What constitutes good works and how much is necessary for salvation?

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dumspirospero

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As a Catholic, corporal works of mercy, or living the Beatitudes is a very important part of my life…I volunteer time whenever I have some available to help with the homeless, etc…but I am looking for other things I can do to increase my works…I was hoping for suggestions. For instance, do donations constitute a corporal work of mercy? It is effortless…all you do is write a check out. Please give me some suggestions on how to increase my good works.

Also, while on the topic of good works…how much is necessary for salvation? Is it different for each individual? Is the amount for each individual dependent on ones means or past sins? Any (name removed by moderator)ut would be greatly appreciated. I am working very hard to live a well rounded life and give back as much as possible…it is nice to hear back from fellow Catholics that are already living the Beatitudes and can offer some insight. God Bless you all.
 
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dumspirospero:
Also, while on the topic of good works…how much is necessary for salvation? Is it different for each individual? Is the amount for each individual dependent on ones means or past sins? Any (name removed by moderator)ut would be greatly appreciated. I am working very hard to live a well rounded life and give back as much as possible…it is nice to hear back from fellow Catholics that are already living the Beatitudes and can offer some insight. God Bless you all.
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Dear dums,

I find your diligence admirable but a little misplaced. God is not a score keeper nor an accountant; we don’t need to “tally up” a certain amount of good works to please Him, and although we can’t possible be saved through faith alone, nontheless it is God alone who saves us. All our works are worthless without Him.

This is precisely where the Beatitudes differ from the 10 Commandments, athough both are necessary and complement each other. The Commandments are a “minimalist” check list, i.e. “what you must fulfill at the very least.” The Beatitudes speak to an entire way of life, an abandonment to the mercy and love of God; not “how much do I have to do to get into Heaven” but “God has saved me thorugh His infinite love, and I belong to Him. How can I adequately respond in love at each moment of the day?”

This is a very different dynamic, one presented so eloquently in Veritatis Splendor, which shows how Jesus gave us a “new morality” so to speak; one in which I listen to the Father, through His Son, in every situation, and ask how the teachings of the Church and how my faith applies. Morality becomes engaging my whole faith in each situation, not just fulfillment of the letter of the law.

Again, none of this contradicts the need for good works that you mention, nor even the “Old Law.” but it fulfills it in a radical way. Vatican II identified a huge crisis in moral theology, which had become bogged down in casuistry, probabilism, and legalism rather than rooted in Scripture, and so I guess I’m responding to what seems to be a tendency to “quantify good works” in your question.

The crucial question is not “what must I do to stay out of hell” but “how am I converted daily to be perfect as my Heavenly Father is perfect?”

Bless you; this is not meant as criticism in any way.
 
I guess the question was worded wrong…I did not intend to come across as “wanting to do the minimums, just to make it to heaven”…I was just wondering if there was any Church teaching that outlined how many works we should do or monies we should donate such as there is a certain percentage of tithings we should give to the Church…you understand what I am trying to ask?

Also, I was hoping for more examples of how I could expand my works, so I can fit them into my schedule when I don’t have time to volunteer.
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maendem:
Dear dums,

I find your diligence admirable but a little misplaced. God is not a score keeper nor an accountant; we don’t need to “tally up” a certain amount of good works to please Him, and although we can’t possible be saved through faith alone, nontheless it is God alone who saves us. All our works are worthless without Him.

This is precisely where the Beatitudes differ from the 10 Commandments, athough both are necessary and complement each other. The Commandments are a “minimalist” check list, i.e. “what you must fulfill at the very least.” The Beatitudes speak to an entire way of life, an abandonment to the mercy and love of God; not “how much do I have to do to get into Heaven” but “God has saved me thorugh His infinite love, and I belong to Him. How can I adequately respond in love at each moment of the day?”

This is a very different dynamic, one presented so eloquently in Veritatis Splendor, which shows how Jesus gave us a “new morality” so to speak; one in which I listen to the Father, through His Son, in every situation, and ask how the teachings of the Church and how my faith applies. Morality becomes engaging my whole faith in each situation, not just fulfillment of the letter of the law.

Again, none of this contradicts the need for good works that you mention, nor even the “Old Law.” but it fulfills it in a radical way. Vatican II identified a huge crisis in moral theology, which had become bogged down in casuistry, probabilism, and legalism rather than rooted in Scripture, and so I guess I’m responding to what seems to be a tendency to “quantify good works” in your question.

The crucial question is not “what must I do to stay out of hell” but “how am I converted daily to be perfect as my Heavenly Father is perfect?”

