Here is a direct quote from one who responded to me and others about an e-mail I wrote:
Hi John,
Thanks for sending me this piece. A lot of it is so true, but this makes it all the more dangerous as it is laced with poison that most will not discern. He refuses to interpret EENS in conjunction with the holy doctrine of Predestination.
He slams Dimond Bros but ignores Father Wathen who exposed the teaching of EENs in a most beautiful way. He ignores the truth about the Fr Feeney cover up too.
John Gregory is a dishonest person. But he pretends to be humble and honest. I have asked him questions before about EENS and so have others I am in contact with. The only answer these so called ' Catholics who love the truth' is when they get questions and facts they cant answer... they don't want any more correspondence. You try it!
Adam and Eve lost the supernatural gift of Sanctifying grace ( in which they were created), when original sin was committed and they were cast out of Eden.
Death was the punishment for original sin; prior to original sin, there was no death.
So, no matter how good, holy and how many acts of repentance and sacrifices the saints in the old testament performed they could not regain sanctifying grace. They could only be justified in vow only.
God covered their actual sins but did not remit them. The Old Testament Just could not go to heaven when they died because they had no means of gaining sanctifying grace and removing original sin, until the Redemptive Act.
The Holy Council of Florence, Exultate Deo, 1439.
"There are seven sacraments of the new law...which differ a great deal from the sacraments of the old law
, for those of the old law did not effect grace but only pronounced that it should be given through the passion of Christ; these sacraments of ours contain grace and confer it upon those who receive them worthily."
The Council of Trent on Justification D 793: refers to the Old Testament Just were by nature children of wrath and servants of sin and under the power of the devil and death. And not even the Jews who by the very letter of the law of Moses were able to be liberated and rise therefrom.
So the sacrifices and rituals of the Old Testament conferred the promise of grace but did not confer grace. It was their faith and obedience to God which covered their sins and justified them in vow.
The Crucifixion and death of Our Lord paid the price, opened up heaven and gave mankind the means to regain sanctifying grace through His Church of the new testament via the channels of grace, the sacraments. The sacraments, sacrifices and rituals of the Old Testament did not confer grace and were not channels of grace. But belief in the Messiah and obeying the 10 commandments, kept the old testament saints covered until they could receive sanctifying grace. They were covered in vow, but not in actuality. Otherwise there would be no need for the sacramental system, as God could bestow sanctifying grace outside his sacraments and law at His will. The holy council of Trent teaches us that everyone to attain salvation must receive at least ONE sacrament, that being the sacrament of Faith where the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity are bestowed at the point of sanctification at the pouring of the water and the invocation of the three persons of the Blessed Trinity.
Without the sacramental system, no sanctifying grace. Hence the saints of the old testament went to Limbo of the just when they died. There they awaited Our Lord and his redemption.
When Our Lord died on the Cross He descended into hell (Limbo of the Just). This is where the Good Thief went, and this is the paradise Our Lord on the cross refers to when He said "This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise".
At the Resurrection, the Limbo of the just no longer existed. Where were the souls of the old testament just? Not in heaven.
When Our Lord died, and the earth quaked, scripture tells us the..." bodies of the saints arose and appeared to many".
Our Lord was on this earth 40 days after His Resurrection. We know, through Scripture, that only a small portion of those 40 days are accounted for. What was He doing for the whole 40 days. I believe He was baptising the saints of the Just and explaining the catholic faith to them. They must have died again after Our Lords Ascension and gone to heaven. No one went to heaven before Our Lord's Ascension. This means all in heaven have been baptised and have sanctifying grace.
This is what I believe and there is no teaching that tells me I cannot believe this. It then makes the words of Our Lord true for all men: 'Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost he cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven.' John 3:5
To quote Our Lord's parting words: paraphrase:
"Lets be about the mission of the Church baptising in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost"
So lets stop putting into heaven unbaptised saints!
_________
I also went to a catechism class when I was still NO where the teacher taught that God baptized all the souls in limbo with water. I would not make this up. Is this the common belief among the Feeneyites or an exception?