Sometimes it seems like it would be easier to be ignorant

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I have been perusing the forums and listening to Catholic Radio a lot and am starting to feel like this is a hopeless battle, being a GOOD Catholic. It almost doesn’t seem “fair” that when you “know” the truth you are held accountable for it, but if you don’t know the truth you can’t be held accountable for it. So in my mind if I know a true Catholic teaching and find it difficult to put that into practice then I may not find my way to heaven, but someone else who doesn’t know the true teaching and doesn’t follow it has a better shot at heaven. Does this make sense? I have heard the arguments that we get credit for “trying” to practice correctly and that others might not make it to heaven because they didn’t search for the truth. But there are many people out there who believe that they ARE practicing the true Catholic teachings. I don’t know, I’m rambling. I’m just frustrated . . .

Any words of wisdom out there??
 
Help comes when we ask for it through prayer. I also found out it helps to read the bible daily. I have used God’s Word Today and The Word Amoung Us as tools to do this with. After a while you will understand your faith by way of the bible. This helps make those day to day decision for the Lord.
 
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momofboyz:
I have been perusing the forums and listening to Catholic Radio a lot and am starting to feel like this is a hopeless battle, being a GOOD Catholic. It almost doesn’t seem “fair” that when you “know” the truth you are held accountable for it, but if you don’t know the truth you can’t be held accountable for it. So in my mind if I know a true Catholic teaching and find it difficult to put that into practice then I may not find my way to heaven, but someone else who doesn’t know the true teaching and doesn’t follow it has a better shot at heaven. Does this make sense? I have heard the arguments that we get credit for “trying” to practice correctly and that others might not make it to heaven because they didn’t search for the truth. But there are many people out there who believe that they ARE practicing the true Catholic teachings. I don’t know, I’m rambling. I’m just frustrated . . .

Any words of wisdom out there??
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Just keep searching for God… You will find him, and with that will come a modicum of peace… no one said salvation was easy, especially given the sinful world we live in and given the sin we ourselves are guilty of…

just don’t quit, and don’t give up… the Apostle Paul said he would live out his days in fear and trembling, but he knew that if he kept up the good fight, stayed in the race that he would one day be rewarded for his persistency and patience…

be not afraid my friend, you are not alone in this struggle… TOGETHER we shall overcome, but it will be a battle against evil, and it will be through the forgiving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that we will accomplish the journey…Peace… 👍
 
OH, I hear you!

I think that way sometimes too. After my last child was born, I was told I could not safely carry another child, and that I needed to have my tubes tied. Well, I had been around a few Catholic forums enough to know that the Church does not make exceptions for cases like mine. I know a few people who have been in my shoes and did not know Church teaching, they just figured that the Church would allow such things for medical reasons. It seems sometimes that that “ignorance” would’ve been really nice. I wouldn’t have to learn/use NFP for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t have to worry, etc.

But- I know that it is truly better to know the “right things” and to do our best, but it is hard sometimes.

The reward in Heaven will be great. 👍
 
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momofboyz:
So in my mind if I know a true Catholic teaching and find it difficult to put that into practice then I may not find my way to heaven, but someone else who doesn’t know the true teaching and doesn’t follow it has a better shot at heaven. Does this make sense?
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As I understand it, without God’s Grace, what you say would be true. But every time you attempt to practice your faith, you are rewarded with Grace for your efforts. And when you then fail at something, as we all do, that Grace and your continual efforts will assist you in getting back into God’s good graces (for more Grace).

And the rewards in heaven will not be the same for everyone. While there will be no envy or jealousy there, some (the Blessed Mother, for example) will be closer to Jesus than others.

Wouldn’t you want to be as close to Him as you possibly could get? 😛

As Catholics with access to the fullness of God’s truth and access to all of His Graces, there is a huge advantage for us over those who are unaware of God and His commandments.

:clapping: :dancing: :bounce: :gopray2:

Of course, one of our responsibilities is to spread the word about that. :rolleyes:
 
Oh yeah…

Everyday when I improve my life, I realize how terrible it really was. At times it is easier to be miserable and unaware of true happiness, then to be happy and aware of the complete horror I was living in.
 
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momofboyz:
I have been perusing the forums and listening to Catholic Radio a lot and am starting to feel like this is a hopeless battle, being a GOOD Catholic. It almost doesn’t seem “fair” that when you “know” the truth you are held accountable for it, but if you don’t know the truth you can’t be held accountable for it. So in my mind if I know a true Catholic teaching and find it difficult to put that into practice then I may not find my way to heaven, but someone else who doesn’t know the true teaching and doesn’t follow it has a better shot at heaven. Does this make sense? I have heard the arguments that we get credit for “trying” to practice correctly and that others might not make it to heaven because they didn’t search for the truth. But there are many people out there who believe that they ARE practicing the true Catholic teachings. I don’t know, I’m rambling. I’m just frustrated . . .

