Assuming a person actually had the stamina to commit said sin 20 times in one day, miraculously recognized the error of his (okay, maybe her. I sure don't want to be accused of not being inclusive.) ways and made a sincere Act of Contrition, received absolution, then got hit by flaming meteorite, we must assume this person will reach the portal of Heaven. I wouldn't count on the privilege in articulo mortis. Play it safe - make that Act of Contrition now.

yes

for one thing, you assume too much when you say (I will copy/paste it here) How can you hope and pray for all to be saved if you believe that most Christians won't be saved?

makes no sense. Maybe you just want to accuse me of being.. whatever? God knows

you don't beleive a person can be damned but then someone prays for him/her and the person gets on the right track? That is the reason we pray. I never said that those on their way to hell STAY there.. never remotely implied it.

and I do feel God "judges me harshly".. In the Bible, which i have read (the whole thing, many parts over and over) we are told God is a "tough taskmaster." Anyone who has tried to diligently follow Jesus knows that it is not easy.

I am not saying that followers of Jesus do good works and if they fail in such.. they will be tossed into Hell, should they die before correcting themselves.. never said anything like that.

You can't be full of love if you're full of fear.

Assuming a person actually had the stamina to commit said sin 20 times in one day, miraculously recognized the error of his (okay, maybe her. I sure don't want to be accused of not being inclusive.) ways and made a sincere Act of Contrition, received absolution, then got hit by flaming meteorite, we must assume this person will reach the portal of Heaven.

and I do feel God "judges me harshly".. In the Bible, which i have read (the whole thing, many parts over and over) we are told God is a "tough taskmaster."

it seems to work for Trump



reporter asks question (wish I could remember it)

Trump says

Stupid question

laugh

(you trust such a Presence, don't you?)

and it seems the Lord was telling me that if a person commits a certain sin over and over, even though he keeps repenting of it, at some point, his repentance will not do any good because he has seriously damaged himself.. his soul.

It is precisely because sin exists in the world, which "God so loved...that he gave his only Son,"115 that God, who "is love,"116 cannot reveal Himself otherwise than as mercy. This corresponds not only to the most profound truth of that love which God is, but also to the whole interior truth of man and of the world which is man's temporary homeland.

Mercy in itself, as a perfection of the infinite God, is also infinite. Also infinite therefore and inexhaustible is the Father's readiness to receive the prodigal children who return to His home. Infinite are the readiness and power of forgiveness which flow continually from the marvelous value of the sacrifice of the Son. No human sin can prevail over this power or even limit it. On the part of man only a lack of good will can limit it, a lack of readiness to be converted and to repent, in other words persistence in obstinacy, opposing grace and truth, especially in the face of the witness of the cross and resurrection of Christ.

Therefore, the Church professes and proclaims conversion. Conversion to God always consists in discovering His mercy, that is, in discovering that love which is patient and kind117 as only the Creator and Father can be; the love to which the "God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ"118 is faithful to the uttermost consequences in the history of His covenant with man; even to the cross and to the death and resurrection of the Son. Conversion to God is always the fruit of the"rediscovery of this Father, who is rich in mercy.

Authentic knowledge of the God of mercy, the God of tender love, is a constant and inexhaustible source of conversion, not only as a momentary interior act but also as a permanent attitude, as a state of mind. Those who come to know God in this way, who "see" Him in this way, can live only in a state of being continually converted to Him. They live, therefore, in statu conversionis; and it is this state of conversion which marks out the most profound element of the pilgrimage of every man and woman on earth in statu viatoris. It is obvious that the Church professes the mercy of God, revealed in the crucified and risen Christ, not only by the word of her teaching but above all through the deepest pulsation of the life of the whole People of God. By means of this testimony of life, the Church fulfills the mission proper to the People of God, the mission which is a sharing in and, in a sense, a continuation of the messianic mission of Christ Himself.

-St John Paul II, Dives in Misericordia

Taking Luther's 'commit adultery 20 times a day' comment completely at face value misunderstands his manner of speaking. Luther loved hyperbole, and he always expressed himself with extreme hyperbole and you have to take this into account when reading anything he said.

Taking Luther's 'commit adultery 20 times a day' comment completely at face value misunderstands his manner of speaking. Luther loved hyperbole, and he always expressed himself with extreme hyperbole and you have to take this into account when reading anything he said. What he actually meant was simply that even great sinners could be forgiven if they repented.

Or, as Luther might have expressed that thought 'Luther thought that hyperbole was the single greatest thing that had ever existed in the entire universe and that anyone who didn't share his love of hyperbole deserved to be shot in the head 57 times and then burn in hell for all eternity.'

@flyingaway,

Major reading recommendation:

"Preparation for Death”, by Saint Alphonsus De Liguori https://catholicebooks.wordpress.com/20 ... e-liguori/

Other, minor recommendations:

"Abandonment to Divine Providence" by Fr. de Caussade http://www.catholictreasury.info/books/ ... /index.php

Spe Salvi by B16 http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-x ... salvi.html

"How Not To Share Your Faith" https://www.amazon.com/How-Share-Your-F ... 1888992301

that is what Luther said...

Source?

I don’t pretend to be the most knowledgeable person in this forum, but I feel confident in making a guess as to what caused the demise of our hypothetical subject. Twenty times in one day?!?

... Or, as Luther might have expressed that thought 'Luther thought that hyperbole was the single greatest thing that had ever existed in the entire universe and that anyone who didn't share his love of hyperbole deserved to be shot in the head 57 times and then burn in hell for all eternity.'

...even if we were to kill or commit adultery thousands of times each day. ...

Now I won't be able to get past that concept.