It is easy to get into Heaven!

[Enoch327]

I just want to share my thoughts on Heaven. Some Catholics I know think its hard to get into heaven. St Paul says to train hard like a runner of a race. Everyone knows that a good runner must train hard! What happens if we don’t win the “crown”? Perhaps Purgatory? Perhaps Hell? Christ says to enter through the narrow gate for the gate that leads to destruction is wide and broad any many are those who enter it.
Let me just say that if we rise daily and give our heart to the Lord and are alert to the Spirit that life will be much easier and everyone will be much happier. It is rather easy if you remember to 1) Pray the Rosary Daily 2) Receive the Sacraments as much as Possible 3) Ask the Holy Spirit for a love of Scripture and a love of fasting.
I by no means am trying to take anything away from other practices such as giving alms or practicing the beatitudes or invoking the Saints, or Praying for the Poor Souls. I am just saying that I feel if one is open to The Holy Spirit these practices become a JOY and a habit!
I’ve asked myself what judgement will be like and so should you. I believe God the Father loves each one of us like we are his one and only child. He knows our hearts better than we do. As long as we dedicate time to him daily it should be a piece of cake! All our Heavenly Father wants is our Love and attention.
God Bless!

 

[pray4peace]

I think it is hard for some of us to get into Heaven because we may find it difficult to follow His way and not our way.

Blessings

 

[surfinpure]

Hi, Enoch. Welcome to the forums!

All of your suggestions are wonderful. I would change the statement somewhat, though. It might be simple to get into heaven, but it is not easy. As the Lord cuts away the flesh that binds us to this earth, it can be extremely painful. Christ told us to take up our crosses and follow him. Paul said “I complete in my body what is lacking in the Passion of Christ” and “Submit your bodies, a living and holy sacrifice, which is your reasonable service of worship.” All of these verses and more speak of mortification – the process of dying to ourselves so that Christ may live in us. The good news is, if we simply obey the one command, to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, we will not fail Him. This is simple. But it is not easy.

God bless,

mary

 

[beckycmarie]

I would change the statement somewhat, though. It might be simple to get into heaven, but it is not easy.

That is a good point, Mary. So few people will go straight from this life to Heaven since being truly pure of heart is quite difficult. Most of those who are saved will likely spend time in purgatory before we can enter Heaven spotless.

 

[Enoch327]

I must concur that Simple is a better word than Easy. I believe if you make Purgartory your goal God in his graciousness will let you go there! I also believe that if you make going straight to Heaven your goal God in his graciousness will let you go there!
Just a thought…Being Catholic has sooooo many advantages. Just ask like a child would.
Thanks for all the (name removed by moderator)ut!

 

[beckycmarie]

I must concur that Simple is a better word than Easy. I believe if you make Purgartory your goal God in his graciousness will let you go there! I also believe that if you make going straight to Heaven your goal God in his graciousness will let you go there!
Just a thought…Being Catholic has sooooo many advantages. Just ask like a child would.
Thanks for all the (name removed by moderator)ut!

You can make Heaven your goal, but you still need to cooperate with God to get there. Having the intention does not guarantee the end result; you have to follow through on your part.

 

[goofyjim]

All you do is fine and dandy but we don’t get into heaven based on how much we love God. We get in based on how much He loves as and we simply abide in that love.

 

[Enoch327]

AMEN!

 

[beckycmarie]

All you do is fine and dandy but we don’t get into heaven based on how much we love God. We get in based on how much He loves as and we simply abide in that love.

Huh? Perhaps I’m reading what you said wrong, but it sounds like you’re saying just being loved by God is enough to get us to Heaven.

If you don’t love God, you won’t get into Heaven.

God loves all of us, yet some still go to Hell.

Just knowing God loves us is not enough. We have to love Him back. Loving Him requires obedience on our part.

“If you love me, you will obey what I command.” John 14:15

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:36-40

 

[goofyjim]

Huh? Perhaps I’m reading what you said wrong, but it sounds like you’re saying just being loved by God is enough to get us to Heaven.

If you don’t love God, you won’t get into Heaven.

God loves all of us, yet some still go to Hell.

Just knowing God loves us is not enough. We have to love Him back. Loving Him requires obedience on our part.

But too many of us think we prove that love by doing works. We simply love Him by accepting that He loves us first. No amount of what we do will change His love for us unless we go out and kill someone with no regrets. How are we to measure one’s love for God? I don’t go to daily Mass at all but I think I love Him just as much as the one who does.

 

[beckycmarie]

But too many of us think we prove that love by doing works. We simply love Him by accepting that He loves us first. No amount of what we do will change His love for us unless we go out and kill someone with no regrets. How are we to measure one’s love for God? I don’t go to daily Mass at all but I think I love Him just as much as the one who does.

God would still love us if we killed someone with no regrets. There is nothing we can do to make God stop loving us.

And we don’t simply love Him by accepting that He loves us first. Maybe that’s a start in a relationship with Him, but accepting that God loves us, and then continuing to sin mortally, counting on the mercy of God to get us to Heaven won’t work. That’s the sin of presumption.

We are not saved by faith alone or works alone. We must have both faith and works.

 

[goofyjim]

God would still love us if we killed someone with no regrets. There is nothing we can do to make God stop loving us.

And we don’t simply love Him by accepting that He loves us first. Maybe that’s a start in a relationship with Him, but accepting that God loves us, and then continuing to sin mortally, counting on the mercy of God to get us to Heaven won’t work. That’s the sin of presumption.

