Heaven, Purgatory & Hell

01-08

In the middle ages the death of a king or queen provided great opportunities for pomp and circumstance, for pageantry and ceremony. One of the most insightful of these traditions surrounded the Hapsburg family, who at one time ruled over most of Europe and were arguably one of the most powerful families of medieval Europe.

When a member of this family would die, the body would be placed in its casket and a great procession would take place with hundreds of hundreds people taking part. The procession would go from the castle to the local Church where the funeral would take place. Upon arrival at the Church a chosen family member would walk forward and knock on the locked Church doors. The priest of the church would come to the door and answer it and as part of the ritual would ask “who was there?” The chosen family member would then say king so and so of the Hapsburg family and list all the accomplishments of the deceased. It did not matter how long or how short the list was or what accomplishments the deceased may have accomplished in his lifetime the priest would respond the same: “I have never heard of him” and then the priest would close the door. The chosen family member would then knock on the lock church door a second time and the priest would come to the door again and ask “who was there?” but this time the family remember would simply answer “a humble sinner”. And with that the priest would open the door and welcome everyone into the Church.

This ritual with all its pomp and circumstance served to remind everyone that entrance into the gates of heaven had nothing to do with one’s wealth or one’s accomplishments but rather rested solely on the mercy of God. This is what we celebrate this Easter that entrance into heaven has nothing to do with us but everything to do with God. Sacred Scripture constantly reminds us that it is not about our ability or strength but rather all about God’s amazing and saving grace.

We will never be rich enough to save our lives, for not even King Solomon with all his riches was able to escape death. We will never be strong enough to avoid death for not even the mighty judge Samson was able to vanquish death himself. We will never be in control enough to out maneuver death for not even the majestic King David was able make death bow down to him. We will never be holy enough to evade death for not even Moses, who talked to God face to face, was holy enough to enter into the promise land without God’s permission. We will never be moral or righteous enough to overcome death for not even the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was sinless, could enter into heaven without the death and resurrection of her Son.

If it was up to us we would ultimately fail but lucky for us it is not up to us: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him (John 3:16-17).”

And so we take comfort in knowing that Mary Magdalene who was known to be a huge sinner was welcome into heaven. We take comfort that Peter, who often put his foot in his mouth and denied Christ three times, was welcomed into heaven. We take comfort that John and James who were known for their temper and at one time in their life were seeking thrones of power were transformed by the grace of God and allowed to enter into heaven.

We celebrate therefore that entrance into heaven is all about God’s doing and not our own. The challenge for us is to live lives that will allow us to one day conform ourselves to the high ideals of heaven if heaven is a place of love then are we willing to love like Christ; if heaven is a place of forgiveness are we willing to forgive like Christ forgives; and if heaven is a place of acceptance are we willing to accept others as Christ does?

Despite His victory over sin and death, God will not go against our free will. He will invite but not force, He will encourage but not force, and He will assist but He will not force.

Are you living as one destined for heaven?

Photo by Jorge Martínez, instagram @jmartinezz9 on Unsplash

During the winter of 1914, World War I was in full swing and both sides found themselves immersed in a stale mate that the world had never seen before. With the invention of more modern weapons and trench warfare battles that use to last two days were now lasting for months with no end in sight. What made the situation worse were soldiers on the both sides were ill equipped to deal with the cold weather that invaded their camps and their fox holes.

Throughout the time building up to Christmas that year, local military leaders sometimes without permission from their superiors, began to negotiate temporary ceasefires so both sides could celebrate Christmas. During the time of these widespread unofficial ceasefires, groups of German and British soldiers began to exchange seasonal greetings and song between their trenches; and on occasion, the tension in a particular area was reduced enough to the point where individuals from both sides would walk across the dreaded no-man’s land that separated the two armies desiring to simply talk and bearing gifts.

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, soldiers from both sides independently ventured into each other camps” and mingled with their enemies, exchanging food and souvenirs. Some areas of the ceasefires were marked by joint burial ceremonies honoring the deceased who only days before had been killed by the other side. Other areas of the battlefield groups of soldiers gathered and sang Christmas carols together and in at least one area soldiers from both sides entered into a friendly soccer game with one another.

And while as I said that the truces were somewhat unofficial and did not include the whole lines and thus there were some causalities on that Christmas day. For the soldiers that Christmas day became a symbol of the peace that humanity was capable of achieving even in the midst of the horrors of modern warfare.

I first learned of this World War I Christmas miracle through a Christmas song called “Belleau Wood.” The version I heard on the radio for the first time was sung by Garth Brooks and it struck my heart and being in such a way that I knew that I would never been the same. (Check out lyrics or Play Song by clicking on lyrics)

As the song ends the lyrics become prophetic as we hear:
Then the devils clock struck midnight
And the skies lit up again
And the battlefield where heaven stood
Was blown to hell again

But for just one fleeting moment
The answer seemed so clear
Heaven's not beyond the clouds
Its just beyond the fear

No heaven's not beyond the clouds
It's for us to find here

“Heaven is not beyond the clouds it is just beyond the fear.” What an amazing insight – I want to say it again. “Heaven is not beyond the clouds it is just beyond the fear.”

