We all die, hope you are not confused about that.
If I were to only know about the the Church from the Catholics that post on these forums I would think everybody is going to hell.
Everybody.
Somehow I don’t think that is right.
Larry, the Catholic Church rightly teaches that God’s mercy is infinite. She refuses to say that a single soul must be in hell (although she certainly does not deny the possibility). Now if you mean, like Paul, that we are all condemned by God’s law, and that we deserve Hell, you are correct. The wages of sin, as God makes crystal clear, are death. But Jesus’s death paid the ultimate redemptive sacrifice, so that anyone who turns to him will enter his glory.
It is a contradiction to me that someone can love anybody, God or a spouse, and beat them once in awhile, or hurt them in some way. If the person truly does love them what a sorry state he must be in.
Did it ever occur to you all that people who love someone, such as a husband loving his wife, will hurt the them occasionally? It happens. In a mature loving relationship there is this thing called forgiveness. That is in our relationship with God as well. If you truly love your wife you cannot wait to forgive her if she ever does something to hurt you. I am sure God feels the same way.
Future sin is not a given, so careful there. We are fallen, but we are called to perfection. When we fall short of the call, we turn back to our faithful Spouse, who does indeed welcome us.
Many of the posters on this site want everybody to be worse than they are, or want everybody to go to hell. That is their problem, don’t make it yours.
I am sure nobody wants that; please be more charitable here. We all strive for holiness, despite missing the mark at times.
As far as sin goes, ask yourself a question.
As you are sitting there, watching your porn, what would you do if a woman came up to you naked and took your hand to go have sex? If you would say no, let me finish my porn, you probably are killing the relationship with the woman. Real sex is better than watching it. God and the Church want you to have the best experiences in your life. Anytime you sin you are settling for second best.
Who is the ‘you’ to whom you are referring? Is the ‘woman’ you mention, this person’s wife? Or are you saying that adultery is less evil than pornography (debatable, I guess)? The point is to turn away from all sin, or better yet, to be so in tune to God’s love, that to turn away from him isn’t even an option.
In all fairness though, our Church is not very good at being a Church. It is good at having a theology and nice buildings, but not too good at loving the members of the Church that need help. Some other churches are better. What would happen if you wanted to meet that woman, who someday would take your hand, as your wife, and make love to you, and you went to Church and met a good Catholic woman? Or how about if your good Catholic friend introduced you to her? That should happen, but it doesn’t much.
Our church is awesome - the one, true, holy, catholic, and apostolic church, founded by Christ, and led and renewed by the Spirit. What you write appears to be blasphemy - but perhaps you mean the term to refer to its human instruments only, which is still not a very nice or demonstrable thing to say. We are all connected asone body in the spirit - we show our love in perhaps less socially obvious ways than other Christian communities, but our mutual love reaches its zenith when we gather at Mass to participate in the Eucharist. // Now two women? Your post could use some clarity on this point please.
Or how about having dinner with friends, Christian friends, and enjoying it very much, but they never invite you to join them? People need to learn to be socially responsible and gracious. We need to learn to be a community. And for sure not an internet community, a real community.
Anyway, God loves you. Do your best to love Him and all the poor people you see in Church. Everybody has their Cross. Blessed is the man that carries his and help someone else. When God holds out His hand, take it.
Catholics in America, on a practical level, seem to have a hard time with community socialization. We never transitioned well from the Old World in which society and faith were so interwoven. If that’s your point, it’s a good one. And, as you say, we need to walk in God’s hands.
Anyways, sin is very real and should not be underestimated. Our sins must sadden God and offend his justice. Still, even before man fell, God created us, and God’s creation was good. We have good tendencies for which God, no doubt, loves us very much. Let us strive for holy perfection and to love as He does.
LillyM and teachccd both gave good responses; I can’t think of anything to add. Just keep in mind that an addiction to a sin that constitutes grave matter may not necessarily be a mortal sin.
