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"Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For the who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Sp irit reap eternal life." ~ Galatians 6:7-8
In this verse, we ha ve encapsulated the entire Catholic teaching concerning the idea of "merit. " Many people think that when the Church speaks of "merit" she means "extra good deed you do to make up for Jesus' inadequate efforts at atonement for sin." But this completely misunderstands the Church's teaching. In reality , everything that we do that contributes to our salvation is the result of the grace of Christ, not a supplement to or a cause of grace. Sowing to t he Spirit (seeking God consistently in prayer, or doing works of mercy, o r faithfully approaching the sacraments), is not a thing we do to put God in our debt. We do this because God is at work in us already and inspiring us to obey Him. When we do obey Him we mysteriously... |