On the alleged Gift of Eternal Life offered by Christina Gallagher

1. The Gift of Eternal Life according to Christina Gallagher

One of the ways that Christina Gallagher promotes her House of Prayer on Achill Island in Ireland is by claiming that visitors to the House receive special gifts. Formerly, she claimed that visitors would receive the Seal of the Living God (cf. Rev 7). More recently, she has claimed that the Seal of the Living God is no longer given out, but that visitors to the House will now receive the gift of Eternal Life (also referred to as the gift of eternal salvation).

Here are some quotes from the website christinagallagher.org on this alleged gift of Eternal Life:

Her words to Christina on the morning of July 16, 2001 were,
"I desire that my children of the world - especially the youth - come to My House. Those who come in the right disposition will receive not only the gift of the grace of Solace but Eternal Life at this fountain of grace."
[quoted, with emphasis added, from: http://www.christinagallagher.org/en/july162001.html]

Christina received a message in the summer of 2001 and through the message Our Blessed Mother was inviting the people of the world and especially the youth of the world to Her House to receive the gift of solace and eternal life. Christina's understanding that the difference between the two gifts of the seal of the Living God and the gift of solace and eternal salvation is that those who have received the seal will not endure the suffering, brought about by the antichrist in the time to come. Those who come now to receive the gift of eternal salvation will endure much but have the gift of solace to comfort them. They will be saved in soul though they will have to endure much. When Christina was asked for how long this gift of solace and eternal salvation will be offered she said that she does not know until she receives enlightenment or a message telling her when it is to end.
[quoted, with emphasis added, from:
http://www.christinagallagher.org/en/giftsolace&eternallife.html]

2. The Gift of Eternal Life according to the Church

The Catholic Church teaches that the gift of eternal life, that is, the gift of eternal salvation, is obtained through Baptism. This truth has been taught throughout the history of the Church, in Tradition, in Scripture, and by the Magisterium. The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes this teaching succinctly:

The Council of Trent emphasizes the unique character of Christ's sacrifice as "the source of eternal salvation" and teaches that "his most holy Passion on the wood of the cross merited justification for us." and the Church venerates his cross as she sings: "Hail, O Cross, our only hope." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 617)

Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ who offered himself on the cross as a living victim, holy and pleasing to God, and whose blood has become the instrument of atonement for the sins of all men. Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy. Its purpose is the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal life. (CCC, n. 1992).

The gift of eternal life given to us in Baptism comes from the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. Baptism is the means by which the gift of salvation is given to us from the salvific death of Christ. We receive the gift of eternal life, that is, the gift of eternal salvation by receiving the Sacrament of Baptism. We can lose that gift by committing an actual mortal sin, thereby incurring eternal punishment and losing our gift of eternal life given in Baptism (CCC, n. 1496). But through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we can be returned to a state of grace, and so recover our gift of eternal life (CCC, n. 1497). The other Sacraments assist us in retaining the state of grace given in Baptism, so that we avoid falling into mortal sin. Thus, the Catechism calls the Sacraments: "The Sacraments of Salvation" and "The Sacraments of Eternal Life." (Article 2, The Paschal Mystery In The Church's Sacraments, sections IV. and V.)

We retain the state of grace that we receive in our souls at Baptism, not merely by avoiding mortal sin, but also by living according to the teachings of Christ and His Church.

[Luke]
{10:25} And behold, a certain expert in the law rose up, testing him and saying, "Teacher, what must I do to possess eternal life?"
{10:26} But he said to him: "What is written in the law? How do you read it?"
{10:27} In response, he said: "You shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart, and from your whole soul, and from all your strength, and from all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."
{10:28} And he said to him: "You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live."

[John]
{3:36} Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. But whoever is unbelieving toward the Son shall not see life; instead the wrath of God remains upon him."

Therefore, it is abundantly clear that the gift of eternal life, that is, the gift of eternal salvation, is given through the Sacrament of Baptism, can be lost through mortal sin, can be regained through Confession, and is retained by receiving the Sacraments, by continuing to believe in Jesus Christ, and by following His teachings, especially the commandment to love God and neighbor.

3. An Irreconcilable Difference

The claim made by the messages of Christina Gallagher, that properly-disposed visitors to her House of Prayer in Ireland receive the gift of Eternal Life, contradicts and undermines all that the Church teaches about salvation. A discussion of specific problems with her claim follows.

a. Those visitors to the House of Prayer in Ireland who are baptized practicing Catholics, and who are in a state of grace, already have the gift of eternal life, according to Church teaching. So they cannot possibly receive the gift of eternal life as a result of visiting that House. The claim that they receive the gift of Eternal Life by visiting the House cannot be true, for they have already received this gift through the Sacraments. Since this claim is made not merely by Christina Gallagher and her supporters, but by the messages of this claimed private revelation themselves, these messages cannot be from Heaven.


b. The claim states that only those visitors with the 'proper disposition' receive the gift of Eternal Life. But all those visitors who are baptized and in a state of grace already have eternal life. Are they not properly disposed? But they already have eternal life. And if some visitors were never baptized, or were in a state of actual mortal sin, how can it be said that they have the 'proper disposition'? If a visitor is in a state of mortal sin, how can he or she receive the gift of Eternal Life without either perfect contrition or a contrite reception of the Sacrament of Confession? Yet no mention is made of the Sacraments, nor of repentance from sin, as a condition for this gift of Eternal Life. All that is required is a single visit to the House of Prayer on Achill Island in Ireland.