Bless you; this is not meant as criticism in any way.
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We are saved by grace. Our works are the fruit of our love for the Lord. All our works will be tested before the Lord. If they were done with the right attitude and for the Lord we will recieve our rewards in heaven. If we did works to please ourselves,well you already have recieved your reward here on earth. As for me I want to store them in heaven. 👍 God Bless
 
We are saved by grace. Our works are the fruit of our love for the Lord. All our works will be tested before the Lord. If they were done with the right attitude and for the Lord we will recieve our rewards in heaven. If we did works to please ourselves,well you already have recieved your reward here on earth. As for me I want to store them in heaven. 👍 God Bless
 
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SPOKENWORD:
We are saved by grace. Our works are the fruit of our love for the Lord. All our works will be tested before the Lord. If they were done with the right attitude and for the Lord we will recieve our rewards in heaven. If we did works to please ourselves,well you already have recieved your reward here on earth. As for me I want to store them in heaven. 👍 God Bless
Click to expand...
:amen: smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/17/17_1_12v.gif
 
QUOTE=dumspirospero]As a Catholic, corporal works of mercy, or living the Beatitudes is a very important part of my life…I volunteer time whenever I have some available to help with the homeless, etc…but I am looking for other things I can do to increase my works…I was hoping for suggestions. For instance, do donations constitute a corporal work of mercy? It is effortless…all you do is write a check out. Please give me some suggestions on how to increase my good works.
Also, while on the topic of good works…how much is necessary for salvation? Is it different for each individual? Is the amount for each individual dependent on ones means or past sins? Any (name removed by moderator)ut would be greatly appreciated. I am working very hard to live a well rounded life and give back as much as possible…it is nice to hear back from fellow Catholics that are already living the Beatitudes and can offer some insight. God Bless you all.Dear Friend

Don’t worry or even think about it, all that matters is your INTENT. We could all do more, we can all be more virtuous, more loving, we can all do more than we currently do, BUT if you strive in whatever you do with the right intent to help others because you love them and you love God, then no matter if you fail no matter if you don’t always feel like doing it, though you still do it, God sees your intent and effort.

Yes it is simple to write a cheque, but the work done and paid by your employer enabled you to write that cheque and that wotk is sanctified if you offer your working day to God and then there is the intent in your heart to help others that is motivated by LOVE.

We can and do fall from grace this is our free will and that free will can then repent and again we are in God’s grace and the very fact we repent is due to God’s grace, we are free to respond to it. We are not saved simply because we profess faith, we must by our hearts and minds reflect our faith and live our faith. You also know that God is not keeping a list of all your sins, once they are confessed and absolved God forgets them, they are gone, your soul is shining and newly crafted by the grace of His Absolution and aided in this with graces to resist those sins again in the future.

The beautitudes refer to ministering physically, mentally and spiritually to our brothers and sisters.

Your desire to do more is zealous and zeal for God is a great grace.

Say a simple prayer to God from your heart along the lines of…‘I am trying as you know to give your love to all I meet, you know all my works and let them remain secret between you and I Father, please Father increase my zeal to do more and by your grace enable me to do more not for my glory, but for your Glory Father.’

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
Almsgiving indeed is a good work (feed the hungry, for example, if you donate it to a food pantry). There is no fixed minimum of good work to do. Some people are bedridden, lead a short life, come to God late in life, so many factors. Rather, look at each day as your opportunity to donate your life to God. Live for Christ, as it is he who has made you alive. Look around each day and see what it is that is your duty to do that day, and do it well, with love and devotion. Give your time to God. Of course, you need to rest and relax, but He wants you to do that, so you are doing it for him.

I don’t know your circumstances, but to pray for sinners or to pray for people to return to the Church or to pray for those in jail are something you could do. Pray to God and ask him to lead you to the apostolate or ministry or whatever that he wants for you. Maybe he will answer with a notice in the bulletin for a ministry at your church, or maybe not so obviously. If you can drive, you could offer to bring senior citizens to their doctor appointments, the possibilities are endless. But only do what after prayer seems like the right thing. You must also rest and relax enough.
 
We are called to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, all of our strength, and all of our mind. God desires nothing less – He wants our entire self.
 
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dumspirospero:
I guess the question was worded wrong…I did not intend to come across as “wanting to do the minimums, just to make it to heaven”…I was just wondering if there was any Church teaching that outlined how many works we should do or monies we should donate such as there is a certain percentage of tithings we should give to the Church…you understand what I am trying to ask?

Also, I was hoping for more examples of how I could expand my works, so I can fit them into my schedule when I don’t have time to volunteer.
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Go read Maendem’s post again. I think you missed part of it.

The way that you ask the question is troublesome; it sounds somewhat close to what the Protestants accuse us of; trying to buy our way into Heaven.

If you want some scripture to reflect on, go read the Synoptics account of the young man who comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to obtain Eternal Life.

Then read it again. It is not a counting game, or a series of tickets you have to get punched. It is an attitude and way of life.
 
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