Father Torraco,

The Catholic Church teaches us that salvation is not obtained by faith alone but by faith and works - a Protestant friend of mine said if that is completely true then how did the Good Thief receive eternal salvation while dying on the cross - he obviously showed faith in Jesus but did not have time for good works. I thought about this situation and also people who are given confession on their death bed and truly repent - they also don't have time for good works but we believe that they can be saved. Could you help me here?

Mike

First of all, both faith and good works are made possible by the grace of God. The good thief performed the good work of repentance, which is simultaneously a human action and an action of the Holy Spirit.

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