Any words of wisdom out there??
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Hi Mom ( I can sympathize w/ that name…I’m the oldest of 3 boys…God bless you!)

Listen, I understand what you mean, but bear in mind that God gives us abundant (Check that: SUPER abundant) grace to help us live the life He calls us to. No one ever said it would be easy, not even Jesus, but He’s there w/us all the way. (Remember that verse that says “…I will be with you always…”) We are not expected to get all scrupulous about our life of faith, but just do our very best moment by moment. There is no perfection this side of heaven, but we strive for it none the less. God forgives us when we stumble & helps us keep going. I love to read about St. King David in 1st Samuel as well as the Gospels about the apostles. They were all very human, yet Jesus chose them and each one was loved by Him. David exemplifies all that a relationship w/ God is…even the falling. You might also read Story of A Soul by St. Therese the Little Flower. She struggled too & she is a very beautiful example of the power of God’s grace in our lives. I talk to her a lot because I go through some of the same stuff. (Don’t all humans?) Peter really had problems…denied Jesus…but look at how he recovered & all that God did through him!

You might also read the life of St. Francis of Asissi. An amazing man who was also very human. Did you know that he called his body “Brother Donkey”? Sometimes I feel the same way about myself. 😃
Anyway, hang in…and hang out w/us. You’re in my prayers.
 
I felt like that for a while too, especially after listening to Relevant radio…goodness, it was too much information to take in so soon! I finally would limit my listening so that I could do other research on particular practices/lessons that I just learned about. That helped a lot.

Then as a mom, I’ve tried to come to terms with and accept the new teaching (new to me, not to the Church, of course) before instructing my children with the rule/guideline. I think that’s where most of my confusion came in - being a cradle catholic there’s so much I did just out of routine ‘because’, not knowing the ‘how come’ behind it. So for my kids, I want them to know the ‘how come’ first…of course, they’re teens now so there at a great age for this type of instruction. So far so good.

As for feeling a bit resentful toward those who are ignorant, I had that twinge for a little while in the beginning, but the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy and Eucharistic Adoration really eliminated all that for me. I understand and appreciate how much God wants ALL of His children back with him and I would be pleased to have any of those who in good faith (though ignorant) would be beside me one day in purgatory. One less soul for the devil is a victory any way you slice it and that is pleasing to God so it’s pleasing to me. Besides, not too long ago I was one of those ignorant Catholics and had I died before discovering Relevant Radio I would hope God would be merciful toward me.
 
I can understand how you feel. I am a revert back to the faith. Before this, I was really ignorant on many Catholic teachings about things like artificial birthcontrol, and other topics.

While it is easier for the flesh to live in ignorance and be able to continue on the path of doing whatever, I have found much peace in doing things God’s way.

God’s ways are not easy - but He will give you much peace and grant many graces for those that do follow Him.

I much prefer to suffer my trials in peace and with God’s gentle merciful hand, then without. Fact of the matter is, we will all have trials and hard problems in our lives. God can make the journey and trial easier to handle.

So with that, ignorance is ultimately not the easy path.
 
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momofboyz:
I have been perusing the forums and listening to Catholic Radio a lot and am starting to feel like this is a hopeless battle, being a GOOD Catholic. It almost doesn’t seem “fair” that when you “know” the truth you are held accountable for it, but if you don’t know the truth you can’t be held accountable for it. So in my mind if I know a true Catholic teaching and find it difficult to put that into practice then I may not find my way to heaven, but someone else who doesn’t know the true teaching and doesn’t follow it has a better shot at heaven. Does this make sense? I have heard the arguments that we get credit for “trying” to practice correctly and that others might not make it to heaven because they didn’t search for the truth. But there are many people out there who believe that they ARE practicing the true Catholic teachings. I don’t know, I’m rambling. I’m just frustrated . .

Dear friend

I sense the complete frustration in your post, please don’t feel this way, we know God to be merciful, we know He is merciful to the heart that is honest, persistant in trying though we may fail, we know that God’s mercy is unending and we know that he loves us Eternally. You were made to live with Him, He created all people for this purpose, for union with Him and to love, know and serve Him. God doesn’t desire us to be ignorant of Him, He knows you intimately, more than you know yourself! He desires ALL peoples to know Him, it is the sole purpose of your creation, and by knowing Him you will desire to love and serve Him.

God asks for perseverance though the road is hard. He loves you always and His mercy is always there for you should you desire it in reconciliation, we are all sinners, not one of us is worthy of His gift of eternal life without Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 43:1 ‘I have called you by name. You are precious in my eyes. You are mine and I love you.’

So even when you sin, you are loved the exact same by God as when you do not sin. All He asks for is your faith and your striving not to sin, to keep His laws and do good works, but when you do, as any father would to his child, He says by the power of the Holy Spirit in the Apostolic succession of the Priest as commissioned by Jesus… (What you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, what you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven)… the unending font of His love and mercy in reconciliation to the repentant soul and heart.

