One cannot expect to ignore the Holy Spirit and receive his blessings at the same time.
One cannot expect to ignore God’s will and yet receive the benefits of following Him.
One cannot treat God as a hobby and expect to be treated as His son or daughter.
One cannot blow off the teachings of the Church yet expect to receive its benefits unabated.
One cannot spread discord, detraction, and calumny and call yourself a loyal son or daughter.
One cannot allow the sin of another, real or perceived, to be cause and justification for one’s own sin.
We can only reap the crop we sow.
We will have the measure used on us that we used on others.
This is why Catholicism is hard. The focus of judging actions always starts with the manner in which they either judge or give license to their own sin. It is in this that we understand the necessity we have for God’s mercy and necessity we have to be agents of God’s mercy: neither ignoring or enabling sin, but always calling to holiness.
[See also: A Priest Explains the Most Powerful Tool of the Devil – And How to Defeat It]
[See also: The Meaning of the Mysterious Third Secret of Fatima, According to Cardinal Ratzinger]