Some prefer to think that the unbaptized children will depart Limbo
(which they believe will no longer exist) and go to Heaven (rather than Limbo
which is the hem of Hell and will exist for as long as Hell exists i.e.
forever) at the end of time, though Saint Thomas Aquinas clearly avoids
suggesting such a novel thought because it is an article of faith that Original
Sin prevents one from obtaining the Beatific Vision. Having had a miscarriage myself (through my wife) I understand why
they would think this way. But enjoying an eternity of perfect natural
happiness is far better than never having existed. These children do have a
good eternity which is far better than the life we endure on our pilgrimage.
The Church strongly urges the Baptism of children as shortly after birth as
possible with good reason, as an eternity of perfect natural happiness, though
satisfying and enjoyable, falls far short of the Beatific Vision. Their earthly
parents, when in Heaven, will not be saddened by this as they will be keenly in
tune with the Justice and Mercy of God, and perhaps they will foresee that had
their children lived some time past the age of reason they may have merited
eternal punishments:
Saint
Matthew Chapter Twenty-Five Verse 9: The wise answered, saying: Lest perhaps
there be not enough for us and for you, go ye rather to them that sell and buy
for yourselves. This is an
ornamental detail, as I said lending elegance to the parable, signifying that
on the day of judgment the elect will not be moved by the misery of the
reprobates, nor will they help them in anyway, indeed they will not be able to
help them, but rather will silently condemn them, because they had neglected to
use the time of this present life, given by God for good works. Saint Augustine says of these words of the prudent
virgins, “This is not the answer of persons giving advice, but of those who
deride. For they were not wise of
themselves but the wisdom in them was that of which it is written (Proverbs 1:
24) Because I called, and ye refused . . . I also will laugh at your
calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh, when that whereof ye were afraid
cometh upon you.” And as Saint
Jerome says upon this passage, “In the day of judgment no one’s virtues will be
able to give any assistance to other men’s faults.” And the Interlinear Gloss adds, “The
wise say this not out of avarice, but out of fear. For in that day the testimony of each shall
scarcely suffice for himself, much less for himself and his neighbor
also.” And again, “Now let us see what
help they will be to you, who used to sell to you their human praise.” The Interlinear Gloss quotes this from
Saint Gregory; he adds: “The sellers of oil are flatterers. For they who, when any favor has been
received, offer with their vain praises the brightness of glory, sell as it
were oil. This is the oil of which the
Psalmist says, Let not the oil of the sinner fatten (anoint) my
head.” [Psalm 140: 5]. (Lapide)
Thomistic theology on this issue will make you feel better about the
fate of unbaptized infants should you believe such an end is an injustice. For
proof that the Limbo of Children is eternal let us see what the Angelic Doctor
says:
On the contrary, Even as
temporal punishment in purgatory and eternal punishment in hell are due to
actual sin, so temporal punishment in the limbo of the Fathers and eternal
punishment in the limbo of the children were due to original sin. If,
therefore, hell and purgatory be not the same it would seem that neither are
the limbo of children and the limbo of the Fathers the same.
I answer that, The limbo of the Fathers and the limbo of
children, without any doubt, differ as to the quality of punishment or reward. For
children have no hope of the blessed life, (emphasis mine) as the
Fathers in limbo had, in whom, moreover, shone forth the light of faith and
grace. But as regards their situation, there is reason to believe that the
place of both is the same; except that the limbo of the Fathers is placed
higher than the limbo of children, just as we have stated in reference to limbo
and hell. See Article 6. Is the Limbo
of Children the Same as the Limbo of the Fathers.
When putting this together I could not help thinking of Mother Teresa
and her plight. She did a ton of natural good in her life. The sermon of this link by Father Ephrem
Cordova, CMRI, entitled "Mother
Teresa Canonized" (which speaks to all the reasons she should not
be canonized were a true Pope to consider it) helps us understand that all the
good works in the world merit nothing eternal if not done in a state of
sanctifying grace. While her life-long
devotion to works of mercy may have increased the chance that she was given the
grace to repent of any heresy she was guilty of and have a good death with a
valid Priest administering Last Rites to her, we should never count on that.
