console my heart. Thank you.
In all honesty I don't understand any of this very well. I just really, really hope I end up in the right place: heaven.
I echo your sentiments!
I dont care which comes first- the graces for me to cooperate or my cooperation meriting extra graces. What i care about is to get as much graces as God wants to give and to cooperate to His will as humanely possible.i am greedy that way.
I struggle GREATLY with this concept. I have studied from every angle I could think of, and I still find it to be utterly disturbing. If God knows beforehand where each of us will end up, how we got there and why, freewill is absolutely negated. There's no room for freewill. Stating that God does not cause our path to end up where it will is not entirely true, either. If he had foreknowledge but chose to create us anyway, he is 100% the cause. Boil it all down to this-- if he knows I'm going to hell by seeing the future, I have ZERO control via freewill to change that. No matter how much effort I put into exercising my freewill towards the Church and receiving graces, I'm still going to hell. There is no freewill. It may appear that way to me as a finite being, but ultimately it is merely a masquerade of a sinister sort, at that. This is irreconcilable for me. If this is indeed the teaching that the Church expects us to believe, I suppose I must leave. I don't know how to believe in a God that operates in such a manner. This hurts my heart.
This is my greatest struggle I've bottled up when it comes to Catholicism, the suffocating immutability of predestination. I see us as characters on a book. Say I created a character named Matthew and made him the villain in a story. I decided beforehand that Matthew would say and do things which would end up destroying him painfully. From his perspective, he's making free choices, but in truth there is no other way Matthew could be or act other than how I have intended him to act. He only exists firstly because I decided he should exist and wrote him into existence. I do not like his evil actions, but he serves to move the story forward and glorify the actions of the hero and highlight the karma/justice of his own downfall. If he were able to understand the truth of his existence, should he not despair that he was chosen to be so evil and die gruesumely, wishing that his creator would've created him differently with mercy. No matter what he wishes, he can't help but fulfill his role. He is not really a person, but a puppet, a plot device. In the same way, a lot of Catholic theology makes humans just plot devices which are glorified or tortured to tell a story and reveal something about God's nature. A story which unfortunately for the inumerable damned, will never end.
Another way I think about it is as children drowning in a pool. If a lifeguard were to throw life bouys to some, but let others drown, even though he could have effortlessly saved them, simply because he likes some kids more than others, wouldn't he be guilty of murder? Is the lifeguard really going to blame the small children for drowning?
All of this makes me feel like Catholicism is sort of arbitrary. All the prayers in the world won't change God's mind and since Jesus and many of the doctors of the church said few are saved, doesn't that just make Catholicism a religion of despair. Its easy for the elect to talk all confident with their graces, but I can't help but identify with all the abandoned sheep along the road. That spells my destruction, I think. I want to submit to God, but I can't help worry if his true intentions was to butcher me down the line all along. I know God can't be evil or wrong, meaning that in truth it is objectively better to God's glory that I be tortured and suffer horrifically forever, which to me comes off as some lovecraftian cosmic horror concept rather than something from a loving god.
@@dakabaka4912 I agree but I see Calvin's and Luther's position even worse
Just because God knows something will happen doesn't mean He causes it. You can look at Adam and Eve for example God knew they would sin but still decided to create them and the church believes they're in Heaven despite that, so don't despair
The Catholic Church teaches that because of God's mercy, Jesus suffered and died on the Cross to redeem our sins and grant us salvation. That shows His love toward mankind. We should be grateful that we can receive the sacraments and the grace to have eternal life in Heaven.
By God's grace, a sinner who repents only at the last moment is to be saved, but because he fails to comply with God's will throughout his life, the divine justice of God would demand his soul to be in the purgatory, perhaps for a long time and maybe in the lowest level if he is a clergy.
As for the saints, by God's providence, they were predisposed with graces to accomplish the tasks that God wanted them to do in the world, amidst the tribulations and trials that they had to go through. Their demonstration of love for God led them to a place in Heaven where they are closer to God, as in the case for the 24 elders mentioned in Revelation.
Consider the pharisees who were proud and uncharitable. Their hearts were so hard that they failed to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, so He declined to show them signs that would make them believe.
