In his Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul states: "...those whom [God] foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified" [Rom 8:29-30]. And again he says: "What if God... has endured with much patience the vessels of wrath made for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for the vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory?" [Rom 9:22-23].
— INTRODUCTORY NOTE —
Much ink has been spilled by many theologians down the ages over this conundrum of predestination. The perplexity of this mystery as it relates to salvation has, not surprisingly, given rise to the heresy of "predes- tinarianism", of which Calvinism is one of its chief advocates.1 This heretical understanding of St. Paul's teaching concerning "those whom [God] has predestined..." is based on two fundamental errors:
In the following brief extract translated here from Valtorta's recently published [2006] Quadernetti collection, we are given the Divine explanation of predestination. This brief Dictation given by Christ to Valtorta in response to her own interior reflections on this perplexing subject, will hopefully be a needed correction of the errors it has occasioned. — Translator
- the absolute will of God as the sole cause of the salvation or damnation of the individual, regardless of his merits or demerits;
- as to the elect, it denies the freedom of the will under the influence of efficacious grace and puts the reprobate under the necessity of committing sin because of the absence of grace.
On Predestination
All men without exception are predestined to grace, since I died for all.
Those who remain faithful—at least to the natural law of the Good—are predestined to glory. Thus at the end of the ages, each one who has lived as a just man, will have his reward.
God knows from eternity those who are destined for glory before they are born into life—that is, "predestined". Pay attention, then, for here is the point for understanding with justice the justice of God.
There are those who are predestined, certainly. And God knows them before time [even] exists for them. But they are not predestined because God, with evident injustice, gives them every means to become glorious, and by every means prevents any traps for them of the demon, of the world, and of the flesh. No. God gives them what He gives to all. But they use the gifts of God with justice, and hence they win the future and eternal glory by their [own] free will.
God knows that they will reach this eternal glory. But they do not know it, nor does God tell them in any way. Extraordinary gifts are not—of themselves—a sure sign of glory: they are a more severe means than others to test the spirit of a man in his will, virtue, and fidelity to God and to His Law. God knows. He rejoices in anticipation to know that this creature will reach glory; just as He suffers in anticipation to know that this other creature will, voluntarily, reach damnation.
But in no way does He intervene to force the free choice of any creature so that it may arrive where God wants all to arrive: in Heaven.
Certainly the creature's correspondence with Divine help increases its capacity to will. Because God all the more pours Himself out, as a man loves Him in truth: that is, with a charity of actions, and not [just] of words.
And again: certainly, the more a man lives as a just man, the more God also communicates with and manifests Himself to him: an anticipation of that knowledge of God which is the bliss of the saints in Heaven; and from this knowledge comes an increase of the capacity to want [will] to be perfect. But again and always, man is free with his will, and, if after having already reached perfection, one disavows the good he has practiced up till then, and sells himself to the Evil One: God would leave him free to do it. There would be no merit if there were coercion.
To conclude: God knows—from eternity—those who are the future eternal inhabitants of Heaven. But man, with his free will, must want [will] to reach Heaven by using well the supernatural helps which the Eternal Father gives to each of His creatures. And this [must he do] even to his last breath—whatever the extraordinary gifts he has received,3 and [whatever] the degrees of perfection he has reached.
Remember: no one has ever truly arrived, until his "walk" is finished. That is, no one is sure of having merited glory, until his time has ended, and immortality has begun. — Jesus to Maria Valtorta, October 23, 1948 (Quadernetti)
On Free Will
I do not violate the free will which I have given to man. I limit Myself to pointing out with clear words and spiritual advice, what it is good to do in order to merit My blessing on Earth, and eternal glory in Heaven; or else My chastisement both here and [in the] Beyond. So did My Father do with the angels and with Adam and Eve, because thus it had to be done to confirm them or not in grace. And thus do I do with all men of every class and social condition: from kings to the poor, from Priests to the laity, from scholars to the ignorant.
I subject all to the test which should confirm them in grace or make them fall into disgrace. But woe to those who, like your First Parents, through a spirit of haughtiness and envy, make bad use of the free will which I gave them, to test their virtue, just like the goldsmith tests the purity of the metal in the crucible. To them will be given the same condemnation as Adam and Eve, who were expelled from the earthly Paradise, separated from the nearness of the Father-Creator, fallen from Grace, [and] condemned for years to Limbo. So, too, these [who make bad use of their free will]—they will be condemned not to Limbo, but to Purgatory: which is a place of much greater torment. These, too, will expiate till the end of the ages their sins of haughtiness, envy, spite, injustice and, above all, their lack of charity towards their neighbor... — Jesus to Maria Valtorta, June 14, 1953 (Quadernetti)
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