Besides, how many of us will do as much good for the poor as she did?
Let us look to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, no, not the one the
Polish anti-Pope foisted on us in 1992, but The Catechism of Trent (COT) for a
better understanding of the dogmatic subject of Hell and the moral subject of
Faith:
Dogmatic
Subject: Hell—The children of the kingdom shall be cast out into exterior
darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8: 12)
The
children of the kingdom, i.e., those
destined and called to the kingdom as being Israelites, since they were the
progeny of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to whom and to whose seed God had promised
both the earthly kingdom of Judea, and the spiritual kingdom of eternal glory
in heaven. By a similar Hebrew idiom,
they are called children of death, of hell, of the resurrection, to whom death
or hell is threatened, or who are destined and assigned to the resurrection
promised by God.
Morally,
if you are a child of the kingdom, do the works of the kingdom; perform deeds
worthy of heaven, live like an angel.
For thus Christ said to the Jews, If you be the children of Abraham,
do the works of Abraham (John 8: 39)
Into
the exterior darkness, of
hell. Christ still keeps up the metaphor
of a feast in the kingdom of heaven, a feast, therefore, in which was abundance
of light.
And a while later:
Hence
Luke 13: 28 says, You shall see. . . yourselves thrust out. The meaning of the passage is the children of
the kingdom of the Jews, destined, for the sake of their fathers, Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, to the kingdom of heaven, on account of their unbelief, in
refusing to believe in Christ, shall be excluded from the kingdom and banquet
feast of heaven, and shall be driven into the outer darkness of hell.
Moral
Subject: The virtue of Faith—And Jesus hearing this, marveled; and said to
them that followed him: Amen I say to you, I have not found so great faith in
Israel (Matthew 8: 10).
And
Jesus hearing this, marveled,
at so much faith, humility, reverence and devotion in the centurion, who was
not a Jew, but a gentile. Hence Origen
says, “Consider how great a thing, and what sort of thing, principalities in
His sight are as shadows, or as fading flowers.
None of these things, therefore, in His sight are wonderful, as though
they were great or precious. Faith alone
is such: this He honors and admires: this He counts acceptable to Himself.”
You
will ask, could wonder really exist in Christ?
I presuppose, according to the common opinion of theologians, that in
Christ, besides that divine knowledge which He had as God, there was three-fold
knowledge, as He was man. 1. Beatific,
by which He beheld the essence of God, and in the enjoyment of which He was
blessed. 2. Infused, by which, through
the species sent into His soul by God, at the very moment of His
conception. He knew all things. 3. Experimental, by which those things which
He understood through infused knowledge, He daily saw, heard, and understood
through experience.
I
answer, therefore, that in Christ wonder did not exist properly and absolutely,
as something which flows from the depths of the heart. For wonder arises in us when we see or hear
something new, unusual or unknown. But
Christ, by means of infused knowledge, knew all things before they were
done. Since, therefore, He was
omniscient, nothing was to Him new, unknown, unexpected, or wonderful. Christ, however, stirred up in Himself, as it
were, by experimental knowledge, when He met with anything new or wonderful, a
certain superficial, as it were, interior act of wonder, and the outward
expression of that wonder, that so He might teach others to marvel at the
same. Thus Saint Augustine: “But who was
He that had created this faith in him, but only He who now marveled at it? But even had it come from any other, how
should He marvel who knew all things future?
When the Lord marvels, it is only to teach us what we ought to wonder
at; for all these emotions in Him are not signs of passion, but examples of a teacher.” So also Saint Thomas. Hence a wise man wonders at nothing. Cyrus, too, the king of Persia, taught his
subjects not to wonder that the king is more exalted and higher than any
earthly thing. Someone who, with Saint
Paul, has his conversation in heaven, wonders at nothing on earth. Very well saith Saint Cyprian, “Never will he
wonder at human works who has known himself to be a child of God. He has been cast down from the height of his
nobility, who is able to admire anything after God.”