We are not saved by faith alone or works alone. We must have both faith and works.

But again no amount of daily Masses and perfect living proves one has any more love for God than the next guy who doesn’t attend daily Mass. One can get into heaven without praying any rosaries and just going on Sundays and holydays. After all part of showing our love for God is raised in the second greatest commandment on how we love our neighbor as ourselves. If we don’t do this we have a hard time proving that we love God.

 

[beckycmarie]

But again no amount of daily Masses and perfect living proves one has any more love for God than the next guy who doesn’t attend daily Mass. One can get into heaven without praying any rosaries and just going on Sundays and holydays. After all part of showing our love for God is raised in the second greatest commandment on how we love our neighbor as ourselves. If we don’t do this we have a hard time proving that we love God.

That is absolutely correct. It’s possible for people to go to Mass often and outwardly appear very holy, but have an interior life full of pride and selfishness.

On the other hand, there may be people who may only go on Sundays and Holy days but actively participate in the Mass, and love God and neighbor.

Our love for God is proven by how well we do His will by keeping His commands, and how much we love our neighbor.

We need not to confuse “good works” with the false appearance of being holy. Those works are no good anyway if done without love.

 

[Enoch327]

Ask and You shall receive…Seek and you shall find…(ask to go straight to heaven). I am by no means making presumptions about my or others salvation. We all know there is a sin of presumption and God forbid any of us fall to that. Though my posting may sound like that, it is intended to say that we are Lucky and Blessed to be Catholic with so many opportunities and Graces available to us thru the likes of the Sacraments, Rosaries, and Fasting. What prompted my First Post is the Gloom and Doom that I see from many Catholics. I am striving daily to evangelize our great Faith thru my love of it. I am proud of my faith but need to guard on having it border on Boastful. Don’t take it that way. I am simply intending to share my JOY and HOPE. God Bless!

 

[surfinpure]

Ask and You shall receive…Seek and you shall find…(ask to go straight to heaven). I am by no means making presumptions about my or others salvation. We all know there is a sin of presumption and God forbid any of us fall to that. Though my posting may sound like that, it is intended to say that we are Lucky and Blessed to be Catholic with so many opportunities and Graces available to us thru the likes of the Sacraments, Rosaries, and Fasting. What prompted my First Post is the Gloom and Doom that I see from many Catholics. I am striving daily to evangelize our great Faith thru my love of it. I am proud of my faith but need to guard on having it border on Boastful. Don’t take it that way. I am simply intending to share my JOY and HOPE. God Bless!

There is certainly nothing wrong with having joy and hope in the salvation of our Lord! So long as we do not neglect the other scripture, which says, “I work out my salvation in fear and trembling.” We must never forget that God is infinitely holy, and only those who are holy may enter into His presence. His mercy is overflowing, but we must avail ourselves of it! From what I have read, I think you have put salvation in the right perspective, because you mention all the opportunities and graces available to us. We can trust in God’s promise if we follow His plan by way of the sacraments, prayer, and devotion to Him. That makes us children of the promise!

 

[tessi]

Our love for God is proven by how well we do His will by keeping His commands, and how much we love our neighbor.

We can not love our neighbor if we do not love God (dialog of Saint Catherine is very instructing). If you eat love only on sundays, probably you will love only on sundays. I don’t say that Daily Mass makes you a saint (there are many who go for habit), but if you are really trying to love your neighbor, you can’t do it with food once a week.
Many who go to daily Mass do not love, but none who do not go can really love.

 

[surfinpure]

We can not love our neighbor if we do not love God (dialog of Saint Catherine is very instructing). If you eat love only on sundays, probably you will love only on sundays. I don’t say that Daily Mass makes you a saint (there are many who go for habit), but if you are really trying to love your neighbor, you can’t do it with food once a week.
Many who go to daily Mass do not love, but none who do not go can really love.

This is quite cruel. What of those who cannot go to daily Mass? Have they no hope of loving God or neighbor? If the Magisterium believed we could not love God apart from going to daily Mass, why did they not make it obligatory, like Sundays are?

 

[tessi]

This is quite cruel. What of those who cannot go to daily Mass? Have they no hope of loving God or neighbor? If the Magisterium believed we could not love God apart from going to daily Mass, why did they not make it obligatory, like Sundays are?

Read dialog of Saint Catherine or any saint to see if it was enough sunday Mass. (obviuosly it doesn`t apply if can not actually go)

 

[surfinpure]

Read dialog of Saint Catherine or any saint to see if it was enough sunday Mass. (obviuosly it doesn`t apply if can not actually go)

I am sure St. Catherine has many wonderful things to say. But I also know that the Fathers of our faith would not mislead us, and I know that it is possible for one to love God very much, even if one is unable to attend daily Mass, and it is unkind at best to say that those of us who cannot are deficient in our love for God.

 

[Enoch327]

I believe that if our original intention is to go straight to heaven we can and will have that prayer answered if asked with a sincere heart and childlike trust. Christ will see to it that we grow accordingly (in the spirit) after that prayer is asked and prayed upon. We will eventually start to grow in our yearning and desire to receive the sacraments and special devotions of our Faith. Our spiritual food may become more and more “solid” as we grow.

One can scour scripture for different ways to work out our salvation. “Amen I say to you, unless you become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven”. {the child is not held up to the disciples because of innocence but because of there complete dependence on, and trust in, their parents}. So we too must become childlike. Asking to go straight to heaven is childlike in itself and shows our desire to trust in God that our prayer will be answered and we grow spiritually as God sees fit.
Simply a starting point…