Judas Iscariot was called the son of perdition because his disposition and greed prevented him from being saved. He prefigured the religious who would betray Jesus and de damned.
We have to remind ourselves of the call to become holy by living a life according to God's will. Don't feel discouraged due to some debate in the predestination.
God bless.
Whole lot of Greek / generally orthodox art and churches pictured here. They’re gorgeous and I wish that the Roman church would emphasize that this artwork was actually directly a result of Roman art throughout the Roman world as seen in Pompeii and Fayuum.
"If you throw a MIDGET off a plane..." 😅😂😂😂. I rewind just to hear that example. Bahahaha. I love your humor...maybe because it's something I would say!
I found this difficult, I understood it in a sense, but it's left me with a lot of questions.
It is very simple if you read the Dogmas of the Church. There is no dogma that God predestines anyone to Hell. Here are four from Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Ott:
“Despite men's sins God truly and earnestly desires the salvation of all men,”
""God gives all the faithful who are sinners sufficient grace (gratia saltern remote sufficiens) for conversion"
“God gives all innocent unbelievers (infideles negativi) sufficient grace to achieve eternal salvation.”
“God, by an Eternal Resolve of His Will, predestines certain men, on account of their foreseen sins, to eternal rejection.”
@@vigildino6518 that last one is a dogma? I am trying to not go to hell, but I see my sins and errors and heard a terrible voice saying that I was destined for hell.
@@lisaharmon8401 Just love God and trust in Jesus's mercy. I feel those that are predestined to hell want to go there anyway.
PREDESTINATION is 'certain salvation' ; It is God's Antecedent will that 'all men be saved', however it is God's consequent will that some men will be saved while others not.
When looked at in terms of being saved or what you can get then works are up for debate, but when looked at in terms of duty and obligation then works are a necessity,
For by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Can anyone please tell me what word Fr. Ripperger says at 8:54 sounds like ¨avoom¨ in reference to after time ends?
Predestination only through Obedience by us applying the truths of the teachings of the Catholic Church by an act of faith encounter from our part out of God given Free Will.Lets not allow Free Will be a tragic Free Will.as an Episcopalian convertee into the Catholic Church during the BenedictXVI pontificate by GRACE.
I wish the sound is much better. And more clear
I'd like to hear Father here to study Bl Duns Scotus. I'd like to know more about his theology and in what ways him and Thomas are congruent and where they differ.
This is the mainstream opinion in the catholich Church, but not the only one. First, the mainstream opinion of pre-Augustine Fathers is also permitted in the Roman Church, however, it is less favoured because the Roman Church depends mainly on Augustine`s opinions. Blaise Pascal was honest when he affirmed that he could not understand the Dominican preachers and theologes in their attitude towards Jansenism, because they all, Domincans and Jansenist, must share the same opinion regarding intrinsically efficient grace.
Does this mean I can do everything right, try my best, and still go to hell, because it isn't up to me? And how is it technically up to me to go to hell if it isn't my will?
What about Divine Mercy Sunday?
"My Grace is sufficient enough" to St. Paul, when Paul asked for the thorn in his side to be taken away... means what then? For him to be able to convert from the thorn in his side?
Some understood that thorn to mean a chronic sickness and others understood it to mean a repeated temptation .
@@mamatlacuacha, I know exactly what you are talking about. And many times the answer is not easy.
Means God's grace is enough for him to accept and deal with the pain
Paul also talks about how he would be exalted above measure if it weren't for the thorn in his side. God is telling him that His grace is sufficient because Paul is to remain on earth and work for the kingdom. The fleah always has to do with sin. God is not okay the thorn and the thorns according to other passages are the cares of the world. God is simply saying I have a reason why I haven't let the thorn be removed yet. God is long-suffering with us all and the world. He suffered the world to live in sin until His Son came and now in this same instance He is willing to suffer it again for a purpose. Glory to God on High. Grace be unto you all. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
"God desires that all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth." 1 Tim 2:4
That is one of the Dogma's of the Church:
"Despite men's sins God truly and earnestly desires the salvation of all men,"
Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Ott
I really hope someone answers me here. If God predetermines only some- how can he will that all will be saved? And if God is not required to save anyone, what is the purpose of our free will??
