Mary Honywood and Her Flickering Unquenchable Faith
By Simonetta Carr - Posted at Place for Truth:
“I am as surely damn’d as this glasse is broken!”[1] shouted Mary Honywood while hurling a Venetian glass on the ground. Her friends’ constant reminders that her salvation was assured did nothing but frustrate her. How could they know? Her faith seemed weak and her sins stared at her daily.She was one of the many Christians who struggled in the transition from Roman Catholic to Protestant teachings – a transition which had created new questions. In the medieval church, the attitude that Christians had to contribute to their salvation by living godly lives had become prevalent. And since anyone who is honest knows that godly living is never fully attainable in this life, the church encouraged believers to resolve the problem by attending the sacraments, offering prayers to Mary and the saints, lighting candles, paying for indulgences, participating in pilgrimages, doing acts of penance and charity, and donating money to the church.
Even with these remedies, few people thought they would go straight to Heaven. They were thankful for Purgatory, a place not described in the Bible that had grown out of popular traditions, where the souls of sinners would be purged of their sins by sacrifice and suffering.
As precarious as this system might seem, it offered Christians the satisfaction of knowing they had done what they could. No Christian could be absolutely sure of his or her salvation, but this assurance was not expected. In fact, it was discouraged as presumptuous.
