Tom was the son of Catholic parents and the product of twelve years of Catholic education. He grew up in the full knowledge and formation of his faith tradition and seemed comfortable with that.
However, some years after his marriage, Tom had a difference of opinion with the local pastor and withdrew from the Catholic faith community. Because he was still a faith-filled man, he raised his children in the knowledge and love of God, but without the support and participation of the local parish. As a caring and loving individual, Tom lived out his faith on a day-to-day basis, recognizing the beauty, sacredness and goodness of each person he met.
In his later years, Tom was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Although Tom himself was at peace with his relationship with God, it was his mother who contacted me with her concern that Tom "get himself straightened out" with the Catholic Church. She carried within herself the words of some long-since-dead priest whom she remembered as saying "Outside the Church there is no salvation." She worried about her son and was concerned for his eternal future.
We talked together for sometime as I focused on God's generous love and Tom's loving response during his many years as husband, father and neighbor. Fortunately God does not judge us as severely or harshly as we judge ourselves or one another. Nor is God confined to the limits that we place on His mercy and forgiveness.
Concerning Tom's membership (or lack thereof) in the Church, I pointed out to her the words of the great St Augustine (paraphrased here). In the fifth century, he said: "There are many whom God has that the Church does not; there are many whom the Church has that God does not." In other words, membership in the Church does not assure salvation, just as lack of membership does not preclude salvation. Fortunately for all of us, God sees a bigger picture than we humans are able to grasp.
Tom's future is obviously in God's hands. That is a good place for it to be since Tom knows God and is on a "first name basis" with Him. With this awareness, Tom's mother was also able to find peace in the situation. We have no responsibility, obligation nor competence to judge one another. Thanks be to God, that too is left in God's capable hands.
