Angelic Virtues and Demonic Vices: Aquinas's Practical Principles for Reaching Heaven and Avoiding Hell

Are we truly striving for heaven or merely avoiding hell? The human heart’s greatest longing is to see God as He is. And yet, many people simply want to escape hell’s pain, or even worse, they follow our disordered fallen nature in choosing sinful pleasures. Our Lord said the road to heaven is narrow, but the road to hell is wide (see Matt. 7:13). Is choosing the road to heaven merely wanting to avoid pain, or is it actively pursuing the greatest good beyond imagining? Do we choose the good...