Sunday Gospel

 Some bigoted anti-Catholics get tied up worrying about who is going to heaven or hell. I suppose it is a Catholic belief that some will be saved and others will not.  Some Protestants believe in a thing called predestination. I've never been able to get my head around it. I can understand that God knows who will be saved, but I doubt if He has planned it that way. I feel that anyone can be saved and that God is rooting for all mankind to choose to be with Him. 

Another problem I perceive with bigoted anti-catholics is a renouncement of reality. It's as if they can make up their own religion. Nobody invented Christianity. It is the truth as revealed by the Creator. You can moan and bitch about it as much as you like, but it will not change a thing. 

Finally, as today's Gospel shows, Christianity draws us to love. Love God and love mankind. Some BAC* will say that sending people to hell isn't love. The Catholic belief is that such people make a choice. This is not just after we die, but every moment of our lives. The call to be saints means encapsulating everything Jesus has taught and applying it in everyday circumstances. 

From the Gospel according to Mark
Mk 12:28b-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
"Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Jesus replied, "The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these."
The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
'He is One and there is no other than he.'
And 'to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself'
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him,
"You are not far from the kingdom of God."
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Have fun but don't sin.

* bigoted anti-Catholics