The Merit of the Catholic Church

I have been talking with Protestants and other non-Catholics about the Merit of the Catholic Church and how all Christians and even some other good people, if they are saved, are saved through the Merits of the Catholic Church.

This discussion has revealed three sad aspects which I think I need to share with you.

First, the merits are diminishing, as good Catholics are diminishing. The grace which was increasingly strong under persecution of the martyrs and the great prayers of the Church is now not affecting the culture and our families.

Those orthodox Catholics who are still going to daily Mass, praying the rosary, fasting and doing other penances, add to the flow of grace. Are you adding to this grace which could convert the world, but is not?

Second,  Protestants, honestly, have become so worldly and compromising the Gospel, they are no longer Christians, but either practical pagans or practical atheists. If one is trying to evangelize Protestants or pagans, these worldly aspects, such as the acceptance of the idolatry of money, the institutionalization of greed, the acceptance of contraception and abortion, the total breaking away of the ideas of personal and final judgement, including the reality of hell and purgatory, and the relativism or acceptance of all religions as valid. These are times when one cannot fudge the Gospel message and the Apostolic Tradition of the Church.

Third, know that you will lose friends and family support, as I have, by holding on to orthodox positions regarding the Merit of the Catholic Church.  The idea that there is only one, true Church and that this Church has grace to bring to the world is no longer believed by the vast majority of Catholics. Relativism has placed a dam on the flow of graces going into the world. With the weaknesses of families, parents, with the teaching of bad priests, and the compromises of weak bishops, we are seeing the Merit of the Church basically weakened to the point of not being able to reach out to the world in order to convert it. And, because too many families want to dialogue with the world, especially as many siblings and even grandparents have left the Church, the idea that salvation comes through the Catholic Church is no longer believed by those closest to you.

The sadness of losing family support is a great suffering which I can share with many.

Think about the dwindling merit found in the Church. This is not like banking, by the way, but like a Light, which has been dimmed by the lack of the pursuit of holiness among the members of the Church.