There are hundreds of causes for the letting go of the greatest gift God can give someone-membership in the Catholic Church-salvation through the graces of the Church.
For some, it is a lack of belief. For some, it is contraception. For some, it is fornication or a gay lifestyle. For some, it is just plain laziness.
I have an idea for this weekend. Choose one really hard thing to give up for one day for one of the lost souls in your families.
Here are a few suggestions.
Give up the Super Bowl. Give up the parties.
Give up talking about it. Give up watching anything to do with it.
Why?
If you can do this, you will be denying yourself the fun and comfort of something shared by millions of Americans.
Millions of Catholics no longer share the possibility of eternal life with God because of mortal sin.
Can you deny one thing for the sake of the dead soul in your family? One thing?
Some of you may be saying, "But why the Super Bowl? Why not just beer for the day?"
Because it is HARD.
Pray about this. For one soul, for one loved person in your family who needs you to sacrifice this weekend.
Hitler was a cradle Catholic. Maybe no one ever did anything really hard for his conversion.
Stalin and Mussolini were cradle Catholics. Henry VIII was a cradle Catholic.
Pray for those you know who have given up the grace of being Catholics. And, do something difficult for them this weekend.
Padre Pio said this.
"Who can assure us that we will be alive tomorrow? Let us listen to the voice of our conscience, to the voice of the royal prophet: "Today, if you hear God's voice, harden not your heart." Let us not put off from one moment to another (what we should do) because the (next moment) is not yet ours. "