In the summer of 2022 my wife and I went to Lisbon for a holiday and managed to get to Fatima for a day. Upon reading about the death of Jacinta in a Lisbon hospital I looked up the address and realised that our hotel was located about fifteen minutes walk away. So off I went and said a rosary in front of the hospital in honour of this great saint. The road on which the hospital is situated is named after her, Rua Jacinto Marto.
I believe that serving the saints "increases our chances of salvation". This can translate into acts of hospitality towards God's servants and towards the spread of the gospel. Matthew 10:42 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” Hebrews 6:10-12 10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
Inferno, by Salvador Dalí (1962) The “vision of hell” experienced by the visionaries of Fátima on July 13, 1917, in a work commissioned by the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fátima from the famous surrealist painter Salvador Dalí: More information here: https://www.bluearmy.com/fatima-vision-of-hell-helped-salvador-dali-return-to-god/
Link below to Cdl Pell's article as read by Ralph Martin. An interesting read. https://firstthings.com/last-things/
Excellent! Since the blindness of the culture toward the question of judgment has tended to exaggerate how wide the gate to Heavenly reward is, I still need reminders like this clip from Ralph Martin to speak the truth concerning our eternal destiny. Matthew 7:13 Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. While God offers an invitation of salvation (the call) to everyone, it is clear that many will refuse to respond with genuine repentance, faith, and a persevering commitment (the chosen), and so enter eternal life in God's Holy Presence. The phrase comes from Jesus's parable of the wedding feast (Matthew 22:14), illustrating that accepting the invitation involves more than just showing up; it requires the right "garment of righteousness" or true discipleship, distinguishing the truly chosen from those who only nominally accept or reject the call. The question of our eternal destiny has always been an important component of Ralph Martin's exegesis.
I watched this it was wonderful It reminded me of the old Catholic teaching on the four last things, Death, Judgement and Heaven or Hell. Catholic spirituality used to always teach that we should keep our death ever in mind which is why in the old Catholic Saints there was oftena skull sitting there somewhere. St Alphonsus Ligouri was asked when he was dying if he was scared of it , to which he replied , 'I have been preparing for it for the last ten years!' Holy Mary Mother of God pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Ralph Martin appears tired and closer to meeting his Maker. He must be about 80 yrs. old. Prayers for his perseverance.
Prayers for him. A real saint. I would guess he has been under a lot of pressure from the fiends that are running things at the moment. Please God leave him on Earth a while yet, we need him.
His book Fulfillment of All Desire is a classic highly recommended https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fulfillmen...8980572882-1931018367-&hvexpln=0&gad_source=1
Another book I have to read. I wish I read like I used to, I used to get through two or three a week. The internet killed all that, but I think the internet is better if used right. Though that sounds like a heresy.
https://catholicstand.com/did-vatican-ii-change-the-doctrine-no-salvation-outside-the-church/ In 1215, the Fourth Lateran Council stated: There is indeed one universal church of the faithful, outside of which nobody at all is saved. (Lateran IV, 1) In 1302 Pope Boniface VIII said: We declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff. (Unam Sanctam). In 1442 the Council of Florence (1442) stated: It firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the catholic church, …, cannot share in eternal life… unless they are joined to the catholic church before the end of their lives. (Cum Cantate) Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16)
Take someone like C.S. Lewis. He was unquestionably a Christian and a very wise, knowledgeable and virtuous one. However, he was not a member of the Catholic Church. Is he, therefore, damned? I accept that salvation can only be through the Church. There is no other way, as all other proposed means are false. I have a vague recollect of Jacque Maritain (in "Peasant of the Garonne") speculating that, as we cannot accurately pinpoint the exact moment of death, Christ might have a last opportunity to present the ultimate truth of His Church, before the final end. Might Lewis have been presented with this final choice in his last moments of earthly consciousness? Of course, it would have been difficult for even such a good Christian to accept it, given his Northern Ireland Protestant background, but perhaps, faced with Christ Himself and the irrevocable and incontrovertible Truth...? Maritain was not a modernist, he was a theologian whose work was grounded in Aquinas and expressed grave misgivings about Vatican II. Therefore, his speculations might be sounder than most. It is difficult to think that Christ would allow accidents of birth to absolutely determine a soul's eternal destiny. The aforementioned Ralph Martin wrote a great book on the subject ("Will Many be Saved?), in which he demolishes the views of universalists such as Von Balthasar, but also emphasises the traditions of 'Baptism by Desire' which go right back to the beginning of The Church.
I once read a phrase that said ignorance was the Eighth Sacrament. Personally, I believe that Scripture itself makes this very clear in Our Lord’s letter to the Church in Thyatira, a church that represents a structure deeply immersed in idolatry within Christianity. REVELATION 2:18-29 18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; 19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. 20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. 21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. 22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. 23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. 24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. 25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. 26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
It would be extremely difficult to attribute the excuse of ignorance to C.S. Lewis. He was very friendly with Tolkien and philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe, both Catholics. His (great) book, "Mere Christianity", demonstrated a deep knowledge of Catholicism on his part. Therefore, Lewis could not have stood before Christ and insisted that he didn't know what Catholicism is about. What could he say? He could, I consider, say that he believed in the fundamentals of Christianity as revealed in the Scriptures and the Fathers of the Church, as handed down sincerely to him by his forefathers (even if rejected totally by him, for a time). This could certainly be argued as a great tradition, in itself, that overwhelmed his ability to absorb the full Truth. It could be argued as a type of ignorance. Would Christ give him the opportunity to know the full Truth and make his mind up, before consigning him to Hell? I hope that he would, and not by putting a gun to his head. Time is a peculiar thing when it approaches Eternity (even Quantum Physics hints at it). There might be a lot more of it in those moments which seem very short to those on the worldly side. Hopefully, enough to cast all worldly prejudice aside and see Truth for what it is. And with more than a gentle nudge from He who humilated Himself to save us. Please. Please, please God.
“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.”