And
said to them that followed him: Amen I say to you, I have not found so great
faith in Israel. Arabic: “in anyone from Israel”. The Greek is more forceful: “Nor in Israel
have I found so much faith”, as in the gentile centurion. When Christ says, I have not found so great
faith in Israel, you must understand Him to speak of the ordinary run of people
at the time of His preaching, for there was without doubt greater faith in the
Blessed Virgin, in Abraham and Moses, and John the Baptist, and others. Or as Saint Chrysostom interprets it, I have
not found so great faith, that is, in proportion, for this centurion was a
gentile; those were believing Israelites; hence the same faith in the former
was more wonderful and admirable than in the latter. The same Saint Chrysostom reckons the faith
of the centurion greater than the faith of Martha and Mary Magdalen. Hear Saint Chrysostom: “Andrew believed, but
it was when John said, Behold the Lamb of God. Peter believed, but it was when Andrew
had told him the good news. Philip
believed, but by reading the scriptures.
And Nathanael first received a sign of Christ’s divinity, and then
offered the profession of his faith.”
Hear likewise Origen: “Jairus, a prince of Israel, asking in behalf of
his daughter, said not, “Say in a word”, but “Come quickly”. Nicodemus, when he heard of the sacrament of
faith, answered, “How can these things be?”
Martha and Mary said, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had
not died, as though doubting that the power of God is everywhere present.”
Some protestants are loath to admit that you can believe in Jesus and
still end up in Hell forever. The Gospel
of Saint Mathew chapters five through seven, and much else from scripture,
prove this wish false. The beloved Catechism
of Trent (COT) has this snippet on Hell:
DIFFERENT ABODES CALLED “HELL”
These
abodes are not all of the same nature, for among them is that most loathsome
and dark prison in which the souls of the damned are tormented with the unclean
spirits in eternal and inextinguishable fire. This place is called gehenna, the
bottomless pit, and is hell strictly so-called. (Underlines mine)
Many who refer to themselves as Catholics also seem to have a protestant
mentality of Hell as well, at least regarding their actions. They live in habitual mortal sin and seem to
have the least care in the world when it comes to their eternal fate. After all, they wear the brown scapular. Right?
They form habitual mortal sins, perhaps before realizing it is a mortal
sin and then can’t give it up, so they convince themselves that it is nothing
to worry about. “Our Lady will certainly
take care of me on my death bed.”, they reassure themselves. But as the
following link shows, the brown scapular is not a
good luck charm, it must be worn devoutly. It is not a “get out of jail free” card. The Just and Merciful God does not allow us
to “get away” with sin. We are punished
for all our sins in this and or the next life.
Temporarily and or eternally. We
can have a deeper faith than Saint Paul had during his last years and burn
eternally. I talked to an older person
who was raised in the Church before Vatican “2” (V2) and she told me she
believed the good she did would outweigh her mortal sins and she would be
saved. She somehow believed one could
die with mortal sin on her soul and still be saved so long as she did more good than evil.
This was not a person that lacked intelligence. She slowly got brainwashed after V2 until she
lost the faith it seems to me. We more
readily believe what we prefer to believe than the truth quite often, but where
does that get us in the end? Let us look
to the all-encompassing Summa for the answer:
On the contrary, It is written (1 Corinthians 6:9-10): "Neither fornicators
. . . nor adulterers," etc. "shall possess the kingdom of God." Yet many are such who practice works of mercy. Therefore the merciful will not all come to the eternal kingdom: and consequently some of them will be punished eternally.
Further, it is written (James 2:10): "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, but offend in one point, is become guilty of all." Therefore
whoever keeps the law as regards the works of mercy and omits other works, is guilty of transgressing the law, and consequently will be punished eternally.
