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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Will All Men Be Saved? 1

Fr. David Friel · February 19, 2017

RE WE ALL going to heaven? That’s a bit of a sensitive question. But what’s the answer? Are we all going to heaven? Sometimes it seems like we just assume so. Is seems like, in some people’s minds, the only necessary qualification to be saved is to be “a basically good person.” But, is that what Jesus teaches? Is that what Catholics believe?

I do not think God wants us to live in perpetual fear of whether or not we will be saved. But neither do I think God wants us to live comfortably on the assumption that we are going to heaven no matter what.

In order to explore the question more fully, let us consider a few points from Sacred Scripture and from the sacred liturgy.

What does the Bible have to say about all this? Firstly, it reveals to us God’s will concerning this specific matter. St. Paul writes to Timothy: “God desires all men to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Thus, God’s will is made clear to us through His Word.

The Book of Daniel also deals a bit with the question of our salvation. Daniel, chapter 12 speaks about the end of the world. There we read, “Some shall live forever; others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace” (Daniel 12:2). That may sound severe, but this, too, is the Word of God.

The Lord, Himself, addresses this question when He tells the memorable parable about the sheep & the goats. This is the story in which Jesus says that, at the end of time, humanity will be split into two groups. The Lord will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. The sheep will be welcomed into the joy of the Father in Heaven, and the goats will be led to “eternal punishment” (Matthew 25:31-46). So, is it possible to go to hell? If we look just at Jesus’ own words, we have to admit that at least the possibility exists. There is no automatic guarantee of our salvation.

In still another part of the Scriptures, the Lord says, “Truly, truly, I say to you: unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” The Church has always taught that Baptism is necessary for salvation. By our human birth, we are children of our parents; it’s only by the rebirth of Baptism that we become children of God. God, of course, is not bound by His own rules, but He has given us the Sacrament of Baptism as the gateway to eternal life. It’s that important.

So, again I ask, are we all going to heaven? The prayers of the Mass have something to contribute to the discussion.

In the former Sacramentary, you may recall, the priest used to say the following for the consecration of the Precious Blood: “This is the cup of My Blood, the Blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all, so that sins may be forgiven.” Now, of course, the priest says: “This is the chalice of My Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many.” The change from “for all” to “for many” is significant. The Latins says pro multis, “for many.”

Does that mean that Jesus didn’t die for all of us? No—the death and Resurrection of Jesus absolutely is meant for us all. What the change does mean is this: although Jesus paid the price for the salvation of all, we are free to reject His gift. It’s the same as if I bought tickets to the latest movie for everyone in my congregation. I could buy a few thousand tickets and hand them out, but no one would be obligated to show up. In a similar way, through His Blood, Jesus has purchased the salvation of every person who ever lived, but we remain free to leave that gift sitting on the shelf unused. Every time we hear those words of consecration, they should be a reminder to us that by our lives—what we say and what we do—we choose for ourselves whether we wish to be among the “many.”

In other parts of the Mass, we very often pray for the dead. If we were perfectly sure of our salvation, though, there would be no reason to bother praying for the dead or for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. But we do. We have funeral Masses; we arrange to have Masses celebrated for deceased loved ones; and, in every Eucharistic Prayer, we pray for the dead. For example, in the Third Eucharistic Prayer, the priest says, “To our departed brothers and sisters, and to all who were pleasing to You at their passing from this life, give kind admittance to Your Kingdom.”

The presence of these prayers for all the faithful departed in the sacred liturgy demonstrates that Catholic belief demands both a lively hope in the salvation of all and a gentle reticence to become too assured of any person’s salvation (especially our own). A good bit of further reading on this topic is the book Dare We Hope That All Men Be Saved? by Hans Urs von Balthasar.

OD IS FAR MORE than the “Almighty Ticket-Taker.” He is a loving, merciful, and faithful God. As we read in Psalm 16, He is our “inheritance.” But it is nevertheless very clear from Sacred Scripture and from the prayers we pray at Mass that one’s entrance into heaven depends on having faith and living it out in this life.

So, are we all going to heaven? I certainly hope so. But we should never dare to take our salvation for granted.

He who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Matthew 10:22)

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Requiem Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 27th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 5 October 2025, which is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin. Readers will want to check out the ENTRANCE CHANT posted there, which has a haunting melody (in the DEUTERUS MODE) and extremely powerful text.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

I basically don’t favor Cardinal Kasper’s proposal; I don’t think it’s coherent. To my mind, “indissoluble” means “unbreakable.”

— Daniel Cardinal DiNardo (19 October 2015)

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  • New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
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  • “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)

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