I can't reconcile this
Though I too have difficulty with the nomenclature, my simple understanding that God gives life ‘only’ to those who will be given ample avenues (or have reasonable chances) for heading to heaven, doesn’t seem to contradict even if He specifically chooses some to fill the positions made vacant by fallen angels. I feel that any assumption that God won’t change His will (even to prayers) for some specific situations is too much peeking into His Freewill (and may be considered as misusing the grace of curiosity).
I may have to spend some time on materials available to download from traditionalcatholic.co. But, in any case, it is assured that there is no prerequisite that one has to be a theologian to be saved.
Don't fret. You don't have to understand all the truths which the Catholic Church teaches, you have to believe them because God has revealed them. Obedience comes before understanding, make your acts of faith with humility, and you will be given understanding to the degree you need. Study to learn more, but don't expect to learn all, or understand all.
Because God's will, although indivisible from his essence, is necessarily comprised of 2 aspects. his express (absolute) will and his contingent (permissive) will. That must hold as a consequence if he creates RATIONAL beings, such as humans and angels. Obviously, unlike irrational animals who are governed by infused instincts, rational creatures will not always obey their creator. Some choose to obey and others don't. Since God is infinitely good, so are all of his perfections. That includes his justice and his mercy. ALL creatures were made to manifest God's glory, as they told us in grade 1: even the devil and his demons. God is glorified in the exercise of both. (For example, everyone rejoices when the law catches up with a cartel drug pusher or a brutal dictator. But we also rejoice and admire a man who runs into a burning building to rescue an innocent child.) Either way, God is glorified when he administers his justice OR his mercy. BUT God is glorified a lot more when he gives us his mercy because the highest perfection in God is charity (as St. Paul tells us). Therefore God would much rather give us his mercy. However, if we refuse to repent, he has no choice but to give us his justice. How do we know that? Because Our Lord tells us over and over: There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than ninety-nine that have no need of repentance. Then there's the parable of the prodigal son. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because he knew divine justice was going to handed out shortly to them. And perhaps handed out again in the Nazi holocaust.
There's the case of Rudolph Hoess, the Commandant of Auschwitz. He was the subject of another Sensus Fidelium homily. I'm not sure about the authenticity of his Hoess' conversion but, if true, the homily points out that if a priest refused to hear his confession due to the unimaginable atrocities he oversaw, then that priest could be the one who was damned, and Hoess be saved - were his contrition sincere. Whatever the case, it's obvious God loves to forgive sin. The more the better! That's surely why he created the most pathetic race of creatures possible in a universe 94 billion light years across.
In summation, the doctrines of predestination and reprobation are ultimately a mystery. We know that some creatures will obey by choosing God's will and gaining merit, while others will inevitably do the opposite. The Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat. Cain and Abel. The angels were also given a test of merit. They were probably given a revelation about God's plan to share his divine nature and glory with an inferior species through becoming one of them. They also must have been shown Our Lady too, and told that his incarnation would come from her. Because in the Proto-gospel of Genesis 3:15, it's assumed Satan already knows who they are. The highest aspiration we have is glory - but it's a glory that must be mediated through a savior, the 2nd person of the Trinity: the WORD, for whom and through whom EVERYTHING in creation was made. As CS Lewis put it: We don't have any native luminosity, but we keep deceiving ourselves through pride instead of turning to him in humility. Clearly, without virtue - natural and supernatural, moral and theological - which can only be acquired through freely willed co-operation, we can't participate in Christ's glory.
Yours is an interesting reading, except in that you believe in 94 billion light years across....
In my opinion, physicists’ interpolation of some recent ‘trends’ in such grandiose manner is a willful effort for a Godless explanation for this visible world.
@@mathewjoseph5987 The visible universe is 13.8 billion years old but 94 billion light years across, due to the Hubble expansion of space moving faster than light. That's NOT a theory, it's an easily proven fact.
Oh my goodness. My brain! My brain! I have saved this one for what will be several replays. You would have enjoyed watching me tick - I’ve got the ball!
Ahhh, what? Where’s the ball?
Got it, got it!
Where am I? What’s a ball?
What a work out.
I’ll be back.
