I was raised a Catholic. I went to Catholic grammar school and high school. I was an altar boy. I contributed part of my allowance to some organization that focused on saving pagan babies whatever that meant.
I believed (and I still do) that according to Catholicism, entry into Heaven is a straightforward proposition. You want good deeds to equal or exceed bad deeds/sins. You want to be at least net zero when you stand in front of the Pearly Gates.
Easy enough to understand. Except that I don’t know where I stand. I don’t know if I have more sins than good deeds or vice versa. So, I have written to the Pope asking for a monthly statement. If the statement shows that I have more sins than good deeds, I will do some good deeds. On the other hand, if I have a good deed surplus, then I would consider doing some sinning.
The Pope has not responded. I know he is new to his job, so I am sure that he is busy.
If all you need is net zero, why be a saint? Why be, for example, Mother Theresa who I am sure was a plus 1000 good deeds when she died? She and I are both getting in. Think of all the sinning she could have done.
So, I believe that there is a brochure that describes what you can get with your extra good deed points. Plus 500 points equals a Heaven condo upgrade. Plus 1000 points is a year’s membership at the Pearly Gates Country Club.
I have written to the Pope asking for a copy of the brochure.
While I wait for his answers, I have begun to record sins and good deeds using the ledger below. I am also going to send the Pope a draft of the brochure (interesting that ChatGPT misspelled Membership.) He can pass these onto the brochure design team
I do need to ask the Pope for guidance on one topic for my sin ledger.
The area I may have the most trouble with is the sin of “impure thoughts.” These thoughts are defined as anything considered to pollute the mind or turn it away from virtue. That covers a lot of territory. If I think that a particular politician is a moron, appreciate an attractive person or watch a raunchy comedy show, I have sinned. I am sure I sin a hundred times a day.
I’ll never get into Heaven.