I answer that, As Augustine says in the book quoted above (De Civ. Dei xxi,
22), some have maintained that not all who have professed the Catholic faith will be freed from eternal
punishment, but only those who persevere in works of mercy, although they be guilty of other crimes. But this cannot stand,
because without charity nothing can be acceptable to God, nor does anything profit unto eternal life in the absence of charity. Now it happens that certain persons persevere in works of mercy without having charity. Wherefore nothing profits them to the meriting of eternal life, or to exemption from eternal
punishment, as may be gathered from 1 Corinthians 13:3. Most evident is this in the
case of those who lay hands on other people's property, for after seizing
on many things, they nevertheless spend something in works of mercy. We must therefore conclude that all whosoever die in mortal sin, neither faith nor works of mercy will free them from eternal
punishment, not even after any length of time whatever.
[Supplement, Question 99, Article 5]
As we can
see towards the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Hell is a distinct possibility
for many who claim to believe in, love, and even work miracles in the name of
Jesus:
And then will I
profess unto them: I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity.
(Saint Matthew, chapter 7, verse 23)
See the Haydock commentary below:
So as to approve
and reward your works. Here he shews that even prophecy and miracles will not
save us without good works. (Menochius) --- How much less will faith,
unassisted by good works, preserve us from condemnation. (Haydock) --- The gift
of miracles is bestowed on men not for their own good, but for the advantage of
others. We must not then be surprised if men, who had indeed faith in Christ,
but whose lives did not correspond with their faith, should be honoured with
these extraordinary gifts, since the Almighty sometimes employs as his
instruments in working similar wonders, men destitute both of faith and virtue.
Balaam, void of faith and probity [virtue – J.G.], still by the will of God,
prophesied for the advantage of others. To Pharao and Nabuchodonosor were
revealed future events of the greatest moment; and the wicked Judas himself
cast out devils. Therefore St. Paul said, "if I had all faith so as to
remove mountains, and if I knew all mysteries, and was possessed of all wisdom,
but had not charity, I am nothing." (St. John Chrysostom)
Below is a commentary of the Church Fathers which Saint Thomas put
together in his Catena Aurea which should help solidify or reinforce our
orthodoxy on this topic:
Jerome: As He had
said above that those who have the robe of a good life are yet not to be
received because of the impiety of their doctrines; so now on the other hand,
He forbids us to participate in faith with those who while they are strong in
sound doctrine, destroy it with evil works. For it behooves the servants of God
that both their work should be approved by their teaching and their teaching by
their works.
And therefore He
says, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, enters into the
kingdom of Heaven."
St. John
Chrysostom: Wherein He seems to touch the Jews chiefly who placed every thing
in dogmas; as Paul accuses them, "If thou art called a Jew, and restest
[rest] in the Law."
Pseudo-Chrysostom:
Otherwise; Having taught that the false prophets and the true are to be
discerned by their fruits, He now goes on to teach more plainly what are the
fruits by which we are to discern the godly from the ungodly teachers.
St. Augustine:
For even in the very name of Christ we must be on our guard against heretics,
and all that understand amiss and love this world, that we may not be deceived,
and therefore He says, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord."
But it may fairly
create a difficulty how this is to be reconciled with that of the Apostle,
"No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." [1
Cor 12: 3] For we cannot say that those who are not to enter into the kingdom
of heaven have the Holy Spirit. But the Apostle uses the word 'say,' to express
the will and understanding of him that says it. He only properly says a thing,
who by the sound of his voice expresses his will and purpose. But the Lord uses
the word in its ordinary sense, for he seems to say who neither wishes nor
understands what he says.
St. Jerome: For
Scripture uses to take words for deeds; according to which the Apostle
declares, "They make confession that they know God, but in works deny
him." [Titus 1: 16]
(Ambrosiaster
Comm.) (From a commentary formerly thought to be from Saint Ambrose - JG) in 1
Cor 12: 3: For all truth by whomsoever uttered is from the Holy Spirit.
St. Augustine:
Let us not therefore think that this belongs to those fruits of which He had
spoken above, when one says to our Lord, "Lord, Lord;" and thence
seems to us to be a good tree; the true fruit spoken of is to do the will of
God; whence it follows, "But who doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven."
St. Hilary: For
obeying God's will and not calling on His name, shall find the way to the
heavenly kingdom.
