Not everyone in the Catholic Church knows what he is talking about.
No, we can do nothing without Grace.
In addition to what I said earlier, once one has become a Catholic—and that was done by your free choice, responding to the offer of God’s grace and enlightenment, then we also need to make use of the Mass and the Sacraments.
Baptism, confirmation. Weekly Mass attendance. Confession at least once a year during the long Easter season, and more often if we fall into serious sin.
If we have Grace, it is possible to throw it away. And it is possible, through the help of Confession and Communion, to recover it.
Since the Church in America is still in a rather confused state—although it is still the one, true Church, One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic—intelligent Catholics need to find ways to educate themselves, by reading the Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, selected encyclicals, the Church Fathers, and by seeking advice from people and organizations you find you can trust. How do you do that? Well, it’s all cumulative. You need to pray, make use of the Sacraments, read, seek further inspiration, continue to ask for God’s help.
“once one has become a Catholic—and that was done by your free choice, responding to the offer of God’s grace and enlightenment, then we also need to make use of the Mass and the Sacraments.”
You are incorrect. I am a born-again Christian. When Jesus entered my heart, he did not say ... “head three miles South to the Catholic Church so you can worship Mary....”
That's a roger!
Maybe in the mid-seventies Time or Newsweek ran a story on what US Xtians believe.
A majority of surveyed Lutheran lay-folk did not believe in Justification by grace through faith but maintained that good works are necessary for salvation.
I did not draw a conclusion about Lutheranism from the representations of the lay-folk.
And yet is is the non/anti-Catholics who militantly maintain that just about everyone can understand saving truth and no teachers are necessary. Then they come and assess what we teach on the basis of what the students say, not what the teachers say.
We're not talking about failures in dogma alone. We're talking about sloppy thinking.