People today often think that getting to heaven is easy. All you have to do is be a “nice” person. We dabble in sin regularly, even nearly constantly, telling ourselves “it’s no big deal. God is merciful.”
The Great Twenty-First Century Lie: Freedom is for Freedom’s Sake
The Compendium Of The Social Doctrine Of The Church explains that “Jesus’ followers are called to live like him and, after his Passover of death and resurrection, to live also in him and by him, thanks to the superabundant gift of the Holy Spirit, the Consoler, who internalizes Christ’s own style of life in human hearts” (29).
Swearing Oaths and Using God’s Name
I think one of the gravest misuses of God’s name in American culture is the widespread habit of using it trivially to express excitement, astonishment or incredulity. All these are a sign that one lacks a deep, loving respect for the Tripersonal God.
If You Are Angry With Your Brother Or Sister, You Will Be Liable To Judgment
In our gospel today, Jesus gives an authoritative teaching on fulfillment of the law by condemning anger held in the human heart. Anger, malicious thoughts, hatred, desire for vengeance, these things flow from a person’s interior, from his heart. What is the healing solution?
What Is The Unforgivable Sin?
It’s not uncommon to find people who worry that they’ve blasphemed against the Holy Spirit and committed the “unforgivable sin,” making God’s mercy inaccessible and hell a certainty. What did Jesus mean by saying in Mark’s gospel that whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven?