Have A Good Trip
By FR. MICHAEL P. ORSI
(Editor’s Note: A priest of the Diocese of Camden, N.J., Fr. Michael P. Orsi currently serves as parochial vicar at St. Agnes Parish in Naples, Fla. He is host of Action for Life TV, a weekly cable television series devoted to pro-life issues, and his writings appear in numerous publications and online journals.)
+ + +
Do you believe you’re going to Heaven, or are you going to Hell?
That’s really an unanswerable question, because we don’t know our final destination.
Dante’s epic poem, Inferno, is what gives us our picture of historical figures trapped eternally in the various regions of Hell. As far as Church doctrine goes, however, the only person we’re certain is in Hell is Judas, because that’s mentioned in Scripture.
We have plenty of evidence that there is a Heaven and a Hell (the first being eminently preferable as a destination to the second). Jesus speaks clearly about the topic.
For instance, on the cross He assures the “good thief” that “this day you will be with me in Paradise.” And in his metaphor of the sheep and the goats, He says the sheep will “go to the father” while the goats will be condemned.
But today, a lot of people deny Hell’s existence. A highly placed churchman recently called the Devil merely a “symbol of evil.”
Which, of course, raises some pertinent questions: Is God just a symbol of good? If Satan isn’t a real being, when Jesus spoke of him was He speaking only symbolically?
We can be confident that we have the answers to those questions. Both the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church attest to the existence of Heaven, of Hell, and of Satan.
Jews of Jesus’ time — at least those who believed in the afterlife (and not all did) — were confident that by following the prescribed devotional and sacrificial practices of Judaism they were guaranteed salvation. Jesus cast doubt on that assumption, suggesting that more was demanded of them than mere observance. In fact, He described the difficulty of getting into Heaven as like a camel trying to pass through the eye of a needle.
Consequently, He wasn’t popular with all people who considered themselves “religious.”
Likewise, there are lots of “religious” people today who assume that everybody is going to be saved. In fact, that’s one of the most common heresies of our time. It makes a mockery of the Gospels. It makes the Church superfluous. Most of all, it endangers souls.
In a passage from the Gospel of Luke (chapter 13) read recently at Mass, Jesus makes it clear that salvation depends on our having a relationship with Him — that is to say, something more than just a passing acquaintance. In a parable He describes a scene where people are seeking admittance by insisting: “We ate and drank in your company, and you taught in our streets.” Those entreaties are dismissed, and rather harshly at that: “I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!”
Jesus’ standards are high. He wants to be our true friend — someone we’ve gotten to know with fair degree of intimacy — through the Bible, through the Church and its sacraments, through living our faith daily.
That means He expects us to put forth some effort. So what should we do?
The first step in getting to know Him is to read the Bible. You’ll discover that Jesus is someone who doesn’t pull any punches. Speaking to us through Scripture, He tells us not what we want to hear, but what we need to hear, which is what a good friend does.
Secondly, we should approach Scripture study — and, indeed, faith life in general — in a methodical way, so that we can make real measured progress. Fortunately, the saints have provided guidelines that bring the Gospels alive for us and help us to accomplish our goals.
Many communities founded by saints have what are called Third Orders, which are programs of spiritual living based on a saint’s teaching. You can join a Franciscan or a Dominican Third Order (or others as well), and follow a series of highly refined steps for growing in biblical knowledge and personal holiness. You don’t have to go to a monastery or convent in order to pursue such a program.
Your home becomes your monastery or convent in which you can develop an intimate relationship with Jesus by following the rules of holy people — people who did go to Heaven and provided the formula to get there.
These rules aren’t obscure, but rather clear and highly accessible. In fact, there are many books available to help you start your journey. One of the best is St. Francis de Sales’ Introduction to the Devout Life.
Interestingly, St. Francis drew on some teachings of Protestant figures like Luther and Calvin, adapting them to Catholicism and using them to bring people back to the truths revealed to us by the apostles. Living in the aftermath of the Reformation, de Sales was a great spiritual director who grasped the appeal of the Protestant emphasis on Bible reading and the need for a vivid personal relationship with Jesus. He connected these with the sacraments, thus creating a comprehensive approach to growing in holiness.
Today, the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales offer their own Third Order to help lay people in all walks of life follow the saint’s famous dictum: “Bloom where you’re planted.”
So if Heaven is your goal (and it certainly should be), there’s much available to help you on your journey. Don’t depend only on receiving the sacraments. They are helpful aids, in that they confer the graces needed. But they’re not the full story.
We all still have a journey to make. But know that through a relationship with Jesus it’s possible to reach the goal. In the words of a famous old hymn:
“What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry,
Everything to God in prayer!”
Have a good trip.