It's easy to be perfectly charitable, never lose your temper, etc. when you withdraw yourself from human society.

Doesn't that include online groups?

I've heard many people complain about how CathInfo is a challenge to their spiritual life. You show me a person who says that, and I'll show you a person who is challenged by human beings IRL as well. I'll show you a flawed human being who still needs to work on his/her virtue.

So what's the answer? Run away and pretend you're a saint? Or valiantly continue fighting the Spiritual Combat? We, the Church Militant, must continue this fight until death. Avoiding our brethren is NOT the answer.

My point: you might think you never commit sin because you stay at home all the time by yourself. But guess what? The idea that you have strong virtue, when you're never tested, is a deception. One gains strength *only* by practicing a virtue. There is no shortcut, no free lunch, no other way.

Keeping a *fake, apparent* peace of soul by "running away" is the equivalent of a cancer (chemotherapy) patient, who is forced to isolate himself from people due to his extremely weak immune system.

The devil's just waiting to throw a stumbling block in the way, to show you just how much virtue, just how much patience you *don't* have. It's best to build up patience (or other virtues) instead -- even though that means work, and occasionally getting dirty.

It's easy to have a perfect score, a no-loss record, when you never play the game.


"Oh, but it's only *CathInfo* members that make me angry. Only them."

Sure. I believe you. Whatever you say.
Even holy men and women who enter a convent or monastery discover (to their dismay) that they have *plenty* of opportunities to practice charity. Where there are human beings, even holy ones advanced in virtue (as found in a religious house), you will be exercised in the practice of all kinds of virtues: charity, patience, anger control, guarding one's ears and speech, etc.
Read any Lives of the Saints to see this.

There's a story from an early Church Fathers about a hermit that his followers held to be the holiest man on earth.  I'm sure I'm messing up the details here, since I heard this quite a few years ago.  But one of his followers asked God if he was in fact the holiest person on earth.  God said no, and then showed the man a vision of a woman who was living with and having to take care of her sister, who was an incredibly insufferable individual ... and yet she did it with patience and kindness.

Great points Matthew, the only thing I would add is that there are some who are called by God to live as hermits and that is how God preordained that they would work out their salvation, but they are also tempted by the devil more directly and even directly attacked, etc.  

Either way, yes, no one who reaches the age of reason and beyond will get to Heaven without being tested and practicing virtue of some kind even if they are alone as a hermit living off the land.