I have maybe 25 years left to live

[The Great Goose]

Blackrook, my father was a catholic monk. I know a great deal on these matters.

I'm sorry to say, most of us are going to hell. From what you've said I find it highly unlikely that God wants you by his side. It's ok. It happens to a lot of people. All I'm saying is, just brace for worst. It's good to be prepared.

 

[Boss]

I don't want to try and convert you or change you. I would like to address this idea you have that you've got 25 years left. You don't know how much time you have left. You could only have a minute or two left... you might have 50 years left. My advice, when it comes to your soul and spirit, is to live each minute like it's your last. Don't forsake your spiritual guidance. But probably, more important than anything else, don't get caught up in the concept of time as it relates to your redemption or status. God doesn't know time. What is in your heart at this moment and every moment is all that's important. You can't change the past, all you can do is manage the present.

I understand completely that I could die in my sleep tonight. If that happens, there is no hope for me. I am not in a state of friendship with God. I know it, he knows it, and if I die tonight, my decision to reject his friendship will become permanent.

And I am saying you only THINK there is no hope for you. That's because your mind is caught up in the concept of time. You see this long life behind you where you haven't been faithful to God and you think some amount of time is required to make up for that... but time is a concept only we are aware of. To God, time is nothing. God doesn't have a clock running on you... that's YOUR perception, not God's. What matters to God is what is inside your heart. Unlike another human being, God doesn't need time to develop a friendship with you.

You can't worry about... oh, I am doomed if I die anytime soon... that's just your mind being prejudiced by the concept of time which God doesn't need. Starting this moment, make your commitment to God to be the best you can be in whatever your guided spiritual belief leads you to be. Stand by that daily in all you do. That's really ALL you can do.

 

[The Great Goose]

I don't want to try and convert you or change you. I would like to address this idea you have that you've got 25 years left. You don't know how much time you have left. You could only have a minute or two left... you might have 50 years left. My advice, when it comes to your soul and spirit, is to live each minute like it's your last. Don't forsake your spiritual guidance. But probably, more important than anything else, don't get caught up in the concept of time as it relates to your redemption or status. God doesn't know time. What is in your heart at this moment and every moment is all that's important. You can't change the past, all you can do is manage the present.

I understand completely that I could die in my sleep tonight. If that happens, there is no hope for me. I am not in a state of friendship with God. I know it, he knows it, and if I die tonight, my decision to reject his friendship will become permanent.

And I am saying you only THINK there is no hope for you. That's because your mind is caught up in the concept of time. You see this long life behind you where you haven't been faithful to God and you think some amount of time is required to make up for that... but time is a concept only we are aware of. To God, time is nothing. God doesn't have a clock running on you... that's YOUR perception, not God's. What matters to God is what is inside your heart. Unlike another human being, God doesn't need time to develop a friendship with you.

You can't worry about... oh, I am doomed if I die anytime soon... that's just your mind being prejudiced by the concept of time which God doesn't need. Starting this moment, make your commitment to God to be the best you can be in whatever your guided spiritual belief leads you to be. Stand by that daily in all you do. That's really ALL you can do.

why give him false hope? Compassion is what he needs right now. The man has made peace with his inevitable oblivion and you stir him up?

The fact is, sayings like, "It's never too late" are a lie. No amount of confession or mass attendance can save this benighted soul. What's done is done and now all he needs is the courage to face his destiny, maybe even sin more so, just to enjoy what little time he has left.

 

[HaShev]

Hate to bring you bad news, but you might have less then 25 years if Uber gets all those driverless cars put on the road. Yikes!

 

[Mudda]

I have maybe 25 years left to live. And, taking the long view, 25 years is an incredibly short period of time. I moved to Las Vegas in 1998, which was 19 years ago, and the beginning of this stage in my life, and it seems like it wasn't even all that long ago.

So really, what's 25 years? Nothing.

So I'm a Roman Catholic. But I haven't been a very good Roman Catholic. I believe in all of it, but I haven't followed through with prayer and action. I've spent my days just muddling through, trying to make a living, trying to obey the Ten Commandments, trying to raise my family the right way, but I very rarely talk to God, and I almost always miss Mass on Sunday.

So what happens to a guy like me when it's over? It's a complicated answer, but the Catholic faith has interesting rules that make it somewhat of a crapshoot. If I manage to make a Confession to a priest before I die, I go to heaven. If I don't make it to confession before I die, all my failure to pray and failure to attend Mass on Sunday means I will either spend a very long time in purgatory, or I will go to hell.

I have two choices:

1) I can continue on this path of not paying much attention, and then take the crapshoot; or

2) I can straighten out my act, pray every day, go to Mass every Sunday, go to Confession on a regular basis, and avoid such sins as cussing, swearing, and (*), and then even if I die suddenly without getting to a priest, I will still get to heaven.

