TCR 485, 486 - predestination

TCR 485
Without free will in spiritual matters
a person would have no means of establishing
mutual conjunction with the Lord.
The result would be not imputation,
but complete predestination,
which is a detestable doctrine.

TCR 486
Predestination is the . . . product of a belief
in a person's utter impotence and lack of choice
in spiritual matters.
It results from that belief
and also from a person's, so to speak, lifeless conversion,
that he is like a block of wood,
and that he has therefore no way of telling
whether the block is brought to life by grace or not.

[3] But what more hurtful idea could be thought up,
or what more cruel belief could anyone hold about God,
than that some of the human race
are predestined to damnation?
It would be cruel to believe that the Lord,
who is love itself and mercy itself,
could wish a large number of people
to be born destined for hell,
or that hundreds of millions are born lost souls,
that is, born devils and satans;
and that the Lord did not of His Divine wisdom,
which is infinite,
and does not take care that those
who live a good life and acknowledge God
are not cast into the fire and everlasting torment.
In fact, the Lord is the creator and savior of all;
He alone guides all and wishes no one's death.
Could therefore anything
more horrifying be believed or thought
than that a group of nations and peoples
under His control and gaze
should be predestined to be handed over
as prey to the devil, to fill his maw?