Therefore, such a claim cannot be true; no one can receive the gift of Eternal Life merely by visiting Christina Gallagher's House of Prayer. Those who are baptized and in a state of grace already have eternal life, and those who are unbaptized or not in a state of grace (surely a small minority of visitors) cannot obtain eternal life without the baptism they lack, or without contrition and Confession.


c. This alleged gift of Eternal Life, given by means of a visit to the House of Prayer in Ireland, is said to have had a starting point in time. It is not clear if the starting point was when the Seal of the Living God allegedly ceased to be given out, or if the starting point was when the House of Prayer opened in the early 1990's. Also, it is said that there may be a point in time after which this gift will no longer be given out at the House: "When Christina was asked for how long this gift of solace and eternal salvation will be offered she said that she does not know until she receives enlightenment or a message telling her when it is to end." (http://www.christinagallagher.org/en/giftsolace&eternallife.html).

If this gift were truly the gift of eternal life, that is, the gift of eternal salvation, as is claimed, then how could there be a starting and ending point for it to be given out? By contrast, the Church has offered and will continue to offer the true gift of Eternal Life, from the time when Christ died on the Cross, through the present time, and continuing even until Christ returns to judge the living and the dead. It is patently absurd to claim that the gift of eternal life is only given out only to visitors of one particular place on earth, for one brief span of time.


d. This alleged gift of Eternal Life is only given out to visitors to the House of Prayer in Ireland, and not to visitors of any of the five 'chain houses of prayer' in the United States, and not to visitors to the chain house of prayer in Mexico. If this gift were truly the gift of eternal salvation, then why would properly disposed visitors to Christina Gallagher's other houses not receive the same gift? How can it be claimed that God established all these houses of prayer to help save souls, but only those who go to the house in Ireland receive the gift of Eternal Life?

God is Love, but He is also Justice. God would not give the gift of eternal salvation in such a limited and arbitrary manner, inaccessible to the vast majority of God's children on earth. Such a claim about the Just God of all the earth cannot be true.


e. It is claimed that those who receive this alleged gift of Eternal Life "will be saved in soul though they will have to endure much." So, no matter what difficulties they endure, it is alleged that they will die in a state of grace, and therefore be saved in soul. This claim implies that those persons who receive this gift cannot die other than in a state of grace.

Even Christ and His Church do not offer this gift of final perseverance, except to those who cooperate with God's grace by means of their free will. Therefore, devotions such as the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, the wearing of the scapular, the first Saturday and the first Friday devotions, and others, necessarily require acts of the free will in cooperation with God's grace, such as prayer and the devout reception of Communion and Confession. And none of these devotions promises final perseverance apart from the Sacraments or apart from cooperation of the free will with the grace of God through prayer, self-denial, and works of mercy.

No such acts of free will in cooperation with grace, no reception of any of the Sacraments, and no continuing devotion or prayers, are stated as a requirement for someone to receive this alleged gift of Eternal Life from the House of Prayer in Ireland. Other alleged messages to Christina Gallagher certainly talk about prayer and the Sacraments. But this alleged gift of Eternal Life is offered to those who merely visit the House of Prayer in Ireland. The mere external act of visiting the House is said to confer Eternal Life. And as for the required 'proper disposition,' nothing is said in any of the messages, nor by Christina Gallagher and her supporters who run the House, as to what this could possibly mean. But since the disposition of any sinner can change over time, no matter what the definition of a proper disposition might be, a visit with a proper disposition still cannot guarantee Eternal Life.


f. Fr. McGinnity, who is called the spiritual director of Christina Gallagher (though truly it is she who directs his spiritual life), has defended the claim that a visit to the House confers the gift of Eternal Life by comparing this claim to various devotions widely-practiced in the Church.

For instance, when Our Lady speaks of the gift of Eternal Life through coming to Her House even for one visit, she means that She will obtain the grace for people to obtain true conversion before their death. There is no message wherein the gift of Eternal Life is offered outside the sacramental process. Most Catholics would be aware that similar promises of Our Lady's assistance at the hour of death, the gift of Heaven etc., are associated with various accepted devotions and sacramentals including the Five First Saturdays, the Brown Scapular, devotion to the Sacred Heart, the Divine Mercy devotion, and many more.
[From Fr. McGinnity's response to a Nov. 15th article on Christina Gallagher in the newspaper The Irish Catholic.]