So you see, the second option is obviously smarter, but the first option is much easier, and it doesn't help that I am a lazy person when it comes to spiritual matters.

Any advice? And please, let's not hear from the usual people who will want to take this thread as an other opportunity to bash Catholicism. All you will do is annoy me, because I want an answer to my problem from a Catholic point of view, or even a Protestant point of view. If you hate Catholicism, I don't care, you're not going to persuade me. If you try to talk me out of Catholicism, you might as well try to tell me to cut off my right arm, because that's the way it is with me and Catholicism.

Don't worry, we're all going to the same place, whatever that may be. Religion is just a con job. So relax.

 

[Mudda]

Wait until you have about 8 years left to live. Or less. Time flies.


Reopen your heart to fall back in love again with God. Just because you want or pray for something doesn't mean an automatic "yes". Sometimes He says No, because He knows more than you do.

Total crap. Do you just make this shit up as you go along?

 

[gipper]

And just so you know what kind of Catholic I am, my wife and I haven't used birth control since 1994, except once, and I felt bad about it and went to confession.

And we don't eat fish on Friday during Lent. And we fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

But then we blow it and don't go to Mass on Sunday.

It doesn't make any sense, but I have to attribute it mostly to laziness.

Don't need to go to Mass to be a good Christian. If you think going to Mass will benefit you, go then.

Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. That is all you need to know.

 

[Mudda]

I have maybe 25 years left to live. And, taking the long view, 25 years is an incredibly short period of time. I moved to Las Vegas in 1998, which was 19 years ago, and the beginning of this stage in my life, and it seems like it wasn't even all that long ago.

So really, what's 25 years? Nothing.

So I'm a Roman Catholic. But I haven't been a very good Roman Catholic. I believe in all of it, but I haven't followed through with prayer and action. I've spent my days just muddling through, trying to make a living, trying to obey the Ten Commandments, trying to raise my family the right way, but I very rarely talk to God, and I almost always miss Mass on Sunday.

So what happens to a guy like me when it's over? It's a complicated answer, but the Catholic faith has interesting rules that make it somewhat of a crapshoot. If I manage to make a Confession to a priest before I die, I go to heaven. If I don't make it to confession before I die, all my failure to pray and failure to attend Mass on Sunday means I will either spend a very long time in purgatory, or I will go to hell.

I have two choices:

1) I can continue on this path of not paying much attention, and then take the crapshoot; or

2) I can straighten out my act, pray every day, go to Mass every Sunday, go to Confession on a regular basis, and avoid such sins as cussing, swearing, and (*), and then even if I die suddenly without getting to a priest, I will still get to heaven.

So you see, the second option is obviously smarter, but the first option is much easier, and it doesn't help that I am a lazy person when it comes to spiritual matters.

Any advice? And please, let's not hear from the usual people who will want to take this thread as an other opportunity to bash Catholicism. All you will do is annoy me, because I want an answer to my problem from a Catholic point of view, or even a Protestant point of view. If you hate Catholicism, I don't care, you're not going to persuade me. If you try to talk me out of Catholicism, you might as well try to tell me to cut off my right arm, because that's the way it is with me and Catholicism.

The right choices in life also result in better quality of life,
better mental and physical health,
better relationships and harmony with society, environment and nature.

There are other reasons to live consistently with the laws of nature,
balancing faith and reason, and satisfying standards on what is
the most ethical course of action that benefits the greater good of all people.

The same things that lead to "heaven" lead to peace on earth,
peace of mind by forgiving and correcting wrongs, errors and problems for sake of truth and justice.

You don't have to believe in anything unnatural or not proven to be the more reasonable healthier choice.

Right, but you didn't pay attention to what I said. I said I am a Roman Catholic. I said I believe in Roman Catholicism. I said I believe that if I continue on my current course for the next 25 years or so of my life, I will probably go to hell.

That is the question I have asked you to give me advice on. Don't tell me Catholicism isn't proven, don't tell me hell is not real, don't tell me I should worry about this life and not the next. None of that helps me solve my problem.

I have maybe 25 years of life left and then if Catholicism is true, and I believe it is, I probably go to hell. That is the problem. Help me solve my problem.

Relax, there is no such thing as hell. And nobody can prove that there is.

 

[Mudda]

And just so you know what kind of Catholic I am, my wife and I haven't used birth control since 1994, except once, and I felt bad about it and went to confession.

And we don't eat fish on Friday during Lent. And we fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

But then we blow it and don't go to Mass on Sunday.

It doesn't make any sense, but I have to attribute it mostly to laziness.

Don't need to go to Mass to be a good Christian. If you think going to Mass will benefit you, go then.

Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. That is all you need to know.

Apparently, Jesus died on the cross for our sins, so that debt is already paid.

 

[Blackrook]

Non-existence doesn't comfort me. I'd rather exist, and be in hell, than not exist.

