Dear Friends in Christ,
It goes without saying that we have had extremely hot, uncomfortable days. Our poor church air conditioner has been struggling to keep down the intense heat. Certainly, it is a challenge to wear four layers of clothing for Holy Mass, and the sanctuary is a few degrees hotter than out in the body of the church. A priest friend from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia once told me that he was in front of his parish church wearing a cassock. The woman said, “Aren’t you hot in that thing?” He replied, “Well, I am wearing this to remind you and all of us that it’s a lot hotter in hell!” There is a heresy called universalism which claims that everyone created goes to heaven. This heresy negates our free will, which is essential to how we were created. We all have a choice whether to live the Lord Jesus as Savior or to commit the sin of presumption by simply believing that no matter how I live my life, we are heaven bound! There is only one way to Heaven, and it is through, with, and in Jesus Christ, the Savior of all mankind. He loves us enough to allow us to reject Him.
“The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines hell as the state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed. It is the ultimate consequence of dying in mortal sin, representing an eternal separation from God chosen by an individual’s own free will.
Core teachings on hell include:
- It is a Choice: God does not predestine anyone to hell. To be damned, a person must freely turn away from God and persist in that mortal sin until the end of their life.
- Eternal Separation: The chief punishment of hell is the absolute, eternal separation from God, in whom alone man finds life and happiness.
- Eternal Fire: The Catechism affirms the existence and eternity of hell, frequently referencing scriptural descriptions of “unquenchable fire”.
- God’s Mercy: While the reality of hell is severe, the Church teaches that God desires all to be saved, offering his grace and mercy continually during earthly life.”
Mass is essential and if we truly understood it, we would crawl to Mass on our knees! We would all rush to the confessional, and we would long to give thanks to the Lord and tell Him how much we love Him. Some may remember if one complained about being uncomfortable, Sister would tell us to “offer it up for the poor souls!” This is still good advice. Personally, I would rather complain about a few unpleasantly hot days now, that suffer the hot coals of eternal damnation! Lord Jesus, have mercy on me a sinner.
God bless you,
Father Szolack