I wanted to share this prayer that i found in a 1958 Catholic prayer book.
Most beautiful, i think, is that, unlike incomplete or false religions, we Catholics beg the mercy of God upon those who do not know Him or do not love Him as He asks instead of asking for their obliteration.
Read on. Copy and paste. Print it out. Pray it. And live it.
O eternal God, the creator of all things, remember the infidel peoples whom Thou hast created in Thine own image and likeness.
Lord, behold how, to Thy dishonor, hell is being filled with these souls. Bear in mind that Thy Son Jesus suffered a most cruel death for their salvation.
Lord, do not permit that Thy Son be further despised by these infidels, but be appeased by the prayers of Thy saints and the Church, the Spouse of Thy most holy Son. Remember Thy mercy, and blot out their idolatries and infidelities. May these peoples be ignorant no longer of Him who is our salvation, life, and resurrection, through whom we have been saved and liberated. To Him let their be glory throughout all ages. Amen.
(St. Francis Xavier)
5 comments:
Erica,
That's a very beautiful prayer. I'm not sure if this presumption: "Lord, behold how, to Thy dishonor, hell is being filled with these souls." fits our current soteriology, but, it is a very beautiful prayer.
Nice observation.
However, i believe this prayer makes the safe assumption that only unfaithful souls are the ones occupying hell.
And, as we all know, that is a huge tragedy which saddens (and dishonors) our Lord.
There could be a modern misreading that equates 'infidel' with "The Infidel." Of course, this is not necessarily the case in this prayer.
Erica
That's very true, and this is a purely speculative question---is it safe to assume that there are definitively ANY souls in hell?
It is most definitavely attested to by our Lord Himself.
Reference the following:
Matthew 13:41-42
Matthew 25:41
Matthew 25:31,31,46
Cathechism 1034-1041
The apparitions at Fatima, and the children's visitation of hell.
(Wish i could post links in the comments section for readers who dont have these references on hand.Look them up online if needed.)
Erica
Erica,
Those quotes demonstrate clearly that hell exists. On that point, there can be no doubt. Furthermore, there can be no doubt that at the very least, Satan and his legions are damned to hell. But, what about those quotes, and what especially in the CCC quote you gave suggests that there are, without question, human souls in hell?
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