 

[The Great Goose]

Non-existence doesn't comfort me. I'd rather exist, and be in hell, than not exist.

Then sin, man! Sin like you've never sinned before.

Heaven. is. full.

 

[HaShev]

Whatever you do, don't settle for the Catholic idea of purgatory.
I hear it's like the Chinese Restaurant scene from Seinfeld, where you have to wait forever to be seated.

 

[irosie91]

Whatever you do, don't settle for the Catholic idea of purgatory.
I hear it's like the Chinese Restaurant scene from Seinfeld, where you have to wait forever to be seated.

Dante's PURGATORY was almost interesting----not as exciting as the INFERNO----but ----not as DEADLY DULL AS------PARADISE---
In paradise you wait for nothing----there is nothing to wait for

 

[Penelope]

And just so you know what kind of Catholic I am, my wife and I haven't used birth control since 1994, except once, and I felt bad about it and went to confession.

And we don't eat fish on Friday during Lent. And we fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

But then we blow it and don't go to Mass on Sunday.

It doesn't make any sense, but I have to attribute it mostly to laziness.

Don't need to go to Mass to be a good Christian. If you think going to Mass will benefit you, go then.

Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. That is all you need to know.

Apparently, Jesus died on the cross for our sins, so that debt is already paid.

that is only for Protestants, RC's do not believe in penal substitution.

 

[Penelope]

Non-existence doesn't comfort me. I'd rather exist, and be in hell, than not exist.

Were going to be in the same RC hell or spend a long time in purgatory, as I do not attend Mass anymore either.

 

[Mudda]

And just so you know what kind of Catholic I am, my wife and I haven't used birth control since 1994, except once, and I felt bad about it and went to confession.

And we don't eat fish on Friday during Lent. And we fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

But then we blow it and don't go to Mass on Sunday.

It doesn't make any sense, but I have to attribute it mostly to laziness.

Don't need to go to Mass to be a good Christian. If you think going to Mass will benefit you, go then.

Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. That is all you need to know.

Apparently, Jesus died on the cross for our sins, so that debt is already paid.

that is only for Protestants, RC's do not believe in penal substitution.

If it says so in the bible, they believe it.

 

[gipper]

And just so you know what kind of Catholic I am, my wife and I haven't used birth control since 1994, except once, and I felt bad about it and went to confession.

And we don't eat fish on Friday during Lent. And we fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

But then we blow it and don't go to Mass on Sunday.

It doesn't make any sense, but I have to attribute it mostly to laziness.

Don't need to go to Mass to be a good Christian. If you think going to Mass will benefit you, go then.

Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. That is all you need to know.

Apparently, Jesus died on the cross for our sins, so that debt is already paid.

that is only for Protestants, RC's do not believe in penal substitution.

If it says so in the bible, they believe it.

Yeah those damn Christians believe in the words of that nut Jesus.

But...Muslims get a pass on their belief in the mass murderer Mohammed...in the minds of leftists.

 

[Mudda]

And just so you know what kind of Catholic I am, my wife and I haven't used birth control since 1994, except once, and I felt bad about it and went to confession.

And we don't eat fish on Friday during Lent. And we fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

But then we blow it and don't go to Mass on Sunday.

It doesn't make any sense, but I have to attribute it mostly to laziness.

Don't need to go to Mass to be a good Christian. If you think going to Mass will benefit you, go then.

Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. That is all you need to know.

Apparently, Jesus died on the cross for our sins, so that debt is already paid.

that is only for Protestants, RC's do not believe in penal substitution.

If it says so in the bible, they believe it.

Yeah those damn Christians believe in the words of that nut Jesus.

But...Muslims get a pass on their belief in the mass murderer Mohammed...in the minds of leftists.

You can't really be a mooslim if you don't worship Mo.

 

[gipper]

Don't need to go to Mass to be a good Christian. If you think going to Mass will benefit you, go then.

Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. That is all you need to know.

Apparently, Jesus died on the cross for our sins, so that debt is already paid.

that is only for Protestants, RC's do not believe in penal substitution.

If it says so in the bible, they believe it.

Yeah those damn Christians believe in the words of that nut Jesus.

But...Muslims get a pass on their belief in the mass murderer Mohammed...in the minds of leftists.

You can't really be a mooslim if you don't worship Mo.

Missed my point...on purpose or what?

 

[Mudda]

Apparently, Jesus died on the cross for our sins, so that debt is already paid.

that is only for Protestants, RC's do not believe in penal substitution.

If it says so in the bible, they believe it.

Yeah those damn Christians believe in the words of that nut Jesus.

But...Muslims get a pass on their belief in the mass murderer Mohammed...in the minds of leftists.

You can't really be a mooslim if you don't worship Mo.

Missed my point...on purpose or what?

LOL, you're right, I misread it.
Leftists aren't giving dangerous mooslims a pass, where'd you hear that?