Pseudo-Chrysostom:
And what the will of God is the Lord Himself teaches, "This is," He
says, "the will of him that sent Me, that every man that seeth the Son and
believeth on him should have eternal life." [John 6: 40] The word believe
has reference both to confession and conduct. He then who does not confess
Christ, or does not walk according to His word, shall not enter into the
kingdom of Heaven.
St. John
Chrysostom: He said not "he that doth" My "will," but
"the will of My Father," for it was fit so to adapt it in the mean
while to their weakness. But the one secretly implied the other, seeing the
will of the Son is no other than the will of the Father.
St. Augustine:
Here it also pertains that we be not deceived by the name of Christ not only in
such as bear the name and do not the deeds, but yet more by certain works and
miracles, such as the Lord wrought because of the unbelieving, but yet warned
us that we should not be deceived by such to suppose that there was invisible
wisdom where was a visible miracle; wherefore He adds, saying, "Many shall
say to Me in that day."
St. John
Chrysostom: See how He thus secretly brings in Himself. Here in the end of His
Sermon He shews Himself as the Judge. The punishment that awaits sinners He had
shewn before, but now only reveals who He is that shall punish, saying,
"Many shall say to Me in that day."
Pseudo-Chrysostom:
When, namely, He shall come in the majesty of His Father; when none shall any
more dare with strife of many words either to defend a lie, or to speak against
the truth, when each man's work shall speak, and his mouth be silent, when none
shall come forward for another, but each shall fear for himself. For in that
judgment the witnesses shall not be flattering men, but Angles speaking the
truth, and the Judge is the righteous Lord; whence He closely images the cry of
men fearful, and in straits, saying, "Lord, Lord." For to call once
is not enough for him who is under the necessity of terror.
St. Hilary: They
even assure themselves of glory for their prophesying in teaching, for their
casting our demons, for their mighty works; and hence promise themselves the
kingdom of Heaven, saying, "Have we not prophesied in Thy name?"
St. John
Chrysostom: But there are that say that they spoke this falsely, and therefore
were not saved. But they would not have dared to say this to the Judge in His
presence. But the very answer and question prove that it was in His presence
that they spoke thus. For having been here wondered at by all for the miracles
which they wrought, and there seeing themselves punished, they say in
wonderment, "Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?" Others again
say, that they did sinful deeds not while they thus were working miracles, but
at a time later. But if this be so, that very thing which the Lord desired to
prove would not be established, namely, that neither faith nor miracles avail
ought where there is not a good life; as Paul also declares, "If I have
faith that I may remove mountains, but have not charity, I am nothing." [1
Cor 13: 2]
Pseudo-Chrysostom:
But note that He says, "in My name," not in My Spirit; for they
prophesy in the name of Christ, but with the spirit of the Devil; such are the
diviners. But they may be known by this, that the Devil sometimes speaks
falsely, the Holy Spirit never. Howbeit it is permitted to the Devil sometimes
to speak the truth, that he may commend his lying by this his rare truth. Yet
they cast out demons in the name of Christ, though they have the spirit of his
enemy; or rather, they do not cast them out, but seem only to cast them out,
the daemons [demons] acting in concert with them. Also they do mighty works,
that is, miracles, not such as are useful and necessary, but useless and
fruitless.
Augustine: Read
also what things the Magi did in Egypt in withstanding Moses.
St. Jerome:
Otherwise; To prophesy, to work wonders, to cast out daemons by divine power, is often not of his deserts
who performs the works, but either the invocation of Christ's name has this
force; or it is suffered for the condemnation of those that invoke, or for the
benefit of those that see and hear, that however they despise the men who work
the wonders, they may give honour to God. So Saul and Balaam and Caiaphas
prophesied; the sons of Scaeva in the Acts of the Apostles were seen to cast
out daemons; and Judas with the soul of a traitor is related to have wrought
many signs among the other Apostles.
