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ThisOne
Guest
People who don’t believe in God have no belief in heaven, so they don’t think they’ll go to heaven if they do good things. But they just might go there anyway, because the Church teaches very plainly (I believe it’s in Lumen Gentium))that those who do not openly profess Christ through no fault of their own (never hearing the Gospel, for example) may still be saved by virtue of the kind of person they are and the kind of life they lived (e.g., the things they did and the attitudes they exhibited).Moreover if we focus on things we shoud do, the homily message will become condemnations : Do this and you will enter heaven. So… in other words, what if I fail to do it? Is this the good news? Noway. If I can do all the good things, then I will enter heaven. Is this the news? Even non christians know that. You don’t have to be a christian to know if you do good things you will go to heaven.
We are called to do what we can do in any circumstance. We are not called to do what we are unable to do. So there is no need to worry, for example, that you cannot personally do some things that need doing. You will not lose your salvation because you are not able to do some good things. The smallest good thing that you do is enough for God as long as you listen to your conscience in the light of Christ.
You cannot discard the importance of DOING by saying loving God is enough or is more important, which seems to be what you are saying. I apologize if I am misreading you. If we do not DO, we are kidding ourselves and we do not love God, we just love ourselves.
How does God feed the hungry? Through my sitting in my house and praying? No. And if we think that, we are not following Christ. It is people who feed the hungry and God acts through them.
Whenever I hear homilies on the Martha and Mary story, it is always about the balance needed between loving God and working for good. Maybe that’s really the point you are talking about – the balance that is needed? Maybe you feel too much emphasis is being placed on one where BOTH must be developed in us?
ThisOne