I have come to believe that all the problems in the world come down to the simple fact that we all need to be loved. Most of us though FEAR that we are unlovable!!! We fear that God made a mistake when He made us or that we have committed some horrible sin and that if people knew who we really were they would run away in horror and we would be left alone and miserable. We therefore can find ourselves spending our entire life lying, cheating, putting on masks, striving to please people all in order to earn love and in the end we have nothing for love that is earned is not love at all. For love must be freely given to us as a gift to be real and true.

If we live out of this fear we will find ourselves fighting over wealth, popularity, fame, perfection, attention (positive or negative) and then we turn the people around us into enemies that we must defend ourselves against instead of brothers and sisters of the same loving God.

The truth of the Gospel though is that God did not make a mistake when He created us and that there is no sin that we can commit that would prevent God from loving us. Our God who is love, does not simply sit on a throne in some majestic place that we call heaven and says that He “loves us,” bur rather He incarnates His love first through Jesus, then through His Church, and finally through people around us.

The true paradox is the more that I overcome my fears and I am just myself the more love I will receive because I will have lowered my defensive walls and not filled my hearts with material possessions thus leaving room for the love God and others wish to bestow upon me.

I am sure that there is a deep desire inside of us for us to be at peace with each person that we meet. Especially with family members, friends, and coworkers who we more often than not find ourselves exchanging hostile words and firing insults back and forth all the time. Let us move beyond our fear then and bring about a lasting peace.

When we feel threatened by someone else’s attempts to become popular with others at our expense let us remember that the one who declared himself Caesar Augustus which means “Great in Stature” came and went in history but the humble child born in the manger struck time in half and thus we measure time by His birth and not Caesar Augustus.

When we fear someone else’s strength or power let us remind ourselves that the Lord of Hosts – the God of Angel Armies – sent His army into the world this Christmas night to declare peace on earth while the armies of Rome conquered the known world. Today the Church of Christ lives on and the Roman Empire is a part of ancient history.

When we fear that no one will notice us unless we make a scene or scream out looking for attention, let us remember that despite their poverty and nothingness – there was no room for them in the inn- that the Holy Family was visited by both shepherds and kings.

When we fear that we are inadequate because we do not have as many material possessions as others let us find comfort in the fact that the God of the Universe was laid to rest in a manger – a feeding trough for animals.

When we fear that we are nobodies in the eyes of the world, let us remember that Jesus chose to compose his human family of two simple peasant people – Mary and Joseph – and not philosophers, scholars, or people of royal power like Herod.

Finally when we fear that we will never be holy enough to follow Jesus’ divine example let us remember that He chose John the Baptist to be messenger and not the high priests Ananias and Caiaphas.

May we declare ceasefires and truces in our lives! Let us offer peace to family members who we are at odds with. Let us offer forgiveness to those who have wounded us and our love ones. Let us live in such a way that our whole life speaks of peace and not war. May people see in us that the way to true peace is by following the example of Christ.

Heaven is not beyond the clouds but it is right here for us to find.

On this night let us make a solemn pledge to be Christ hands and feet and to bring his message of love to the world. Let us be patient with one another, let us be kind, let us not be jealous, let us not be pompous, and let us not be inflated or rude. May we not seek our own interests or be quick tempered. May we not brood over injuries and may we never-never-never rejoice over wrong doing but may we always rejoice with the truth and bear all things for the good of others. By doing so may we come to realize that we, with the grace of God, create an enduring and everlasting peace on earth because love never fails!

Photo by Dan Kb on Unsplash

From the mystics of the Middle Ages comes the story of a young man who was granted by God a glimpse of both heaven and hell.

God decided that it would be best if he showed the young man hell first and so God and the young man descended into the netherworld. The man saw a group of people gathered in a magnificent dining hall. The table was prepared with the finest food and the delicious smell of the food filled the room. And at first the young man thought God must had mistakenly taken him to heaven first instead of hell but as he studied the faces of the people in the room he began to see that each person was filled with anger, sadness and disappointment. It became quite clear to the young man that the source of their discomfort and distress was that the all the forks and spoons in the room were too large for anyone to feed themselves with and so while they were able to smell and look at the mouth-watering food they were perpetually prevented from eating any of it.

In a flash God then transported the young man to heaven and much to the young man’s surprise he found himself in a room that was almost identical to the room that he had seen in hell. The decorations were the same, the food was the same and there was even the same type of silverware which was too large for anyone to use. The difference was not in the surroundings or even in the meal the difference between heaven and hell was in the hearts of the individuals there because the people in heaven instead of focusing on feeding themselves and thus being perpetually frustrated took the time to care and to feed the person next to them and thus everyone was able to be filled not only with the food but more importantly with love.

“I am not sure exactly what heaven will be like, but I know that when we die and it comes time for God to judge us, he will not ask, 'How many good things have you done in your life?' rather he will ask, 'How much love did you put into what you did?” ― Mother Teresa