Does anyone have a remark (or insight) between this and any of the (alleged) promises attached to the 15 Miraculous Prayers of St. Bridget of Sweden? Specifically: “Whoever recites these Prayers will attain the first degree of perfection.”
God has foreknowledge. So He knows who recites these prayers and who does not. He also knows that they have the promise of "reaching perfection". So if a person recites them and reaches perfection, that is not due to the will of God only, but also the will of the person that cooperated with His graces and decided to pray them..
BTW, I recited this prayer but not in a perfect way. Whenever I missed a day , I did it the following (or later)day. So I do not know if that was acceptable to God or not. I am actually thinking of starting them this year. They take about 20 mins to recite.
vigil dino ... Thank you for your reply! That makes sense. I have recited these prayers - every day for 1 year - and I ask about this (alleged) promise in particular because, to the point that I understand it, I kind of noticed it taking shape. The 1st degree of perfection is the ‘entry level’, there’s still a lot of work ahead.
As a Protestant convert, reciting and contemplating these prayers daily taught me a lot more about the faith than the RCIA.
@@rosary3656, As a person advances in perfection, God will infuse more charity and knowledge into their soul. This occurs in the mystical stages of the spiritual ladder (starting in the 4th mansions of St Teresa of Avila).
God could teach someone a lot by infusing knowledge into their soul. That is how we learn many things from the saints. There is this story (forgot who) where a person understood the whole Faith in no time. I cannot remember the story but if I am not mistaken that person converted from another religion.
Can someone please clarify -
If God knew beforehand of the people who were going to be damned, did Christ then die just for the sins of the ones predestined to go to Heaven ?
...otherwise what would have been the purpose of dying for the sins of those who were predestined to hell ?
Christ died for all. In fact in the writings of St Alphonsus he says that Christ would die as many times over as necessary for those who are damned if it could yet save them. All are given sufficient grace to save their souls by the merits of the cross. Some are given so much grace that they cannot help but make it to heaven. Thats my (very limited) understanding.
Correct, but those people were never children of God to begin with. There will be no children of God in hell.
Many are called... but few are chosen
I’m curious whether this can be taken to mean that few are ultimately saved, or just that few are given so much grace that they can’t not be saved (the chosen) while the total number of saved is open ended (that there are some saved who were not “chosen”).
This man should be pope.
Start with Genesis 1.1 God creates everything. God is supreme and people are created in Gods likeness with free will and responsibility. Gods actions are necessary and human action is contingent meaning that sometimes we can reach eternal life and sometimes we do not. If heaven is a freebie then we would not sacrifice as he did on the cross. Likewise if the rewards in heaven are one size fits all, there is no incentive to increase in all of the virtues (as Father R says)
I thought I understood the doctrine of salvation by the church, but this video has just made me even more confused. I have found some people that weight almost everything on GOD'S Mercy, which is absolutely necessary for salvation, but I always find myself incapable to reconcile St Thomas with St Faustine... Holy Spirit please help me
I had to stop this conference because every 5 minutes there was an ad. This has happened, recently, on a few other conferences. Why is this being permitted by Sensus Fidelium? It is quite disturbing seeing that the subject matter requires ALL OF YOUR ATTENTION and these ads disturb this pattern. By the time you return to the subject matter you forget what was said beforehand.....
It’s RUclips. SF does not have control over the ad selection. You do, however. You can pay money for an ad free subscription to RUclips. Sensus Fidelium has nothing to do with it.
Sounds like he's writing on a white board, would there be a video, or picture of what he wrote?
Yes, I too would love to see his illustration, because it would help my understanding tremendously.
Any time I think of predestination i think of the 2 theives crucified with Jesus.
Both appear to be in the same position, one is repentant, one isnt, physicslly they might have done similar things, but their hearts wete completely different.
Around 28 dealing with the necessity for efficient cause in salvation, in light of the necessity of the beatific vision for salvation.
I disagree with the necessity of the beatific vision for salvation.
If this can be a comparison, the Angels didn't need the beatific vision to choose, why should men?