Unfortunately, the messages themselves say no such thing. The Sacraments are not mentioned as a requirement to receive the alleged gift of Eternal Life. The messages themselves do not say that Our Lady will obtain the grace of true conversion before death for us. There is no mention at all of a gift of conversion as a part of this gift of Eternal Life. The messages represent the gift of Eternal Life as being given out at the time of the visit to the House, not at a later time of conversion. This is clear because the statement is made that, after visiting the House, the individual "will be saved in soul though they will have to endure much." So the visitor is saved in soul upon visiting the House, and then next has to endure many difficulties. It is not a promise for a later conversion. And this claimed gift admits no possibility of the loss of salvation through mortal sin, nor any mention of receiving the Sacrament of Confession in order to return to the grace of God.

This gift of Eternal Life is said to have been promised by the Virgin Mary. Yet there is no mention of cooperation with grace as a requirement to receive this gift of Eternal Life. The Mother of our Lord would never violate or ignore our free will, not even to give us Eternal Life. And the unlikely interpretation of the gift of Eternal Life as merely a gift of repentance before death would still require the cooperation of the soul's free will. No such cooperation is mentioned in the messages as a requirement for the gift Eternal Life. There is no requirement for continued devotion or prayers, or for the reception of the Sacraments, or for continued cooperation of the free will with grace, as a necessary part of receiving this gift of Eternal Life. And therefore, though she is holy and merciful, the Virgin Mary is unable to make a promise of Eternal Life based solely on a visit to a particular building, on a particular island, because such a promise does not include any mention of free will cooperating with grace, nor any mention of the Sacraments by which the Church teaches that we have true eternal life.


g. Another problem with Fr. McGinnity's explanation is that he cannot account for the claim that this gift is only given out at the House of Prayer in Ireland, and not at the other houses of prayer established by Christina Gallagher. Why would the Virgin Mary establish seven houses of prayer, each referred to as her house where she is said to be present, and yet refuse the gift of eternal life to those who visit any of the 5 houses in the United States, or the house in Mexico? If this gift is merely the gift of a conversion before death, what is the explanation as to why it is given out only on Achill Island, and only for a limited period of time? There is no explanation because such limitations on a gift of eternal salvation would be arbitrary and unjust. The Virgin Mary does not behave in an arbitrary or unjust manner, offering a very important gift only to very few, and neither does the Eternal Triune God.

The devotions that Fr. McGinnity compares to this alleged gift of Eternal Life are devotions which are available to the faithful worldwide, from generation to generation. Whereas this alleged gift of Eternal Life is said to be available only to those who visit one location on earth, and then only for a limited period of time. The devotions of the Church are effective for any and all of the faithful who practice them, in union with the Sacraments and the teachings of the Church, when free will cooperates with grace. But this alleged gift is said to confer Eternal Life merely by visiting a location. Therefore, this alleged gift is not comparable to the devotions of the Church, and this claim to confer Eternal Life is not compatible with the teaching of the Church.

The claim by Christina Gallagher and Fr. McGinnity that the gift of Eternal Life is given to visitors to the House of Prayer on Achill Island in Ireland is contrary to the Gospel and the teaching of the Church. For the true Church of Jesus Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit, does not teach that a visit to Jerusalem, or to Calvary, or to Vatican City, or to any other particular location on earth, is necessary or sufficient to obtain the gift of eternal life. The true gift of eternal life and eternal salvation is offered only by Christ on the Cross, only through the Church and the Sacraments, to those who conform their lives to the life of Jesus Christ.


h. The devotions of the Church, which assist us in retaining the true gift of eternal life given at Baptism, are not dependent upon devotion to any one Saint or Blessed. The Divine Mercy Chaplet, although given to us through Saint Faustina, does not mention her at all in the prayers, and is not specifically tied to a devotion to that Saint. It is similar with the Rosary, the first Saturday and First Friday devotions, the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and other devotions. Even when such devotions came to us through a particular person, or through a particular private revelation, the devotion itself is universal, requiring only devotion to Christ and Mary to be effective.

By contrast, this alleged gift of Eternal Life is specifically and thoroughly connected with Christina Gallagher and her claimed private revelations. The location which one must visit to receive this alleged gift is a place where the messages of her alleged private revelation are read, discussed, and promoted. Although the current Bishop (Archbishop Neary of the Tuam Diocese) and the previous Bishop (Dr. Cassidy) both repeatedly insisted that the House be used as a place of general prayer and retreats and devotions, and that it be incorporated into the spiritual life of the diocese, instead the House has been used continually for no purpose other than activities directly related to Christina Gallagher's alleged private revelations.

The true devotions of the Church, which assist us in retaining the true gift of eternal life given at Baptism, are nothing like this alleged gift of Eternal Life, which is given only to adherents of Christina Gallagher's claimed private revelation, who also visit her House of Prayer. The former is offered universally and is independent of even true private revelation, and the latter is restricted to one location and is dependent upon devotion to the claimed private revelation of Christina Gallagher.


by Ronald L. Conte Jr.
November 25, 2007