Homily
for August 26, 2007
Liturgical Year C - Cycle I
21stSunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. John Carney Topic:
Choose Heaaven
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I had a guest this past week, a
college roommate that I
hadn’t seen in almost forty years. His
name is, actually his name was in college, “The
Boomer”. That’s all you need to know about him. But if I
slip into some New Yorker talk,
you’ll forgive me. It’s funny it all
comes back if you’re from New York. It’s
hidden within you, somewhere. It’s funny
I picked him up at the airport and I passed right through and I didn’t
see him
and I realized that I was looking for someone that I knew forty years
ago. Well, he got really old. He told me, he lives in
Nashville now and he
said (NY accent), “You know them people there in Tennessee they talk
funny.” The Gospel today is another difficult
message to hear,
kind of threatening. This is four weeks
in a row that we have heard a rather harsh message from Jesus.
Remember last week, there was the message of,
“I have come to light a fire to bring division.” The week before
that, Jesus tells us, “Be
ready for you know not the hour that death will come like a thief in
the
night.” The week before that he talked
about the rich man who has stored up all his riches so he could live
comfortably. He said, “You fool! This very night your life
will be taken from
you.” Today he talks about hell. Now fortunately, next week
we are off this
trend. Next week the theme is
humility. We will be ready to hear that. “Hell, fire and brimstone.” Have
you ever heard people say that you know
when you go to church, all you hear is that old fire and brimstone?
You have heard that comment, but when is the
last time you heard a fire and brimstone homily or sermon? I
can’t remember one. Maybe years ago we heard too much of it and
maybe today we need to hear a little bit more of it. Hell is a
difficult subject. We have a problem with hell.
Nonbelievers have a problem with the notion
of hell. They say it depicts our God who
we love, as a vengeful god, a god who practices retribution and
punishes
fiercely. Even Christians have trouble
with the notion of hell. Theologian and
writer Father John Hardon said this, “Since it seems to run so counter
to all
that revelation tells us about the goodness and mercy of God, how do we
reconcile hell with this God of infinite love and mercy?” As a
result, some don’t believe in hell, even
some Christians or they say there’s a hell but no one’s there, which
is, I
think, the same teaching. However, Jesus believed in hell.
In fact, I think if you went to the
scriptures most references, I would guess, most references of hell are
from the
lips of Jesus. He is the one teaching us
this. Here is just a few of them. In Matthew’s Gospel, “Any
man who holds his
brother in contempt risks the fires of hell.”
“Better to enter eternal life with one eye than to be thrown into the
fires of hell with two eyes.” To the
Pharisees because of their hypocrisy, “You viper’s nest! Brood of
serpents! How can you escape the condemnation of
hell?” In Matthew 25 concerning the last
judgment, “Out of my sight you condemned, into the everlasting fire
prepared
for the devil and his angels.” Finally,
in Luke’s Gospel, “I say to you who are my friends, (that’s us): do not
be
afraid of those who kill the body and can do no more. I will show
you whom you ought to fear. Fear him who has power to cast into
hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” The Catechism says this about hell,
“To die in mortal sin
without repenting and accepting God’s mercy 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’”. “Eternal damnation”,
therefore, is not attributed to God’s initiative because in his
merciful love
he can only desire the salvation of all.
In reality, it is the creature who closes himself to God’s love.
Damnation consists precisely in definitive
separation from God, freely chosen by the human person and confirmed
with death
that seals the choice forever. God’s
judgment merely ratifies that choice.” I read a little C.S. Lewis’
reflections on most mornings
and he wrote this about the doors of hell: “I believe that the damned
are in
one sense successful, rebels to the end; that the doors of hell are
locked from
the inside. They enjoy forever the
horrible freedom they have chosen and are therefore self-enslaved; just
as the
blessed forever submitting to obedience become through all eternity
more and
more free.” The damned are successful, rebels to
the end. They have chosen where they will spend
eternity. My friend Boomer, while
discussing the subject last week made a similar comment. He said,
“I ain’t afraid of hell. I’m not
afraid of going to jail either. I know
the things you gotta do or not do to go to jail and I’m not goin’ to do
them. And I know the things you gotta do
or not do to go to hell and I’m not gonna do them either.” C.S. Lewis
and The
Boomer, the sublime and the… I’ll call
him tonight and tell him I quoted him. That’s the good news about hell, about
heaven and hell,
that it is your choice. It’s up to you. No one will be
condemned to hell because of
bad luck, unfortunate circumstances.
Anyone who is in hell, in effect has chosen that fate. I want to
speak for everyone here and I know
I can do this with confidence. We choose
heaven. We choose eternal life with God
and the blessed. Can you give me an Amen
to that? Amen. Thank you brothers and sisters. Let me conclude with this prayer.
If you’d join me in the spirit of this prayer
by bowing your heads. It’s a prayer of
Saint Alphonsus Liguori.
“Without
You, there is no peace, no joy. My God, I need fear nothing but sin. For to lose You, my God, is to lose
all. O my God, help me to remember That to gain all I must leave all, That in loving You I have all good
things: the infinite
riches of Christ and His Church, the motherly
protection of Mary, Peace beyond understanding, joy
unspeakable! Eternal Father, your Son has promised
that whatever we
ask in His name will be given to us. In
His name I pray: give me a burning faith, a joyful hope, a holy love
for Jesus
Christ. Give me the grace of
perseverance in doing Your will in all things.
Do with me what You will. I repent
of having offended You. Grant, O Lord,
that I may love You always and never let me be separated from You. O my God and my All, make me a saint!” We pray this with Alphonsus through
Christ our Lord. Amen.