I believe that God gives everyone both efficient and sufficient graces, that we can cooperate or not with, and yes we can’t be saved just based on our own merits, that’s very clear in Jesus suffering and crucifixion. My question is rather since God is Love himself He surely created every soul for His Glory and He wills to save everyone and not only the chosen ones. Yes, God has the foreknowledge and can see everything, past, present and the future instantaneously, but doesn’t it mean that everything is at the present or now so there’s no really past or the future for God outside of our reality. For me it’s very hard to believe that God wants to only save some and not others since he created and saw that it was good. I’m not saying that everyone will be saved regardless of our graces and whether we cooperate or not. I’m saying that God surely wants everyone to be saved and whether we cooperate or not that’s our that’s where our free will comes in and if that doesn’t really matter, then do we really have our own will?
You’re correct because the distinction between efficient and sufficient grace is sophistry.
A rabbi said that your birthday means that God could not conceive a universe without you that is why He made you from the start and chose when and how you will be born.
"For example, if you throw a midget out of an airplane...or off of a building, of necessity, he will hit the ground."
~Fr Ripperger
I like Fr Riperger not sure if understood it correctly but active election predestination doesn’t sound right,it almost can lead to despair and reliance on fate,i always sought that everyone is given sufficient grace to be saved but in predestination equation if God chosen certain people to be safe does it means that damned did not receive it?
I always struggled with this. The thought sometimes makes me feel like a puppet with god pulling the strings . When the days are good I believe that his plan are for my prosperity and not my destruction. When the days are bad I see a dictator and wonder if god is actually good. I wish I was like Job. Anyone else can relate?
God wants everyone to get saved, but Justice will be done. People who die unrepentant get damned. I also feel a little like that but not really towards God, because I know it's my fault. Some days I am all fervent, praying with enjoyment and desiring Heaven, yet other days praying is almost impossible, and I take absolutely no enjoyment in the Heavenly things, some days reading a catholic book feels like a torture. And when this happens I feel awful, want to give up, I think God hates me, and that I should just accept I'm going to hell anyway, and have all kinds of bad thoughts. And after I feel better I get so ashamed that praying is also hard because I can't be near God after all the bad thoughts. I cry but force myself to pray and things go back to normal. But this happens more often than I wish and its honestly very tiring, I feel like I never learn, I wish this would stop. Sorry for the long text lol
@@GABRIELLA3254 No it's not that long lol. I read that twice because I could relate to it a lot. I get those impossibly difficult days more often than the good ones. And I get the 'bad thoughts' too.
That's when I blame god, even though I know that I blame him because I feel guilty myself. I am just trying to shift blame to god just so that I can feel better in the moment.
Eventually when I reach the point where you cry, I just do that in confession. After confession everything goes back to normal. But I know the cycle is just round the corner. I should do a better job of fighting the bad days and make better choices so that I can reach heaven that is predestined for me.
Thank you for reading my comment and I'm sorry for the long text too. :P
@@phillimath7
You're welcome! I understand that. The problem with me is that whenever something goes wrong, or if things don't go as expected, I tend to despair, and the despair leads to uncontrollable anger, and that's when everything goes wrong and I get the bad thoughts. After the anger passes I just feel sadness seeing what I have just done and wish it didn't happen (Because it really should not have happened). I need to learn how to control this anger but I don't know how, because it's also a bad cycle for me. It happens, I think I will never do it again but end up doing it. I really want to change and stop it, but not sure how I can control this very unhealthy anger. But I know the good days (When we really feel the love of God) give me hope that I can change and one day be in heaven when all days will be good. (I wrote a long text again lol) But Anyways thanks for answering and I will pray for you, and God willing you will be guided through the path of salvation through the intercession of Our Lady!
@@GABRIELLA3254 Yea I totally get it about the vicious cycle. I feel despair all the time too. But recently I've learnt to tell myself to remember the good days, all the people that love me, and focus on this beautiful world that I need to explore more. That shifts my attention from despair to hope and possibilities. It's a struggle nevertheless.
Thank you for your prayers. I'll pray for you as well 😊. Never thought I'd make a friend here haha.
@@phillimath7 This is a good tip, I also try to do that to have hope instead of despair. You're welcome and thank you too! Glad to meet you and God bless you! 😊
He seems to be speaking out of both sides of his mouth. He says the Catholic view of salvation is not Calvinist and that God wills the salvation of all men (1 Timothy 2:4) which is true and then he says that God CHOOSES from all eternity that some souls be damned. Huh???!!!
