We are all beggars at the door of God’s mercy
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Q. I was stunned to hear a talk-show person saying that someone is not going to heaven. I was taught that even a last-minute act of contrition or even a plea to God or an expression of remorse would assure us of a place in heaven. Could you clarify this?
A. I don’t know this individual’s religious beliefs, of course, but from the viewpoint of Catholic teaching and that of most other mainline Christian traditions, the statement was shamefully uninformed and shallow.
Even some Catholics seem equally unaware of (or maybe they just don’t accept) Catholic and common Christian belief, which pretty much parallels what you said. God’s grace is always at work in each of us as long as we live.
Sadly, some people have just enough faith to believe in a God who judges us, but not enough to believe in a God who loves us. So they believe their surest way of pleasing God is to judge others as well.
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