There is a great danger in leaving The Church.
Lumen Gentium 14 tells us about those who leave The Church: “In explicit terms He Himself affirmed the necessity of faith and baptism(124) and thereby affirmed also the necessity of the Church, for through baptism as through a door men enter the Church. Whosoever, therefore, knowing that the Catholic Church was made necessary by Christ, would refuse to enter or to remain in it, could not be saved.”
However, on the off-chance that we are allowed to defend our decisions in a Heavenly Court (probably better to fall on the mercy of that Court), one who left The Church could argue, “I believed that as long as I was going to some Christian denomination, I’d be okay.” That’s a risky assumption. It is possible, but, in Lumen Gentium 15, far from certain.
We may imagine a soul before the Court hearing “playback”. The Guardian Angel, acting as a tape recorder of thoughts, reports exactly the thoughts of the person at the time of sinful decision. The Court decides whether or not those thoughts would justify, for instance, the sin of leaving The Church for which the ancestors of that soul had withstood dungeon, fire, and sword and remained faithful.
Those ancestors may be allowed to act as character witnesses, as well. “Our great-great granddaughter was a know-it-all embarrassment. We begged her to be good and stay faithful, but she willfully ignored our pleas.”
The soul being judged may reply, “I wish I’d heard you, but I didn’t. I was too wrapped up in myself.” At some point in the proceedings, the Guardian Angel may be directed to provide the “playback” for every thought, word and decision preceding every sin, along with the consequences of that sin. At that point, the soul being judged may cringe away to nothingness.
One of our duties, as Catholic Fundamentalists, is to be sure that each soul is prepared for the awful pain of “playback”, and does not lose heart. Each of us must summon the strength to beg for mercy as each new sin is brought before The Court. It helps if the pleas for forgiveness begin before the separation of the soul from the body. It helps most if The Last Rites are provided.
The Court has forgiven many terrible sins. We must not fall into the additional error of thinking we’re so “special” that our own sins cannot be forgiven.
First, playback. Then, payback. After playback, each soul gets payback. That’s when those who have revered and adored The Blessed Mother of God may find some advantage. She is sitting at Her Son’s right hand, and loves to put in a good word for her children.
