Sometimes we can become too focused on sin. That might sound surprising, because it seems like the world around us is not focused on sin at all—and there’s truth in that. Yet even within the Church, we can fall into the opposite error: we can make sin and morality the entire focus of our faith, reducing Christianity to a system of rules.
Faith, however, is far more than moralism. Even if we somehow managed to live our entire lives without committing a single sin, that alone would not make us perfect. It would not make us true imitators of Christ. Christ did not simply avoid sin—he went far beyond that. He lived a life of perfect charity, of complete self-giving love. He lived as those in heaven live, fully united to the love of God.
That is what he calls us to as well: perfection, holiness, and the life of heaven. The Beatitudes describe that life. They show us what heaven looks like—where the meek, the merciful, the clean of heart, and the poor in spirit dwell in joy. This is the life the saints now enjoy, and it is the life we are called to begin living even now.
There is far more to the Christian life than simply not sinning. It is possible to avoid sin and still not be meek, still not be poor in spirit, still not be merciful. Our examination of conscience, therefore, should not stop at the commandments or the moral precepts of the Church. Those are essential, yes—but we must also measure ourselves against the Beatitudes.
We are learning in this life how to live as the saints live in heaven. That is the only way to reach heaven: by choosing to live the life of heaven here and now. In the end, that is the choice before every soul—do we desire the life of the Beatitudes, or do we prefer the life of pride, greed, and self-centeredness?
It is a choice we make daily, through the way we live. We cannot drift through life unthinkingly, doing whatever we please, and imagine that heaven is guaranteed simply because we went to confession often enough. Confession restores us, but it is not a substitute for conversion.
We must truly desire to live as the saints live—to love what they love and to be conformed to Christ as they were. Yes, we will fail at times, and God in his mercy will forgive us. But we must keep trying.
So let us make a renewed effort this year to use the Beatitudes—indeed, the whole Sermon on the Mount—as our guide and examination of conscience. Let us strive to embody within ourselves the virtues it proclaims, that we may truly imitate Christ and begin to live and love the very life of heaven, so that one day we may join with all the saints in everlasting joy.