"I personally hold that there are saints in heaven who would not be in heaven if they had not sinned mortally. Sin is sometimes a necessary purification for our pride." (p 163)
As long as there is a hint of self-satisfaction in us, we will not be able to feel the full impact of grace (that flows from divine mercy). Jesus came to call sinners, not the good guys. We can tell him, 'I'm that sort of guy that you've became man to save. The sort of man you're looking for.' ... I am an obvious case for the Lord. The tougher the case I am, the more interest he has in the job. The more difficult it is to make me a saint, the more glory he gets from the power of his grace.
"God planned this world to be glorified by his mercy and grace. His grace is almost synonymous with His mercy. Merit and justice belong to the next life. This life is a time for mercy. I would go as far as to say, and I would not like to be quoted theologically on this because it needs proper expression, that God never punishes individuals in this life. Rather, he only corrects them. He will come down on you like a ton of bricks sometimes, but it is not just to take it out on you. It is to correct you and to give you a chance for making up for what you lost.
"His punishments in this life, if we can call them that, are always corrective and medicinal. They are planned to repair what you have lost by your infidelity or your sins. He never judges us in this life; he saves us. Our whole union with God in this life is based on the fact that we are sinners and he is saving us from our sins. I dare to say that your sins are the most effective means you have of affecting divine union. They draw down the mercy of God.
"Our Lord insisted that he came to look for sinners, not for saints (Mk 2:17). For lost sheep (Lk 15:3-7). For prodigal sons (Lk 15:11-32). I think you can find some of these headings in which you could put yourself."
-Eugene Boylan, Partnership with Christ, p xx
