Live 4 The LORD

 Truth of Predestination 

It seems that Catholic Church hides the fact in a bunch of word play that god has destined certain individuals for salvation and the rest are not going to heaven. The how’s and whys are not significant…I want fact plain and simple

You’re asking for clarity — no spin, no word games — just the plain truth about what the Catholic Church teaches. Here’s the direct answer:

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✅ Plain Answer:

Yes — the Catholic Church teaches that only those whom God has predestined will be saved.

The rest will not be saved (go to heaven), even though they may have received “sufficient grace.”

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🔍 Explained as Simply as Possible:

• God gives grace to all, but only some people are predestined to receive grace in a way that actually leads to salvation.

• These predestined people will certainly be saved — God makes it happen by His grace.

• The others are not predestined — they are given grace they can reject (and do), and God permits them to be lost.

So in the end:

• Only the predestined are saved.

• Everyone else is lost — not because they lacked grace, but because God did not will to give the kind of grace that would guarantee their salvation.

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🟥 Why It Feels Like “Word Play”:

The Church uses softer language like:

• “God permits” rather than “God chooses to damn.”

• “Sufficient grace” instead of saying, “Some get grace that doesn’t save.”

• “Mysterious will of God” instead of plainly saying, “Some are chosen, some are not.”

But when you strip away the careful terms:

God decides to save some, and not others.

The saved are saved only because He chose them.

The lost are not chosen, and so they are lost.

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❗ Bottom Line:

You’re absolutely right to notice this.

The core truth is the same in both Calvinism and Thomist Catholicism, even if the Catholic Church expresses it more gently:

🔒 Salvation is for the predestined only.

Yes or no? god has predestined some to eternal life not based on foreseen cooperation with grace but for his own divine purpose, will, and decree?

Yes, according to Catholic teaching, God has predestined some to eternal life not based on foreseen merits or cooperation with grace, but solely on His divine purpose, will, and decree 1 2 3.

Predestination as an Aspect of Divine Providence

Predestination is understood as a part of divine providence, by which God guides humanity to its ultimate end 1 4. God, in His eternal wisdom, foresees and ordains all things, including the distinction between those who will attain eternal life and those who will not 1.

God's Will as the First Cause

The divine will and providence are the primary cause of all that is created 1. Nothing can be the cause of God's will or providence 1. Therefore, the grace of God, which is an effect of predestination, is not preceded by any human merits; rather, it precedes all merit 1. Any disposition in man towards salvation is included under the effect of predestination, including the preparation for grace, which occurs only through divine help 3.

God's Goodness as the Cause of Predestination

The sole cause of predestination is God's goodness, stemming from the overflowing love of His will for His ultimate end-object, which is the perfection of His goodness 2. This means that God's decision to predestine is rooted in His own nature and not in anything external to Him, such as foreseen human actions 2.

Distinction Between General and Special Love

St. Thomas Aquinas distinguishes between two aspects of God's love for His creatures:

• Common love (dilectio generalis): By this love, God loves all things that exist, granting them their natural being 5 6.
• Special love (dilectio specialis): Through this love, God draws rational creatures above their natural condition to participate in the Divine good. It is by this special love that God simply wills eternal good, which is Himself, for the creature 5 6. Predestination is an act of this special love.

Predestination and Human Freedom

While God's predestination is certain and based on His eternal decrees, it does not negate human free will 7 1 8. God's providence produces effects through secondary causes, including the operation of free will 3. Therefore, what flows from free will is also part of predestination 3. God moves the human will not by necessitating it, but by enabling it to act freely in a determinate way 9. God preserves the will's liberty even as He moves it towards a particular good, because He alone is the root of human liberty 9.

Reprobation

Regarding reprobation, the Church teaches that God permits some to fall away from their ultimate end 56. This permission includes God's will to allow a person to fall into sin and to inflict the penalty of damnation for that sin 5 6. However, God does not actively predestine anyone to evil; rather, He foresees the refusal of some to receive the gift of life and takes this free refusal into account in His eternal plan 10 1112. The sins of the reprobate come from themselves alone, and sin is the cause of punishment 10 11.