Some things help us. Jesus, Mary, The Church, the Sacraments, Saints, Angels, family, good advice, medicine, sustenance, and good friends help us.
On the other hands, there are things that will hurt us badly. Jesus, in Mark 7: 21-23, lets us know what these things are:
“He summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.
“From within people, from their hearts,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.”
Just as we have fire and burglar alarms to let us know if our property is in danger, we should set some mental alarms to go off if when we sense the appearance of the twelve things that will hurt us badly. We should ask our Guardian Angel to alert us when the endanger us.
The twelve things that will make us unfit for Heaven are: unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, and folly. We should memorize them, so we can warn others. “Watch out!” we can say. “Jesus said that blasphemy was cause for being defiled, which keeps souls out of heaven.”
We will be surprised at how many people don’t want to be reminded of such things. But, those who do are grateful, though usually not at the time of the reminder.
We may remember the things that will hurt us badly with a twelve letter acronym: “UTMAG. M.D. LEBAF.
UTMAG represents the first five: unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, and greed. Utmag. Five things that will hurt us badly.
No doctor can cure UTMAG, and we remember that with M.D., standing for murder and deceit.
LEBAF are the remaining five things that will hurt us badly. They are licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, and folly.
It’s a good idea to remember them. They are things that will hurt us badly, if we let them.
