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.”
Jesus Christ
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).
Christian Prayer Unites Man to God
Divine Revelation reveals the certitude that, in the end, religious belief has the last word in History, for it is God’s will that no man should forever dwell in darkness, but rather darkness shall inevitably give way to Light by virtue of the prayer that unites man to Christ.
The Greatest Commandment: Love God and Neighbor
We draw not only our strength to love from our love of God but the fullness of human life is made possible only by loving God above all else for his sake. Love then flows outward, as an abundant well-spring, to others. So powerful becomes this force of love that the Christian can even love those who hate him. His love of Christ empowers him to love and pray even for his enemies.
Stumbling Blocks and The Danger of Scandal
It’s a convenient, easy, worldly and “New-Agie” thing to do—making God “easy to get along with” or viewing him in a “nice” unchallenging way. But it’s not a virtuous or spiritually intelligent thing to do. It’s not a wise thing to do. Nor is it a loving thing to do. Worse yet, it can lead to the sin of scandal.