St. John
Chrysostom: For all are not alike fit for all things; these are of pure life,
but have not so great faith; those again have the reverse. Therefore God
converted these by the means of those to the shewing forth much faith; and
those that had faith He called by this unspeakable gift of miracles to a better
life; and to that end gave them this grace in great richness. And they say,
"We have done many mighty works." But because they were ungrateful
towards those who thus honoured them, it follows rightly, "Then will I
confess unto you, I never knew you."
Pseudo-Chrysostom:
For great wrath ought to be preceded by great forbearance, that the sentence of
God may be made more just, and the death of the sinners more merited. God does
not know sinners because they are not worthy that they should be known of God;
not that He altogether is ignorant concerning them, but because He knows them
not for His own. For God knows all men according to nature, but He seems not to
know them for that He loves them not, as they seem not to know God who do not
serve Him worthily.
St. John
Chrysostom: He says to them, "I never knew you," as it were, not at
the day of judgment only, but not even then when ye were working miracles. For
there are many whom He has now in abhorrence, and yet turns away His wrath
before their punishment.
St. Gregory: By
this sentence it is given to us to learn, that among men charity and humility,
and not mighty works, are to be esteemed. Whence also now the Holy Church, if
there be any miracles of heretics, despises them, because she knows that they
have not the mark of holiness. And the proof of holiness is not to work
miracles, but to love our neighbour as ourselves, to think truly of God, and of
our neighbor better than of ourselves.
St. Augustine:
But never let it be said as the Manichees say, that the Lord spoke these things
concerning the holy Prophets; He spoke of those who after the preaching of His
Gospel seem to themselves to speak in His name not knowing what they speak.
St. Hilary: But
thus the hypocrites boasted, as though they spoke somewhat of themselves, and
as though the power of God did not work all these things, being invoked; but
reading has brought them the knowledge of His doctrine, and the name of Christ
casts out the daemons. Out of our own selves then is that blessed eternity to
be earned, and out of ourselves must be put forth something that we may will
that which is good, that we may avoid all evil, and may rather do what He would
have us do, than boast of that to which He enables us. These then He disowns
and banishes for their evil works, saying, "Depart from me, ye that work
iniquity."
St. Jerome: He
says not, Who have worked, but "who work iniquity," that He should
not seem to take away repentance. "Ye," that is, who up to the
present hour when the judgment is come, though ye have not the opportunity, yet
retain the desire of sinning.
Pseudo-Chrysostom:
For death separates the soul from the body, but changes not the purpose of the
heart.
Conclusion
Yes, some Protestants pit faith against good works as if the one is
necessary for salvation and the other is not.
But this is not an “either or” topic but a “both and." When it comes to faith and good works, you
can’t have one without the other for salvation to be possible.
ADDENDUM 12/18/24
To My Readers: I have never added an addendum to a guest posters' work before, but I feel the need to do so. I am so grateful to have John Gregory and Dominic Caggeso as guest posters. They are good Traditionalists and great writers who keep this blog going. I thank God for sending them and I pray for them.
Recently, there has been some rabid Feeneyites commenting on Dominic's last post, and now on John's post. They are also Hitler Fanboys. I never run from controversy and debate. However, there comes a time you must say, "Enough of your blather!" I have answered all their arguments repeatedly and have posted against Feeneyism numerous times. They just repeat the same tired script from Fred and Bobby Dimwit (aka the "Dimond brothers") and show an incapacity for original and critical thinking.
Now, I have received numerous comments calling myself and my guest posters vile names, accusing us of being "secret Jews" (of course), and promoting MHFM. It is not fair to my guest posters or to the 99% of my sane readers with genuine questions, comments or disagreements they would like answered by the poster. I have not and will not publish vile comments and promotions of MHFM.I am cutting off Feeneyite and Hitler Fanboy comments unless the post deals specifically with Feeneyism in the future.
Anyone who wants to read me destroying Bobby Dimond (who actually commented here), please read these two posts:
https://introiboadaltaredei2.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-dimonds-ensoulment-and-baptism-of.html
https://introiboadaltaredei2.blogspot.com/2024/03/contending-for-faith-part-25.html
God bless you all, my dear readers---Introibo
