It is Necessary to Keep Good Catholic
Friendships & Relationships
It is necessary for all single Catholics of all ages to really take care that they surround themselves with good and dedicated fellow Catholics that regularly attend the Catholic Mass, receive the Sacraments of the Catholic Church and who follow the teachings of Jesus and the Catholic Church diligently.
If one is to follow Christ throughout their lives in order to gain Heavenly salvation, it becomes imperative that the friends, acquaintances and even future spouses that single Catholics eventually have, must have the moral values that Christ wants each person to have in order to go to Heaven. True, good Catholic friends want their friends also to go to Heaven and do not try to persuade or mislead their friends to sin or to disobey Jesus or God. Good Catholic friends encourage and help others to follow the Commandments of God, the teachings of Jesus and the Catholic Church.
Jesus warns everyone about becoming friendly with people who can mislead and lead us astray by telling us that it is all right to do "whatever we want" and that it is all right to do "what everyone else is doing". It is not good to follow what everyone else is doing or following what society thinks is all right to do because many people in this world are not leading good lives and some even outwardly go out of their way to disobey and defy Jesus and God. So, it becomes necessary that single Catholics separate themselves from those people who disregard the teachings of Jesus and the Catholic Church so that they will not be led into the same sinful way of life that those people are leading.
In Scripture, Jesus warns His people about making sure that they do not associate with bad or evil people. (Matt. 7:16-20): "By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So, by their fruits, you will know them."
In this passage, Jesus is saying that you will know how to judge people by looking at the things that they do and the lives they lead. If they are doing good things that help people to do good, then they are bearing good fruit. But, those people who we may observe that are not following and are sinning against God and Jesus, are not bearing good fruit. Jesus also warns that those people who disobey God and who do not repent, will eventually be thrown into the everlasting fire.
Good questions to ask these potential friends before thinking about pursuing a friendship with them is:
Does this person believe in God, Jesus, Our Blessed Mother, the Saints and the Angels? Does he or she attend Catholic Mass every week? Does this person go to Confession and receive Holy Communion regularly? If a person does not believe in God or even attend to the basic precepts of the Catholic faith by attending Mass regularly or does not receive Holy Communion regularly then this person does not believe in the Catholic faith and should be avoided.
Does this person believe in abortion or contraception? Does this person use drugs or drink alcohol a lot? Does this person use foul language on a regular basis? Does this person think same sex marriages are acceptable? Does this person believe that sex or fooling around before marriage is acceptable? Does this person think that cohabitation (living with a boyfriend or girlfriend) is acceptable? If a person answered "yes" to any of these questions, this person obviously does not believe in the Catholic faith because these are all contrary to Jesus and would be advisable not to pursue friendships with these types of people.
These are the types of questions that single Catholics should be asking these potential friends before they even think about having these friendships. If any of the answers to these questions are contrary against God, then single Catholics should not pursue friendships with these types of people because these people are not taking Catholicism seriously and may even cause someone to fall from their Catholic faith.
Jesus also warns those people who try to lead innocent children astray by saying: (Matt. 18:6) "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. " Therefore, also we Catholics must make sure that we do not show children, or teenagers a bad example so that it will not cause them to be led astray. Anyone who leads any child astray will be held accountable by God.
