Troubled by something my priest said at Mass tonight

[Gnarwhal]

I really love my priest and while he's not trad, he's always come across conservative and orthodox to me. He was formerly the director of vocations for my diocese and he's been a priest for a long time, but he's not a boomer. Tonight we went to Vigil Mass for All Saints, and in his homily father said "Heaven is for everyone, not just Catholics" and he listed a few other random religions off the cuff and basically said if their intentions are good they'll go to heaven too.

Needless to say I felt shocked. Not just that he said it but that there doesn't seem to be much room for misinterpretation. I wish he meant "Heavens for everyone if they come through Christ" or that if they're part of another religion or atheism but eventually find their way into the Church then heaven's for them, but that's not how it sounded at all. But it kind of felt piggy backed on what Pope Francis said a little while ago.

I suppose I should ask him for clarification but I also don't wanna be "that guy" because he's really good to my family and I, he's a great pastor, a brother knight, and he's about to enter into a difficult stretch for who knows how many months where he's running the parish alone cause our parochial vicar's been reassigned to another parish and no replacement has been named.

Any suggestions? I was so caught off guard by this message, unless he tailors his messaging to the Mass since certain crowds tend to attend certain Masses. I attend the most traditional of our Sunday Masses so I wonder if he tailors his homilies to be more conservative and orthodox for that crowd? I doubt it though.

 

[fide]

I really love my priest and while he's not trad, he's always come across conservative and orthodox to me. He was formerly the director of vocations for my diocese and he's been a priest for a long time, but he's not a boomer. Tonight we went to Vigil Mass for All Saints, and in his homily father said "Heaven is for everyone, not just Catholics" and he listed a few other random religions off the cuff and basically said if their intentions are good they'll go to heaven too.

Needless to say I felt shocked. Not just that he said it but that there doesn't seem to be much room for misinterpretation. I wish he meant "Heavens for everyone if they come through Christ" or that if they're part of another religion or atheism but eventually find their way into the Church then heaven's for them, but that's not how it sounded at all. But it kind of felt piggy backed on what Pope Francis said a little while ago.

I suppose I should ask him for clarification but I also don't wanna be "that guy" because he's really good to my family and I, he's a great pastor, a brother knight, and he's about to enter into a difficult stretch for who knows how many months where he's running the parish alone cause our parochial vicar's been reassigned to another parish and no replacement has been named.

Any suggestions? I was so caught off guard by this message, unless he tailors his messaging to the Mass since certain crowds tend to attend certain Masses. I attend the most traditional of our Sunday Masses so I wonder if he tailors his homilies to be more conservative and orthodox for that crowd? I doubt it though.

Why do you doubt your final possible explanation? In one sense, that would probably be the "most 'charitable'" of explanations.

 

[Michie]

I really love my priest and while he's not trad, he's always come across conservative and orthodox to me. He was formerly the director of vocations for my diocese and he's been a priest for a long time, but he's not a boomer. Tonight we went to Vigil Mass for All Saints, and in his homily father said "Heaven is for everyone, not just Catholics" and he listed a few other random religions off the cuff and basically said if their intentions are good they'll go to heaven too.

Needless to say I felt shocked. Not just that he said it but that there doesn't seem to be much room for misinterpretation. I wish he meant "Heavens for everyone if they come through Christ" or that if they're part of another religion or atheism but eventually find their way into the Church then heaven's for them, but that's not how it sounded at all. But it kind of felt piggy backed on what Pope Francis said a little while ago.

I suppose I should ask him for clarification but I also don't wanna be "that guy" because he's really good to my family and I, he's a great pastor, a brother knight, and he's about to enter into a difficult stretch for who knows how many months where he's running the parish alone cause our parochial vicar's been reassigned to another parish and no replacement has been named.

Any suggestions? I was so caught off guard by this message, unless he tailors his messaging to the Mass since certain crowds tend to attend certain Masses. I attend the most traditional of our Sunday Masses so I wonder if he tailors his homilies to be more conservative and orthodox for that crowd? I doubt it though.

I would simply ask what he meant by the statement he made. It does feel a bit like a repeat of what Pope Francis said without explanation.

 

[Gnarwhal]

Why do you doubt your final possible explanation? In one sense, that would probably be the "most 'charitable'" of explanations.