This is the problem with the so-called "Thomist" position. St. Thomas never actually formed a coherent argument and, like the Immaculate Conception, believed different things at different points. Fr. William Most covers all this and demonstrates it with competence in his book, "Predestination".
@@jonbhorton Thank you for that observation. Saint Thomas Aquinas was and is a great gift of God to his Church but he doesn't always have the answer to every question. He was also a product of his time just as much as we are a product of ours. Thank you for the recommendation.
I think what his saying is God knows that someone will be dammed.. he says that if we are dammed it's intirely of our own fault... And if we are in heaven... It's because of God's glory...
@@jeffreyalilin7314 At one point early on he did say that God has CHOSEN that some people will be excluded from the Beatific Vision. He stopped talking like that later in the conference but sometimes people don't listen that long. Father Ripperger while being a very learned and gifted priest has a terrible way of letting stuff like that slip into his speech and not correcting himself immediately to avoid creating a false impression.
Head exploding......
Is competition sinful as discussed by Raymond L Richmond (Chastity in San Francisco chastitysf.com)?
Can we see the notes Fr. Ripperger is writing?
Wow, this is confusing. I need a picture, diagram, or something.
24:01 why is that picture showing the devil handsign? Or do I see it wrong?
Right hand (your left): two fingers together; one separate = 2 natures (human + divine) in one (Jesus)
Left Hand: he's just holding his cloak not sticking two fingers out
I am actually confuseder than I was before. I listened to this in a number of "chunks". I am left with the impression that God creates some men to be saved and others to be damned. This would conflict with 1 Timothy 2: 3-4 and The Catechism of the Catholic Church.
This is a difficult teaching, that God would create some people to be damned. Then I consider the likes of Judas ...
Predestined to the final judgement.
Perhaps the Lord just gives the person a Stronger Desire or a Stronger Will to comply with His Graces. Our cooperation with that grace is where the merit lies - so yea - if we don't cooperate we are in sin some times (depending on the issue) and we can't merit anything but He gives us grace to repent and then later my understanding is that you can offer all the good acts of your past up to Him and all your sufferings etc just as you can while your in the state of grace. I would love clarity on this.
The sad thing is that I almost feel less hope in God's mercy after listening to this talk. If someone has favorites among his children for no other reason than that he decided to favor some more than others, that sounds like an injustice. It also sounds like humans trying to understand an infinite God. No wonder the Church shut down the debate. Some aspects of God are not understandable in human terms.
@27:00 efficient grace❤
God is outside of time. His predestination of 'whomever' should not be seen as taking place wholly before that person's existence, since for God there is no difference in His personal perspective between the before or the eternal duration of any person's existence. Therefor God's predestination takes into account the person's own choices in life. So predestination can be seen as God's eternal knowledge of what His final judgment of that person will be as a result of his actions in life.
Predestination does not mean that God arbitrarily determines the eternal fate of anyone. Each person is subject to his own free will and its consequent actions, including whether to accept God's merciful graces or to reject them, and these actions in life will determine his eternal state under God's just final judgment at death.
God could give good things freely (such as grace of repentance) but He will never give bad things (such as Hell) freely.
@@vigildino6518
Perhaps it may be correct to say that God predetermines some people to heaven (e.g., baptized infants), but never predetermines anyone to hell.
@@djg585 Exactly. I have came to the conclusion a while back, that God's default is "bringing souls to Heaven" and He uses all means to achieve this. St Therese of Lisieux says that God loves us to folly.
Questions by the people are difficult to hear. They need to speak into a microphone.
U need God's grace to hear them ha!
@@judeisnot_rude
I'll work on it!
scary to think about
7:31 bookmark
Hard to understand. It seems unfair and unjust. Some get certain graces and others don't? I don't want to go to hell, neither do I wish no one else does either. . Very depressing.
"...neither do I wish no one else does either." requires you to supplant your will over those whose willing choices render them to hell.
God's work is beyond man's full understanding, this is stated in the Holy Bible.