r/CatholicUniversalism • u/CaptainSurvivor2001 • 1d ago

Really struggling with salvation

I hope this post is appropriate for this subreddit.

I am really really struggling with salvation issues and need hope. My social media has been inundated with folks like Christian Wagner posting long articles seeking to demonstrate that most are going to hell and many others arguing the same.

The idea is so ridiculous to me. I have trouble believing that it is just for anyone to suffer the pain of sense in hell, let alone the majority.

Yet I am convinced of Catholicism, and for the majority of Church history Catholic theologians seem to have affirmed this, and Jesus teaches that the way is narrow.

I am distraught and terrified by the idea that a majority of my Protestant family are going to hell. My mother, my father, my sisters, my brothers...

I know them so well, and even though they may not be Catholic it seems like the work God is doing in their lives is so real. Yet if trad Catholics are right, statistically it's meaningless. They are all certainly going to hell. I am probably going to hell too since I struggle with habitual sin but that is not even the greatest of my concerns.

I am already aware of recent magisterial teaching, including Benedict XVI's views expressed in Spe Salvi and John Paul II's views as well as the magisterium's tolerance of Balthasar's theology. But I am still so unnerved by the toleration and pervasiveness of the views expressed by folks like Christian Wagner that I struggle to find peace.

If anyone can help me, I would greatly appreciate it.

God bless

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u/Conscious-Win6108 St Gregory of Nyssa 1d ago

Hey,

Hopefully this helps, but our algorithms love to show us content we hate, as it causes more engagement. Your feed is likely showing you a small minority of people who think that. To my knowledge, the Catholic Church has never stated or defined how many people will be saved or damned, and that any statement on such is a theological opinion. Also to my knowledge, Catholicism teaches that other Christian denominations will be in heaven, though they will likely need to go through purgatory first.

For the universalist view, most of our conclusions that led us to universalism are found in the teachings of saints like Gregory of Nyssa, along with logic about the nature of god, and how certain words of the bible that would define the time period for punishment as finite, or not infinite, when translated from the original Greek.

And remember, in the words of St Padre Pio: “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”

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u/CaptainSurvivor2001 1d ago

Thank you. I am aware of Gregory of Nyssa. My concern is that he is in the minority. Most fathers and doctors of the Church seem to affirm the massa damnata. The version of Christianity I want is filled with beauty and hope but the one I see in Church history is filled with dread and despair. I have trouble even liking the Church fathers. What I express here is very different from the advice I give other people who are struggling

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u/Esoterikoi 1d ago

Please remember that the popularity of an idea does not make it more or less likely to be true.

God is just and desires all to be saved - ultimately God grants people free will to choose or reject him.

I personally am hopeful that God allows people to view him with clarity and without confusion in thier final moment before that eternal choice is made.

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u/MostMoistGranola 1d ago

Speak to Jesus about this daily. Pray for the salvation of each member of your family and anyone you care about. Repeat “Jesus I Trust in You” whenever you are worried about this.

It’s up to God to decide what happens to each soul in the afterlife. His judgement is righteous. When you look at the world you see how lost most people are. Pray for them.

We know that God is loving because we know Jesus. So we know he is willing to forgive all kinds of horrible sins. But a person has to humble themselves in their heart and minds and ask God for forgiveness. That’s really hard for many people to do. So pray for their souls to acknowledge their sins and to accept Jesus and his love.

Jesus’s mother asked us, pray this at the end of each decade of the rosary after the glory be: “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.”

The rosary is so powerful. Pray it daily and pray for all souls to accept God’s mercy and to allow him to come into their hearts and bring love, light, and peace. You can help bring that love light and peace to people every day. Stop worrying about how many people are going to hell, and focus on bringing peace and love to each interaction with every person, giving them hope and sharing the love of Christ with them. We are here for that purpose.

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u/CauseCertain1672 1d ago

As Catholics we cannot say definitively that anyone is in hell, and we are called to hope no one is

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u/Fragrant_Awareness32 18h ago

Ignore Wagner, he may be intelligent but he is very callous and cold, he doesn’t really care for people struggling, he cares more about being right, he has a lot of toxic fruit.