What is the lesson for us to learn here? Jesus’ incredible promise of His graces and mercy, if we pursue them, would trigger a strong desire in each of us to run after Him yelling How much diligence, perseverance and sacrifice many will work to attain an earthly goal (e.g. a career, a degree, a prized trophy). This is because the goal to us is something very desirable, the fruit of which is something we enjoy in this world. Yet, how insignificant are these goals compared with the infinite and eternal prize offered to each of us in the next life; and how few people work with the same diligence, perseverance and sacrifice to attain it. And yet, our entire life on earth is but a time to prepare for that moment of entrance into eternal life. So we are at choice as to whether we squander these precious years, being preoccupied mainly with passing pleasures and temporal projects. Or we can use them well, keeping our mind and heart fixed on that eternal goal.
No matter how rich we are, we cannot buy our way into Heaven, it is a free gift from Jesus. But like any gift, it isn’t ours until we choose to accept it from Him. Accepting the gift in order to gain Heaven comes with a price – we are to live our life as Jesus showed us by His example, and we are to obey the Ten Commandments, along with the great commandment of love. Jesus was Love during His life on earth, and we are called to be the same. I know that the acts of love that we have shown throughout our life will count the most with Jesus when we appear before Him at our judgment.
When our life on this earth ends, we will no longer be able to add or subtract from our preparation to enter into the next life. The state of our soul will be fixed for all eternity. For us who die in the state of grace, the capacity of the soul to enjoy the beatitude of heaven eternally will be determined by the extent that the grace received at baptism has grown when we leave this world. We take from this world only the graces that we have merited by our faithfulness in this life, including masses attended, rosaries said, devotions, acts of kindness towards others, the love that we have spread around this planet, and whatever we have done to make a difference.
Every soul in heaven will be perfectly happy, with their mind and heart in direct union with God. As Pope Benedict XII declared in his Constitution “Benedictus Deus, the Blessed in heaven “see God’s essence directly, and face to face [the Beatific Vision], and thus the souls of the departed enjoy the divine nature, and are thereby rendered truly happy in the possession of eternal life and peace.”
The Blessed will see in the beatific vision all that in any way concerns them, and whatever they rightfully desire to know. They will see the love of the Heart of Jesus for mankind in redeeming us, and they will comprehend the swords of sorrow that pierced our Blessed Mother’s heart. Jesus will be the intimate personal friend of all who enter Heaven.
In the beatific vision the Blessed will know whatever they will want to know concerning their families, their friends, the projects they left behind. They will know when prayers are offered on their behalf, and when their intercession is being sought before the throne of God.
In the beatific vision, nothing will ever be able to interrupt the awareness, praise and adoration of God by the Blessed. Likewise, friendships of family and friends begun here on earth will continue in heaven.
The Blessed in heaven will be able to communicate with the angels somehow – there will be a communication of knowledge and sharing of love. We will have the eternal friendship and companionship of our guardian angel that helped us in many ways during our life on earth.
The Blessed in heaven will see God in every creature, in every human soul and angel in that heavenly kingdom.
(Note: Considerable material in this article is from Fr. Paul A. Duffner, O.P.)
The faithful Christians who have died and gone before us must still atone for their sins. The time they spend in Purgatory cleanses their soul so that they can enter Heaven free from all stain of sin. The Baltimore Catechism defines Purgatory as a state in which those who suffer for a time are guilty of venial sins or without satisfying the punishment due to their sins.
In section 1030 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we read: All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.
Since few people achieve perfection in this life but, rather, go to the grave still scarred with traces of sinfulness, some period of purification seems necessary before a soul comes face-to-face with God. The prayers of the living can speed the process of purification.
Praying for the dead, especially for those we have known, is a requirement of Christian charity. Our own prayers and sacrifices can be offered up to relieve their suffering. As our prayers rise up to Heaven, mercy pours on the souls in Purgatory in torrents of grace, forgiveness, freedom and glory.
“We need to be greedy for graces for the souls in purgatory,” said Susan Tass one, author of several books to help release the holy souls in purgatory. “When the soul leaves the body, the time for merit is up. The soul is helpless. That’s why they need our prayers — the Rosary, Adoration, the Way of the Cross and, most of all, the Mass. The Masses we have offered for the souls in purgatory are the best gift we can give to our beloved dead. That’s because the Mass is the highest form of worship, the highest form of prayer.”
St. Padre Pio said: “I have made a pact with the Lord; when my soul has been purified in the flames of purgatory and deemed worthy to bead mitted to the presence of God, I will take my place at the gate of paradise, but I shall not enter until I have seen the last of my spiritual children enter.”
St. John of the Cross wrote when asked if souls can avoid purgatory: “Divine providence always provides in every life the purification that is needed to allow us to go straight to heaven when we die.” What St. John of the Cross means is that God in His mercy allows trials, suffering, sicknesses and hardships to fall upon us during life so that we can go straight to heaven when we die. Why then do we not go straight to heaven? Simply because when such hardships and sufferings come upon us we rebel. We do not want to carry our cross after Jesus. [From a homily by Fr. Tommy Lane, Ireland]
Many people do not believe in hell. There are others who believe in hell but think that very few go there. It might be a place for fallen angels, but only a very few human beings end up there, the most notorious sinners, perhaps. Since God is all merciful and loving, how could He confine a person to such immense suffering for all eternity?
Many, perhaps, would water down a belief in eternal damnation because it is too much to bear, or they imagine that this terrible catastrophe couldn’t happen to them. Or, perhaps, since some don’t want to give up their present life style, they go into denial, or put out of their minds such dreadful thoughts. There is no proof of it anyway, so why worry about it? Preachers should not preach about it because it leaves a bad taste, smacks of fire and brimstone, which is out of fashion and something of the past.
How do we determine the truth about Hell? To find an answer, we turn to Sacred Scripture and place our total belief and submission to the mind of Christ readily accessible in the Gospel. Jesus is warning us that real people go there when He says:
"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few." (Matthew 7:13–14).
In the Apostles’ Creed, there is a phrase, “He descended into hell;” which has made people speculate on Jesus’ destination. Was it to Limbo, which was the waiting place for souls ready to enter the Kingdom, or was it the real Hell? The answer is revealed in the book Warning from the Beyond by the human demon Judas Iscariot during an exorcism, when he said: “He came right down to Hell, and not only to Limbo, where the souls were waiting.” And to the exorcist question: “Why did He go down to Hell?” He said: “To show that he died also for us. It was terrible for us [demons].”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches about hell:
“To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated from him forever by our own free choice. This state of definitive, self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called ‘hell’.” [Section 1033]
"The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, ‘eternal fire.’ The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs." [Section 1035]
What we are learning is that the persons going to Hell suffer a complete abandonment and separation from God without the possibility of ever being reunited with their Creator and His love. So we must become totally aware of how we are living our life, before it’s too late, because we may be unconsciously choosing to go to hell.
Thus the issue that some will go to hell is decided, but the issue of who in particular will go to hell is undecided. We know God is merciful, but He is also just! Let’s don’t push our luck, but rather, remain faithful to give ourselves the best chance of attaining our #1 goal in life, heaven.
Hell, for all eternity, is such a dreadful thought that we don’t want anyone, even our enemies, to go there. God’s mercy stops the moment of death, so we must always be prepared. Through our prayers, sufferings and fasting, we can save the souls of many of our family members and friends, who are living in sin or have turned their back on God.
[Read the section on Hell in the book for more details.]
I pray that whoever opens this book will be deeply touched by the Holy Spirit in the most profound way and that their life will be changed according to His will.