Do your very best, you can do no more than that. Ask God to help you and tell Him you are finding this hard, sek the intercession of Mary our Blessed Mother.

You are not facing anything that a Christian has not faced. I have often thought, this is very very hard …but then I think of what my Lord Jesus faced and my hardhsip is nothing compared to His and He gladly did it without any complaining.

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
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All the advice here is good. I would like to add one thing.
Jesus came to set us free. Free, from slavery to sin and the devil. Are ignorant people truly happy? I know many such people, and they are not happy. I know it can be hard at times. But you would find no true peace and happiness without God.
And if you ever overcome this slavery to sin, if you have that. Then you shall be truly free. And even in the midst of terrible trials, you will have peace and joy. So keep up the struggle.http://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon14.gif
 
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momofboyz:
It almost doesn’t seem “fair” that when you “know” the truth you are held accountable for it, but if you don’t know the truth you can’t be held accountable for it. So in my mind if I know a true Catholic teaching and find it difficult to put that into practice then I may not find my way to heaven, but someone else who doesn’t know the true teaching and doesn’t follow it has a better shot at heaven.
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Think of it as being like potty-training. If you haven’t been trained, you’re not responsible for accidents. But who, if they understand what potty-training is, would choose not to do it because it means they’ll have to take on the responsibility of keeping their pants clean?

God doesn’t give you his law so he’ll have something to whack you with. He gives it to you so you can grow closer to him and more like him–and more yourself, too. If you always try to aim at that, he will always forgive your accidents, faster than you can forgive yourself. But if you are not interested in being anything but being in control of your own destiny, it doesn’t matter what rules you do know or don’t know. You’ll never be one with God, never know the joy you are intended to know, until you hand it all over.

God’s law is a good thing, even when it is hard. It is one of the ways God loves you and cares for you, not an obstacle he places between you and himself. Trust in that.

The Gospel is the Good News. It isn’t an artificial strait jacket.
It is how you become fully what God intended you to be. It is the roadmap to the realization of your heart’s deepest desier. Believe in that, and rejoice. God will not give up on you until he has perfected you.
 
I went through a period where I wondered about the same things.

Before it passed, I also had an actual fear of learning the answer to some of my questions. Like, do I *really *want to find out what the Church teaches about cremation (and find myself having to make tough decisions), or should I just not learn about it, and go about and plan whatever?

If you have that fear, don’t give in. Things we could have learned about, but avoided or chose not to or buried our heads in the sand do not fall under invincible ignorance. We cannot deliberately make ourselves ignorant. Well, in fact we can, but it will be our fault.

Remember, sins are sins for a reason. They have bad consequences even if we do them in total ignorance. It is still best to avoid them even if we don’t know the difference.

It almost sounds like you might want to reread the parable of the prodigal son. Maybe it would help, I don’t know. Anyway it is located at Luke 15:11 onward.

I hope this stops plaguing you soon!
 
There is no good reason to feel resentful toward the ignorant. We are all ignorant to some degree and this serves as a stumbling block in growing in love and knowledge of God. The ignorant person is at a tremendous disadvantage in this regard and is thereby in greater spiritual peril.

What God gives us is always good. The more we know of God and His grace, goodness, mercy, justice, etal, the more we can grow in relationship and love. It is truly an awesome gift to know what God wants for us.
 
We must also remember that we cannot make this journey of faith on earth alone. We all need the prayers and support of others, so don’t be afraid to ask for them when you need them! We can also ask the angels and saints to pray for us each day, and offer our day to Jesus – all that we do, think and say! Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you when you are confused or unsure; ask Our Savior Jesus to walk beside you and help you throughout the day; ask Our Heavenly Father to guide you gently as any loving father would.

We all struggle with these things. Just take it one day, one moment at a time and always ask for guidance!
 
Even if you do not know the “right thing” and end up choosing the “wrong thing” due to ignorance, even though you may not be “guilty” you cannot escape the consequences of doing the “wrong thing”. If you sincerely don’t know or don’t believe cigarettes can cause cancer, a high fat diet can damage your health, or you are drinking polluted water, your body will still react to the harmful substances. That won’t make you guilty, but it will make you sick.

Just because I truly did not believe ABC and tubal ligation was wrong, and in fact received poor pastoral advice from priests I consulted, does not mean I (and my marriage) escaped the consequences of these actions. I knew the church teaching on these thing, but genuinely thought they did not apply in my “special circumstances”. Even though I have been absolved in the confessional, and even though I have been told my moral guilt was mitigated by ignorance, we still have to deal with the harm that has been done.

the Church has NO arbitrary moral rules and teachings. What the Church declares immmoral is so because of Natural Law as well as God’s law. The natural law consequences to human well-being will take effect whether or not you know what they are.
 
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