Do We Make this too Complicated?

Not trying to be rude, but I'm a little confused on what it is you're trying to say with this post. In the beginning you make it sound as if all of the Church's treasury of knowledge in some way contributes to you forgetting to love your neighbor. Yet when you give an example, it has to do with the time you spend indulging in secular media.


Then you post the verses from Christ who says we must love our neighbor as ourselves, but what does Christ mean by that, friend?

What does it mean to love ourselves?
What does it mean to love our neighbor?
What does it mean to love God with our whole heart, soul, and mind?

It's true we can overcomplicate matters, but we can over simplify them as well. Christ gave us the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, to teach and guide us to the fulfillment of those two commandments. This is why you study the Catechism, and read the Bible and the commentaries according to the Spirit of the Church.

Without the Church as our guide, our love is always going to be superficial.

 

But to know that the most important thing is to Love the Lord your God with all your heart ... and Love your neighbor as yourself, is not the same as to be able to do it. You know that we (not only addicts but all human beings) are enslaved by the aftermath of the original sin - egoism, selfishness, pride etc. and that our will strength is very limited. That's why we have to have some means of receiving God's grace which gradually will be giving us more freedom and power plus the change of mindset called metanoia. And only by this grace we are able to Love the Lord our God with all your heart ... and Love our neighbor as yourself, more and more.

So, the question is how to receive that grace and the answer gives the church and her instructions (teachings) what to do to gain that grace in the best possible way. As you know (believe) the best means of salvation (means to receive graces - actual and increasing habitual) has the Catholic Church. That's why it's very important to read, listen to materials which will enable us to get to know and use more and more working tools giving us the God's graces.
In comparison it's like someone who wants to earn two milion dollars a year but in an honest way, using the money to help his family and to help lots of people working in his company. To be able to manage the company he has to be very well educated in business matters, economics etc. To get to know this he has to study a lot of all connected to his business. All the knowledge will make him successful.

The same with faith. You know why I am PMO free. No therapies, no therapists, no psychological tricks, no help from other people, no therapeutic groups. I'm free because I studied Catholic theology on grace , on my own for 2 long years , every day. I got to know what I lacked and I started using it. And still being an active PMO addict I wouldn't for sure be able to try to Love the Lord our God with all your heart ... and Love our neighbor as yourself because of frequent lack of grace.

 

Not all anger is sinful or uncharitable; there is righeous anger. Our Lord after all called Pharasises a brood of vipers and also wipped and turned over tables in the temple with the money changers. There are times, while rare, when anger does not oppose love of neighbor. We are called to be loving, we are not called to be doormats.

 

But .... what is love? Is it the love which sang Haddaway about? There is a secular common meaning of love - that is being nice to others, avoiding any conflicts to not to cause bad atmosphere etc.
And what is to love one another?
John 15:13 - ' Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.'
So, Christ's definition of love is different than we assume commonly.