Prayer, The Rosary, And Salvation
The Rosary Reblog II (16 October 2017)
We cannot, strictly speaking, merit Salvation. Strictly speaking, we cannot and do not merit anything at all. Whatever we have, God has given us. Whatever we attain, God has preordained that we should be given the grace to do so. This applies to absolutely everything we do, up to the last consequences and our eternal destiny. God has, in His Justice, preordained from all eternity whether we will be saved or damned, whether we are elects or reprobates. This brutal truth is a mainstay – nay, it is the foundation – of Catholic theology. If it were not so, God would depend on our decisions and would, therefore, not be Omnipotent.
I can, of myself, merit exactly nothing. What I do is merely collaborate with God’s grace; and even this collaboration is, in fact, nothing more than God’s grace: an unmerited gift.
The human mind being very limited, and unable…
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Posted on August 16, 2022, in Traditional Catholicism. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
Mundabor's Blog 
I will save this post! Ave Maria!
I can see why you saved that and reposted. That’s worth a re-read tonight when things quiet down a bit around the house.
Two thoughts come to my mind –
1: God is perfect Love and created every soul for Beatitude. He *wants* us in heaven with Him forever. The proof of that is the fulfillment of the prophecy in Eden when Christ entered the world, born of the Virgin Mother, and died in Redemption of our rebellion, sin. Creation was at one and the same time – doomed (by Man) and redeemed (by God). The only one stopping us from Beatitude is ourself. True happiness depends on freedom to choose the Good. God wants us with Him forever. He gave us, and gives us, everything we need to achieve Beatitude – proof of His Love and Mercy. We need not, however.
2: As you say – prayer is not just an adjunct to a pious life. It is everything. We cannot enter heaven if we do not pray. Prayer is not just the fruit of a pious life well lived, it is the natural act of one who Loves God. We are consumed by that which we love. If we do not pray, it is a sure sign that something is amiss inside us. And as I have learned recently in my Catholic life – prayer is not (as a wonderful new SSPX Priest put it to me) a college essay; prayer is frequently not even verbal, just adoration; sometimes it is aspirations, short little prayers of love. But the Rosary – THAT is the heart and soul of prayer. If you have this, more is better of course, but it is enough. My Priests have always told me this.
One other thought: your conversation in the comments section was really interesting. I love the back and forth of one side and another. Everyone there had good points and there is much to be learned from that “Socratic” exposition.
Anyway, once again, thanks for the repost from your archives. So timely. Such an interesting blog you run.
Thanks Aqua!
After reading the whole post, I simply respond, Amen!