My wife and kids go to a different Sunday Mass than I do though, which is made up of a very different crowd, and we usually talk about it after. The homily doesn't seem to change that I've noticed. But I haven't scrutinized it too much and my wife doesn't pay close enough attention to the homily remember all the details. So it could still be the case I suppose.

 

[fide]

My wife and kids go to a different Sunday Mass than I do though, which is made up of a very different crowd, and we usually talk about it after. The homily doesn't seem to change that I've noticed. But I haven't scrutinized it too much and my wife doesn't pay close enough attention to the homily remember all the details. So it could still be the case I suppose.

Problematic priests - especially pastors, whose power and autonomy can be problematic in themselves, at least great temptations which can get the best of lesser men - deserve correction when they are wrong, but correction in authentic love. Augustine, speaking of teachers with a vice (a sin that is habitual of one kind or another) said that), taught that we must love what God loves, and we must hate what God hates. So that we must neither love the vice because we love the man, nor hate the man because we hate the vice. Rather, we must love the man and hate the vice, as God does.

In love, a priest is owed truth, if he is fallen into falsity. How to love in ways that are guaranteed to be received fruitfully and without harm to the messenger? That I have not found. But then again. Jesus warned us: not all seek or want to hear truth, when truth convicts them. We need to pray for discernment, grow in truth, obey a certain conscience, and if we are in Truth we can expect to be hated by some.

 

[mourningdove~]

I really love my priest and while he's not trad, he's always come across conservative and orthodox to me. He was formerly the director of vocations for my diocese and he's been a priest for a long time, but he's not a boomer. Tonight we went to Vigil Mass for All Saints, and in his homily father said "Heaven is for everyone, not just Catholics" and he listed a few other random religions off the cuff and basically said if their intentions are good they'll go to heaven too.

Needless to say I felt shocked. Not just that he said it but that there doesn't seem to be much room for misinterpretation. I wish he meant "Heavens for everyone if they come through Christ" or that if they're part of another religion or atheism but eventually find their way into the Church then heaven's for them, but that's not how it sounded at all. But it kind of felt piggy backed on what Pope Francis said a little while ago.

I suppose I should ask him for clarification but I also don't wanna be "that guy" because he's really good to my family and I, he's a great pastor, a brother knight, and he's about to enter into a difficult stretch for who knows how many months where he's running the parish alone cause our parochial vicar's been reassigned to another parish and no replacement has been named.

Any suggestions? I was so caught off guard by this message, unless he tailors his messaging to the Mass since certain crowds tend to attend certain Masses. I attend the most traditional of our Sunday Masses so I wonder if he tailors his homilies to be more conservative and orthodox for that crowd? I doubt it though.

This is how the gospel message gets watered-down.
Often not done intentionally, often just to appear more 'welcoming', but this is how it happens.
This is how it happened in most of the Protestant churches in America ...
and now it seems the watered-down message has begun to drip more steadily into Catholicism.

And what has been the result of the 'welcoming' message in Protestant churches?
Lukewarmness, and many false conversions. The fruit has not been good.
And the 'welcoming' seed will grow no better in Catholicism.

I have no suggestions regarding your priest, but one thing you can continue to do is to teach your children 'right'.
You are still in a position to influence how they think, what they believe.

 

[RileyG]

I would simply ask what he meant by the statement he made. It does feel a bit like a repeat of what Pope Francis said without explanation.

I agree. I would ask.

Blessings

 

[Solo81]

"Heaven is for everyone, not just Catholics" is not the same as 'Everyone goes to Heaven, not just Catholics'.
Every human is being called/invited to Heaven - to forever look on the face of the God who created them to be with Him forever.

I think you got the wrong end of the stick but only the priest can explain what he meant.

 

[RileyG]

"Heaven is for everyone, not just Catholics" is not the same as 'Everyone goes to Heaven, not just Catholics'.
Every human is being called/invited to Heaven - to forever look on the face of the God who created them to be with Him forever.

I think you got the wrong end of the stick but only the priest can explain what he meant.

That's what I'm thinking, too.

 

[Gnarwhal]

"Heaven is for everyone, not just Catholics" is not the same as 'Everyone goes to Heaven, not just Catholics'.
Every human is being called/invited to Heaven - to forever look on the face of the God who created them to be with Him forever.

I think you got the wrong end of the stick but only the priest can explain what he meant.

I was kind of thinking that's how he meant it and it just came across differently in his wording. So I'll probably ask him if that's what he meant.