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Good Works |
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BASIC R.C.BELIEF
"Good works are a contributing factor towards our salvation" (RADIO REPLIES, Priests Rumble and Carty, Volume 3, #946). From AN EXPLANATION OF THE BALTIMORE CATECHISM, page 216ff. "An indulgence is the remission in whole or in part of the temporal punishment due to sin. To gain an indulgence we must be in a state of grace and perform the works enjoined. Works (are) to visit certain churches or altars; to give alms; to say certain prayers; etc. For a plenary (full) indulgence it is required generally to go to confession and Holy Communion, and to pray for the intention of the Holy Father the Pope. POST VATICAN II From VERBUM (publication of St. Pius X Society), Fall, 1989 re new seminarians, "Giving Their All To Gain Heaven." From footnotes of Catholic translation New American Bible, Revised New Testament, Matthew 22:11,13. "A wedding garment: the repentance, change of heart and mind, that is the condition for entrance into the kingdom (3:2, 4:17) must be continued in a life of good deeds (7:21-23). Wailing and grinding of teeth: the Christian who lacks the wedding garment of good deeds will suffer the same fate as those Jews who have rejected Jesus." CHRISTIAN COMMENT The Bible teaches that good works follow salvation, and are the normal result of true faith in Christ (Titus 3:5-8). CATHOLIC JOURNALS From OUR SUNDAY VISITOR, 2/21/93, Lent and the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit by Giles Dimock, O.P. "... Lent is a time when we do - through our penances of prayer, fasting and almsgiving - what we can to strip away the dirt and grime of the `winter of discontent'..." From DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER, 3/3/93, p. 11. "Christianity and the `eminent good works.' "...Redemptive suffering, symbolized by the cross, is central to understanding Christ, and therefore, to understanding Christian life. "That's another way of saying Christian life is penitential by its very nature... "...every act of self-denial becomes part of reparation for a penitent Christian... "...Prayer, fasting and almsgiving...are traditional, recommended means by which to express and carry out a will to `make up' for sin." From THE WANDERER, 3/30/95. "PENANCE MUST CONSIST IN PRAYER AND IN WORKS, SAYS POPE...'Penance must consist not only in prayer but also works...'. The Pope recalled that 'even corporal penance is, in general terms, dutiful, even holy,' and cited examples such as fasting and material work."
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